What is the essential elements of Possession?

Answer 1

Essential elements of Possession:

In the Roman Law system, there are two elements of possession and those are the Corpus of Possession and Animus of Possession.

1. Corpus of Possession: The corpus must be related by physical power or physical contact of the possessor to obtain possession. The corpus of possession can be considered under two heads:

(i) The relation of the possessor to the other persons and

(ii) The relation of the possessor to the thing possessed.

2. Animus of Possession: Animus means intention. It consists in the intention of a person to appropriate for himself the exclusive use of the thing possessed. That means mere possession without will to claim possession over it is ineffective. The animus of possession can be considered under the following:

(i) The claim of the possession must be exclusive

(ii) The animus of possession need not be a claim on one's own behalf

(iii) The animus of possession need not be specified

(iv) The animus of possession need not amount to a claim etc.