Editing Adverse possession (section)

==History==
{{see also|History of English land law}}
[[File:Sumeriansquatting.png|thumb|alt=asdf|"The Sumerian law code compared with Hammurabi", S. Langdon, 1920]]
In [[Corpus Juris Civilis|Roman law]], ''[[usucapio]]'' laws allowed someone who was in possession of a good without title to become the lawful proprietor if the original owner did not appear after some time (one or two years), unless the good was obtained illegally (by theft or force).<ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction |url=https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199838677/chapter1/intro/ |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=global.oup.com}}</ref> Stemming from Roman law and its successor, the [[Napoleonic Code]] generally recognizes two time periods for the acquisition of property: 30 years and some lesser time period, depending on the [[bona fides]] of the possessor and the location of the parties involved.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

[[Parliament of England|Parliament]] passed England's first general statute limiting the right to recover possession of land in 1623,{{sfnp|Merrill|1985|p=1128}} the [[Limitation Act 1623]] ([[21 Jas. 1]]. c. 16). At [[common law]], if entitlement to possession of land was in dispute (originally only in what were known as real actions), the person claiming a right to possession was not allowed to allege that the land had come into their possession in the past (in older terminology that he had been 'put into seisin') at a time before the reign of Henry I. The law recognised a cutoff date going back into the past, before which date the law would not be interested. There was no requirement for a defendant to show any form of adverse possession. As time went on, the date was moved by statute—first to the reign of [[Henry II of England|Henry II]], and then to the reign of [[Richard I]]. No further changes were made of this kind. By the reign of Henry VIII the fact that there had been no changes to the cutoff date had become very inconvenient. A new approach was taken whereby the person claiming possession had to show possession of the land for a continuous period, a certain number of years (60, 50 or 30 depending on the kind of claim made) before the date of the claim. Later statutes have shortened the limitation period in most common law jurisdictions.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

At traditional English common law, it was not possible to obtain title to property of [[the Crown]] by means of adverse possession. This principle was embodied by the [[Latin language|Latin]] maxim ''[[nullum tempus occurrit regi]]'' ('no time runs against the king'). In the United States, this privilege was carried over to the federal and state governments; government land is immune from loss by adverse possession.{{sfnp|Merrill|Smith|2017|p=174}} Land with ''registered title'' in some [[Torrens title]] systems is also immune, for example, land that has been registered in the [[Hawaii Land Court]] system.<ref>{{cite web |title=HI Rev Stat § 501-87|url=http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0501/HRS_0501-0087.htm |website=Hawaii Revised Statutes |publisher=Hawaii State Legislature |access-date=29 September 2017}}</ref><ref>''United States v. Fullard-Leo'', 66 F.Supp. 782 (D.C. Haw. 1944), ''affirmed'' 331 U.S. 256 (1947).</ref>

In the [[common law]] system of England and its historical colonies, local legislatures—such as [[Parliament]] in England or American state legislatures—generally create statutes of limitations that bar the owners from recovering the property after a certain number of years have passed.{{sfnp|Merrill|Smith|2017|p=170}}