The Challenge of Identifying Private Property under English Law

Abstract

The article provides a set of criteria from which to assess whether or not certain rights and interests amount to private property for the purposes of English law. The overall conclusion is that English law needs a clear and robust framework from which it can recognise private property in both its traditional and emerging forms. The writers seeks to provide that framework arguing that certain key elements are crucial to the notion of private property. In the absence of these elements, however, the right or interest may still be characterised as a form of quasi-property assuming the element of exclusivity is present.