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Dictionary definition: abandonment
- Article from:
- A Dictionary of Law
- Author:
Copyright© A Dictionary of Law 2002, originally published by Oxford University Press 2002. (Hide copyright information)
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abandonment
n.
1.
The act of giving up a legal right, particularly a right of ownership of property. Property that has been abandoned is
res nullius
(a thing belonging to no one), and a person taking possession of it therefore acquires a lawful title. An item is regarded as abandoned when it can be established that the original owner has discarded it and is indifferent as to what becomes of it: such an item cannot be the subject of a theft charge. However, property placed by its owner in a dustbin is not abandoned, having been placed there for the purpose of being collected as refuse. In marine insurance, abandonment is the surrender of all rights to a ship or cargo in a case of
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