Legal Definitions - superoneratione pasturae

Superoneratione pasturae is a Latin legal term that translates to "overburdening of pasture." It refers to the act of placing more livestock on common grazing land than one is legally entitled to, or more than the land can reasonably sustain without diminishing its quality for others who also hold rights to use it.

Essentially, it describes a situation where an individual exceeds their allotted share of a shared resource, thereby unfairly impacting other co-users.

• Example 1: Village Common Grazing Rights

  Imagine a small village where several farmers have traditional rights to graze their cattle on a shared common pasture. Each farmer is allocated a specific number of animals they can graze to ensure the pasture remains healthy and productive for everyone. If Farmer John, who is permitted to graze 20 cows, instead brings 40 cows onto the common, he is committing superoneratione pasturae. By exceeding his allocated share, he consumes more grass, potentially overgrazes the land, and leaves less forage for the other farmers' cattle, thereby diminishing their rightful use of the common resource.

• Example 2: Shared Forest Foraging

  Consider a historical scenario where a community holds common rights to a local forest for foraging, such as collecting firewood or gathering nuts and berries. Each household is expected to take only what they need and what the forest can sustainably provide. If one family consistently harvests an excessive amount of firewood, far beyond their needs and the agreed-upon limits, they are engaging in an act akin to superoneratione pasturae. Their over-collection depletes the forest's resources, making it harder for other families to find their share and potentially harming the long-term health of the forest for future use.

• Example 3: Shared Water Source for Livestock

  In a dry region, a natural spring might serve as a common watering hole for livestock belonging to multiple ranchers who share access rights. To prevent the spring from drying up or becoming contaminated, there might be informal or formal agreements on how many animals each rancher can bring to water at a given time, or how much water can be drawn. If one rancher consistently brings an unusually large herd, far exceeding their customary share, and monopolizes the spring's output, they are effectively causing superoneratione pasturae by overburdening the shared water resource that supports the "pasture" (i.e., the livestock) of others. This action could lead to water scarcity for other ranchers' animals and damage the sustainability of the shared resource.