Legal Definitions - hallazgo

In Spanish law, hallazgo refers to the legal principle by which someone acquires rights to property that has no current owner (known as res nullius), typically by being the first to discover and take possession of it. It encompasses both the act of finding and claiming such property, as well as the legal status of the person who does so as the first recognized occupant.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Discovery of a Shipwreck: Imagine a deep-sea exploration team discovers a centuries-old shipwreck in international waters, far from any national jurisdiction. The ship's original owners are long gone, and no one else has claimed it. By being the first to locate, document, and begin salvage operations on the wreck with the intent to claim it, the exploration team could establish a right of hallazgo over the vessel and its contents. This illustrates the principle of finding and taking possession of ownerless property.

• Unclaimed Natural Resources: Consider a prospector who discovers a previously unknown and unclaimed vein of a valuable mineral, such as gold or silver, on public land that is not currently owned or leased by anyone. By being the first to locate and legally stake a claim to this resource according to local mining laws, the prospector would be acting under the principle of hallazgo, becoming the first occupant recognized by law to exploit that specific resource.

• Finding a Meteorite on Unowned Land: A hiker discovers a large, valuable meteorite embedded in the ground on remote, unowned wilderness land. No one has ever claimed this meteorite before, and it is not part of any existing private property. By being the first to find it and take steps to secure it (e.g., marking its location, reporting it to the relevant authorities with the intent to claim ownership), the hiker could potentially establish a right of hallazgo over the meteorite, depending on the specific laws governing such finds in that jurisdiction.