ABSTRACT
Ownership has been described as ‘the entirety of the powers of use and disposal allowed by law’ (Pollock: First Book of Jurisprudence). The owner of a thing has an aggregate of rights, namely (i) the right of enjoyment, (ii) the right of destruction, and (iii) the right of disposition, subject to the right of others. Thus if A owns a hat he or she can wear it, alter it, burn it, or merely throw it away. There are, however, limits to these rights. If A throws the hat at B, this might be an assault on B (or a battery if the hat strikes B), for under the general law B has a right not to be interfered with. Similarly in regard to land, A may enjoy and use it, sell it or give it away; but use of this land is subject to the rights of others as allowed by law, e.g. in nuisance and tort. Today a landowner’s rights are much circumscribed by legislation aimed at social control, e.g. the Town and Country Planning Acts, 1971 and 1990, The Countryside and Rights of Way Act, 2000, and the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act, 2004. Permission for any change in the use of the land owned has to be obtained from the local planning authorities. Moreover, Government departments and local authorities may compulsorily acquire privately-owned land and use it for public purposes, e.g. as a site for a school or college. A person may own land notwithstanding that another has an easement, such as a right of way, over it.
