Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

nIG POSSESSIO. POSSESSIO.
except that it must not have originated illegally simply; and this is the meaning of Possessio, when
with respect to the person against whom the Inter- it is used alone, and yet in a. technical sense. As
diet is claimed. [INTERDICTUnM.] Simply by opposed to this sense of Possessio all other kinds
virtue of being possessor, the possessor has a better of Detention are also called Naturalis Possessio,
right than any person who is not possessor. (Dig. the opposition between the Natural and the Juris43. tit. 17. s. 1, 2.) Usucapion requires not only tical Possession (possessio) being here expressed
a juristical possessio, but in its orgin it must have just in the same way as this opposition is denoted
been bona fide and founded on a justa causa, that in the case of the Civilis Possessio. There is thereis, on some legal transaction. He who buys a fore a twofold Juri-stical Possessio: Possessio
thing from a man who is not the owner, but whom Civilis or Possession for the purpose of Usucapion
he believes to be the owner, and obtains possession and Possessio or Possession for the purpose of the
of the thing, is a bona fide possessor with.a justa. Interdicts. It follows that Possessio is included
causa. [UsuCAPIo.] in Possessio Civilis, which only requires more con.
The right which is founded on -a juristical pos- ditions than Possessio. If then a man has Possessio is a Jus possessionis, or right of possession, sessio Civilis, he has also Possessio, that is the
that is, a right arising from a juristical posses- right to the Interdicts; but the converse is not
sion. The expression Jus possessionis is used'by true. Possessio Naturalis, as above observed, has
the Roman Jurists.'The right to possess, called two significations, but they are both negative, and
by modern Jurists, Jus possidendi, belongs to the merely express in each case a logical opposition,
theory of Ownershiip. that is, they are respectively not Possessio Civilis,
All Juristical Possessio then, that -is, Possessio or Possessio (ad Interdicta). The various expresin the Roman Law, as a source of rights, hasl sions used to denote bare Detention are " tenere,"
reference only to Usucapion and Interdicts; and " corporaliter possidere," " esse in possessione."
all the rules of law which treat Possession as a (Savigny, p. 109.)
thing of a juristical nature have no other object In the case of a thing being pignorated, the perthan to determine the possibility of Usucapions and son who pledges it'has still the possessio ad usuof the Interdicts. (Savigny5 Des Recht des Besitzes, capionem, but the pledgee alone has the possessio
p. 24, &c.) ad interdicta. It is not a Possessio Civilis which
~In answer to the question to which class of is the foundation of the pledger's title by usuRights Possession belosns, Savigtny obser-ves (~ 6),C capion; but by a special fiction he is considered to
So far as concerns Usucapion, one cannot sup- have such Possession, and so the case is a special
pose the thing to be the subject of a questiom No exception to the general rutle " sine possessione
one thinks of asking, to what class of rights a usucapino contingere non potest."
justa causa belongs, without which tradition can- Possessio Justa is every Possessio that is not
not give ownership. It is no right, but it is a illegal in its origin, whether such Possessio be
part of the whole transaction by which ownership niere Detention or Juristical Possessio. The word
is acquired. So is it with Possession in respect to Julsta is here used, not in that acceptation in
Usucapion. which it has reference to Jus Civile and is equivaThe right to Possessorial Irterdicts belongs to lent to Civilis or Legitima; but in another sense.
the Law of Obligationes ex mrleficiiis. "The right which is more indefinite anld means " rightful:
to possessorial Interdicts then belongs to the Law generally, that is, not wrongful. The creditor who
of Obligationes, and therein possession is only so is in possession of a pledge, has a Justa Possessio,
far considered, as containing the condition without but not a Civilis Possessio: he has, however, a
which the Interdicts cannot be supposed possible. Juristical Possessio, that is, Possessio, and conThe Jus Possessionis eonsequently, that is the sequently a right to the Interdicts. The Missio
right, which mere possession gives, consists simply in Possessionem is the foundation of a Justa Posin the claim which the Possessor has to the Inter- sessio, but, as a general rule, not of a Juristical
diets, as soon as his possession is disturbed in a Possessio. Possessio Injusta is the logical opposite
definite form. Independent of this disturbance, of Justa, and in the case of Possessio Injusta there
bare possession gives no rights, neither a Jus Obli- are three special Vitia possessionis, that is when
gationis, as is self-evident, nor yet a right to the the Possession has originated Vi, Clam, or Precario.
thing, for no dealing with a thing is to be consi- (Terentius, Eunuch. ii. 3. Hane t n ilhi vel vi,
aered as a legal act simply because the person so vel cloan, vel precario Jfc trades: Dig. 43, tit. 17.
dealing has the possession of the thing." (Savigny, s. I, 2.)
p. 34.) - With respect to the causa Possessionis, there
The term Possessio occurs in the Roman jurists was a legal maxim: Nemo sibi ipse causam posin various senses. There is Possessio generally, sessionis mutare potest, which applies both to
and Possessio Civilis, and Possessio Naturalis. Civilis and Naturalis Possessio. This rule is exPossessio denoted originally- bare Detention. plained by Savigny by means of Gains (ii. 52, &c.)
But this Detention under certain conditions be.. as having reference to the old usucapio pro herede,
comes a legal state, inasmuch as it leads to owner- and the meaning of it was that if a person had once
ship through Usucapion. Accordingly the word begun to possess with any particular cause, he could
Possessio, which required no qualification so long not at his pleasure change such Possessio into a
as there was no other notion attached to Possessio, Possessio pro herede. (Savigny, p. 56.)
requires such qualification when Detention becomes A Possessor bonae fidei is he who believes that
a legal state. This Detention then, when it has no person has a better right to possess than himthe conditions necessary to Usucapion, is called self. A Possessor malae fidei is he who knows
Possessio Civilis; and all other Possessio as op- that he has no right to possess the thing. (Savigny,
posed to Civilis is Naturalis. But Detention may p. 84.)
also be the foundation of Interdicts, which notion Besides these various meanings of Possessio, Posof possession is alwrays expressed by Possessio sessor, Possidere, at the bottom of ail which lies