Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
This article investigates and discusses the thesis that ‘a sense or awareness of belonging within a legal system derives from a person’s relationship to property’. The European people and Indigenous Australian people spheres are compared. For both spheres, ‘a sense of belonging’, ‘a legal system’ and ‘property’ are defined, and the questions ‘does property engender a sense of belonging?’ and ‘what is the human relationship to property and to a legal system?’ are considered. It is argued that differences in the relationship to things and in the conceptualisation of property mean that the basis for a sense of belonging differs in these distinct cultures. Examples of legal issues and disputes in an English/European law context related to property and its ownership, and their possible impact on a sense of belonging within a socio-legal system, are discussed.

Young, John, Property and a Sense of Belonging within a Legal System: European and Indigenous Australian Spheres Compared (May 16, 2022).