Lanterna Rally

Author: Douglas Bain

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

The development of the law in Scotland in respect of the co-ownership of property has been undermined by an early philosophical prejudice against the idea of co-ownership, coupled with the indiscriminate and imprecise use of language in the judgments of the courts, particularly in the Nineteenth Century. But nevertheless, co-ownership - an essential concept in the property law of any developed legal system - is a common, popular, and economically useful form of ownership, which may arise by accident or by design; and the law has accordingly been subject to periodic legal 'correction' by way of judicial fiat. Such corrections may have resolved particular questions in law, but they have left other questions unanswered and have also had the effect of posing new questions. In particular, the modern orthodoxy, which posits a binary structure of co-ownership in Scotland, is questionable and unhelpful. The law in respect of co-ownership has undeniably advanced in recent years, but there have also been missed opportunities. This thesis seeks to clarify the development of the understanding and articulation of the concept of co-ownership and its role in Scotland as a contribution to a better understanding of an important aspect of property law with continuing utility in legal development.