Legal Definitions - adjunction

Adjunction, in civil law, refers to the physical union of an item of personal property owned by one person with an item of personal property owned by another, creating a new, combined item. The original items typically remain identifiable even after being joined. This concept often becomes relevant when determining ownership of the newly formed property.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Custom Jewelry Creation:

  Imagine a scenario where an individual owns a precious, unset emerald gemstone. They take this emerald to a jeweler who owns a unique, custom-designed gold pendant setting. The jeweler then carefully mounts the emerald into the gold setting to create a finished pendant necklace.

  This is an example of adjunction because the emerald (personal property of the individual) has been physically united with the gold setting (personal property of the jeweler) to form a new, combined piece of jewelry. The distinct origins of the emerald and the setting are still recognizable within the finished product.

• Antique Restoration:

  Consider a situation where a collector owns a rare, antique wooden chest that is missing its original lid. They commission a skilled woodworker, who happens to own a beautifully preserved, period-appropriate wooden lid from a different, broken chest, to attach this lid to their chest.

  Here, the antique chest (personal property of the collector) is joined with the antique lid (personal property of the woodworker) to complete the piece. This demonstrates adjunction, as two separate items belonging to different owners are brought together to form a more complete, single item.

• Specialized Equipment Assembly:

  A research scientist develops a highly specialized sensor component for an experiment. To use it, they need a custom-built, precision housing unit. A fabrication company, which owns the necessary machinery and materials, constructs this housing unit and then permanently integrates the scientist's sensor into it.

  This illustrates adjunction because the scientist's sensor (personal property of the scientist) is physically combined with the housing unit (personal property of the fabrication company) to create a functional piece of research equipment. The distinct components, though now unified, can still be identified as having originated from different owners.