Personal Property Law in the 21st Century

Author: Jonas Atmaz Al-Sibaie; Luke Rostill
Publisher: Hart Publishing
ISBN: 9781509992713
Published In: December 2026
Format: Hardback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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This collection critically examines the current condition of personal property law and scholarship in light of significant conceptual, technological, and commercial advancements in the 21st century.

At the start of this century, Peter Birks lamented that 'our personal property law is in a bad state'. The subject's foundations are poorly understood, and the 21st century has brought with it technological, commercial, and social changes which the law of personal property has been required to address. In this context, it is more important than ever that personal property law is keenly studied and properly understood.

This book considers personal property law from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. If we are to have a functioning personal property law that is capable of addressing modern challenges, it must be based on firm foundations and appropriately situated within our broader private law. To that end, this collection contains 15 chapters from renowned academics on the nature and scope of the subject and its fundamental concepts.

Beyond this, the book considers whether our existing personal property law has appropriately dealt with the commercial, technological, and social advancements that the 21st century has brought with it. It contains chapters addressing the legal treatment of digital assets, the legal effect of modern commodity financing arrangements, and contemporary issues in the law of sale.

Part 1: The Nature and Structure of Personal Property Rights

1. Personal Property and Equity, Ben McFarlane (University of Oxford, UK)

2. Titles to Rights, William Swadling (University of Oxford, UK)

3. Ownership and its Content in English Law, Robin Hickey (Queen's University Belfast, UK)

4. Bailment and the Right to Exclude, Alex Waghorn (London School of Economics, UK)

Part 2: Core Concepts in Personal Property Law

5. Leases of Chattels and the Numerus Clausus Principle, Luke Rostill (University of Oxford, UK)

6. Possession in the Personal Property Torts, Victoria Evans (King's College London, UK)

7. Family Personal Property, Simon Douglas (University of Oxford, UK)

8. Changes and Alterations to Objects: Commodities, Cultural Objects, Body Parts and Human Remains, Janet Ulph (University of Leicester, UK)

Part 3: Personal Property and Digital Assets

9. Must Intangibles be Locanda? Cryptoassets and the Problem of Locability, Larissa Katz (University of Toronto, Canada)

10. Should Crypto be Property? Robert Stevens (University of Oxford, UK)

11. Betting on Bits: Why Cryptoassets Should Not Be Property, Michael Crawford (University of Sydney, Australia)

Part 4: Personal Property, Commerce, and Security

12. Personal Property and Sale: Some Past and Present Issues, Michael Bridge (London School of Economics, UK)

13. The Sale and Mortgage of Registered Ships, Andreas Televantos (University of Oxford, UK) and Jeffrey Thomson (City St George's, University of London, UK)

14. Control as an Analogue of Possession, Magda Raczynska (University College London, UK)

15. Commodity Repos and the Law of Attornment, Jonas Atmaz Al-Sibaie (University of Oxford, UK)