Res nullius

Scope

Wild animals

In common law legal systems, forest laws, and game laws have specified which animals are res nullius and when they become someone's property. Wild animals are regarded as res nullius, and as not being the subject of private property until reduced into possession by being killed or captured (see, e.g. Pierson v. Post): : A bird in the hand is owned; a bird in the bush is not.

Even bees do not become property until hived. An exception in the United Kingdom is the mute swan: The U.K. Monarch retains the right to assert ownership of unmarked mute swans, which he currently does on stretches of the Thames and its tributaries.

Likewise in common law systems, abandoned things are generally the property of the owner of the land in which they are found. Exceptions include treasure trove, for which specific law applies, generally making it Crown property; and some types of shipwreck, such as flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict.

Modern public international law

A concept derived from res nullius by allegory is terra nullius. Using it, a state may assert control of an unclaimed territory by occupying it.

This terra nullius principle was used to justify colonization of much of the world, as exemplified in the competition for influence within Africa by the European powers (see the scramble for Africa). The concept was applied even where there were indigenous peoples residing in what Europeans considered newly discovered land, as in Australia. It was also used with regard to plantation of the Ards Peninsula.

References

References

1. Adolf Berger, entry on ''res nullius'', ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law'' (American Philological Society, 1953, 1991), p. 679.
2. Johnston. The International Law of Fisheries. 1987. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Vfs5vtLSCD8C&pg=PA309 p 309].
3. However, in [[ancient Rome]], certain forms of ''res nullius'' could never be owned (''[[Res extra commercium#Ancient Rome. res extra commercium]]'') because they were considered to belong either in common to all or to the divine rather than human ''[[dominium]]''.W. W Buckland, ''A Manual of Roman Private Law'' (Cambridge University Press, 1939), p. 138.
4. Canny, Nicholas. (3 May 2001). "Making Ireland British, 1580-1650". OUP Oxford.
5. Anderson, Martin. (26 September 2012). "Interlocutors of Paradise". Skylight Press.
6. McCormack, Anthony M.. (26 May 2004). "The social and economic consequences of the Desmond rebellion of 1579–83". Irish Historical Studies.
7. "Argument from Roman law in current international law: Occupation and acquisitive prescription".