PROPERTY LAW - Adverse Possession
Introduction
To understand the comments made by Young J in Shaw v Garbutt (1996) 7 BPR 14 at 816, it is necessary to discuss the doctrine of adverse possession, it's requirements and the history of how this law has been interpreted.
Philosophy of adverse possession
The basic underlying philosophy for the doctrine of adverse possession is that historically land use has been favoured over disuse. The doctrine protects ownership by barring stale claims of non-occupiers and errors in the title records. …
