So far as I have
the mechanical capability from my own site, as the place I occupy,
to secure my soil from the attack of others- and, therefore, as far as
cannon can carry from the shore- all is included in my possession, and
the sea is thus far closed (mare clausum). But as there is no site for
occupation upon the wide sea itself, possible possession cannot be
extended so far, and the open sea is free (mare liberum). But in the
case of men, or things that belong to them, becoming stranded on the
shore, since the fact is not voluntary, it cannot be regarded by the
owner of the shore as giving him a right of acquisition. For shipwreck
is not an act of will, nor is its result a lesion to him; and things
which may have come thus upon his soil, as still belonging to some
one, are not to be treated as being without an owner or res nullius.
On the other hand, a river, so far as possession of the bank
reaches, may be originally acquired, like any other piece of ground,
under the above restrictions, by one who is in possession of both
its banks.
PROPERTY.
An external object, which in respect of its substance can be claimed
by some one as his own, is called the property (dominium) of that
person to whom all the rights in it as a thing belong- like the
accidents inhering in a substance- and which, therefore, he as the
proprietor (dominus) can dispose of at will (jus disponendi de re
sua).
Pages:
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74