Property Law

Property ownership is an essential constituent of liberal political society. While that political value has persisted, it has undergone significant changes. The economic context has altered since 1789. It no longer deals with an economy dominated by rural landholding and produce. The industrial, consumer and intellectual revolutions have successively created a range of movable and intangible items of property whose value is of increasing importance. The public policy context has also changed in that restrictions imposed on the use of property in the public interest are more generally accepted. Article 9 of the Preamble to the 1946 Constitution suggests that public ownership of socially important goods is imperative. This provision has had a limited impact, but policy limitations on private ownership are an important feature of the modern law of property.