Accession (Accessio)
What is the legal effect of accession?
The owner of the principal thing gains ownership of the accessory.
Can specificatio occur if the maker owns the materials?
No, materials must belong to another.
Does prescription run during suspension?
No, it pauses (common law) or extends (1969 Act).
What is res nullius?
A thing never owned or abandoned
Name the two forms of accession.
Planting/sowing and building (inaedificatio).
When does mingling transfer ownership?
When separation is impossible
What is vis maior in prescription?
Natural events (e.g., floods) causing loss of possession.
In Khan v Minister of Law and Order, what defines the principal thing?
The thing giving the composite its function, form, and value.
When do plants accede to the soil?
When they take root and draw nourishment (Gore v Parvatas).
What is required for specificatio?
Irreversible transformation into a new product using another’s materials
What is animus domini?
Intention to hold property as owner.
What is res in commercio?
Property within legal commerce (can be owned).
What test determines if a movable accedes to land?
Nature/purpose, degree of attachment, and annexor’s intention (Macdonald case).
What claim does the original owner have if specificatio is mala fide?
Actio legis aquiliae (damages).
How long is the prescriptive period under the 1969 Act?
30 years of uninterrupted possession.
What was the decision in the Melcorp case?
Lifts did not lose legal identity to building. Therefore, owner of moveable could remove the lifts.