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Cujus est solum - An unfortunate scrap of Latin, doctrine in disarray or a brocard of relevance? Its applicability to the subterranean and the United Kingdom Supreme Court decision in Star Energy v Bocardo
Citation
Griggs, L, Cujus est solum - An unfortunate scrap of Latin, doctrine in disarray or a brocard of relevance? Its applicability to the subterranean and the United Kingdom Supreme Court decision in Star Energy v Bocardo, Australian Property Law Journal, 19, (2) pp. 155-173. ISSN 1038-5959 (2011) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright 2011 LexisNexis.
Official URL: http://www.lexisnexis.com.au/en-au/products/austra...
Abstract
For some 500 years common law courts have steadfastly held, for the most
part, that the documentary title owner of the surface of land can exercise
ownership rights from the centre of the earth to the heavens above. While
this has been modified in the case of airspace, the UK Supreme Court
decision in Bocardo SA v Star Energy UK Onshore Ltd highlights that the
Latin maxim, Cujus est solum, ejus est usque ad coelum still stands
resolute. This article, in discussing this decision, criticises the rule and its
modern applicability. It suggests that a legislative model based on the
existing jurisprudence in relation to court imposed easements be introduced.
This would allow the parties interested in exploiting the subsurface the
opportunity to obtain expeditious adjudication as to their rights in respect of
access. It would also provide the landowner with the capacity to gain
compensation in respect of an area of land that they would be unable to
exploit. In effect, the change serves both the documentary title holder and
the wider public.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Cujus est solum, land, subterranean, ownership, access, compensation, UK Supreme Court, Bocardo SA v Star Energy UK Onshore Ltd |
| Research Division: | Law and Legal Studies |
| Research Group: | Public law |
| Research Field: | Public law not elsewhere classified |
| Objective Division: | Law, Politics and Community Services |
| Objective Group: | Justice and the law |
| Objective Field: | Justice and the law not elsewhere classified |
| UTAS Author: | Griggs, L (Mr Lynden Griggs) |
| ID Code: | 74304 |
| Year Published: | 2011 |
| Deposited By: | Law |
| Deposited On: | 2011-11-18 |
| Last Modified: | 2015-02-11 |
| Downloads: | 12 View Download Statistics |
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