Legal Definitions - amoveas manus

Amoveas manus is a historical legal term from English common law, meaning "that you remove your hands." It refers to a specific type of court judgment and the official document (writ) issued to enforce it. This judgment ordered the Crown (the monarch or government) to relinquish possession of land that it was holding, returning it to a private individual who had successfully proven their claim to ownership. Essentially, it was a legal command for the king or queen to "take their hands off" the disputed property.

Here are some examples illustrating how amoveas manus would have applied historically:

• Disputed Inheritance of an Estate: Imagine a scenario in 15th-century England where a powerful baron dies, and his ancestral lands are temporarily seized by the Crown, perhaps due to a dispute over succession or an alleged debt owed to the king. Years later, the baron's rightful heir, after a lengthy legal battle, successfully convinces the King's court that the lands were unjustly held by the Crown. The court would then issue an amoveas manus judgment, ordering the Crown to "remove its hands" from the estate and restore full possession to the rightful heir.

• Reclaiming Land from Royal Forest Expansion: Consider a wealthy landowner in the 13th century whose private estate borders a royal hunting forest. The Crown, seeking to expand its hunting grounds, begins to assert control over a portion of the landowner's property, claiming it as part of the royal domain. The landowner challenges this encroachment in court, presenting charters and deeds proving their ownership. If the court finds in favor of the landowner, an amoveas manus would be issued, compelling the Crown to cease its expansion and return possession of the disputed land to the private owner.

• Restoration After Unjust Forfeiture: In the 14th century, a prominent merchant is falsely accused of treason and his valuable lands are forfeited to the Crown as punishment. Decades later, his descendants uncover irrefutable evidence proving his innocence and the malicious nature of the original accusation. They successfully petition the Crown and pursue a legal action to reclaim their family's property. The court would then issue an amoveas manus, directing the Crown to relinquish the forfeited lands back to the merchant's family, acknowledging that the original seizure was unlawful and the property rightfully belonged to them.