9/10

[barrywom]

What is the legal basis for saying that possession is nine-tenths of the law?

[vittoria]

I think (not 100 per sure) that property in goods passes when the parties intend it to pass, so, unless the parties specify otherwise, it will be implied that the parties intended property to pass upon delivery. So far as I know, this saying needs to be heavily qualified. It is not always as simple as that. Hope this helps a bit.

[illiterati]

The way this was explained to me was that possessing something is in most cases enough to make the object in question legally yours. Likewise, if something of yours is stolen and you have no documents proving it was purchased by you with your money, you might as well kiss the object in question good bye.

[Shiningmonk]

Ever tried enforcing your property rights against a trespasser? If so, you'll know the answer! If not, ask any farmer who's been the victim of a rave concert.

[gh17t]

This derives from an obscure law dating back to Roman times which, in certain circumstances, gave people the right to take on ownership of something simply through virtue of having had it for a long time. This law is (very rarely) still used today.