Legal Definitions - res privatae

res privatae

In legal terms, res privatae refers to things that are capable of being privately owned. This means they can belong to individuals, private organizations, or even the state and its political subdivisions when those governmental entities are acting in the same way a private citizen or organization would, rather than in their capacity as a public governing body providing public services.

• Example 1: A Family Home

  Imagine a family owns a house and the land it sits on. This property is considered res privatae because it is privately owned by the family. They have exclusive rights to use, sell, or transfer it, subject to general laws. The house is not designated for public use, nor is it owned by the government for a public purpose like a park or a public road.

• Example 2: A City's Administrative Office Building

  Consider a municipal government that owns an office building where its finance department, human resources, and city planning staff work. While the city is a governmental entity, this office building is res privatae. The building is not open for general public use like a library or a public park; instead, it serves the city's internal administrative functions, much like a private corporation owns an office building for its employees. The city, in this instance, holds the property in a private ownership capacity, managing it for its operational needs rather than for direct public access or service provision.