Private Law Theory

INTRODUCTION
It is a striking fact that, for centuries, adverse possession has played a significant role in the land law of common law jurisdictions and yet, for centuries, judges and commentators have disagreed over what adverse possession is. In England and Wales, a core part of the explanation of the persistence of the controversy is that the law of adverse possession has been significantly re-shaped by Parliament on three occasions: at the end of 1833, in 1940, and in 2002; and the nature of adverse possession has not remained the same throughout these developments. Some have thought that the question as to what adverse possession, in the modern law, is was authoritatively answered by the House of Lords in JA Pye (Oxford) Ltd v Graham. But while Pye is undoubtedly a leading case, it was by no means the final word …

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Luke Rostill, ‘The nature of adverse possession’ (2026) 142 Law Quarterly Review (Jan) 34-57.