Chapter I　INTRODUCTION TO PROPERTY，COMMON LAW AND JUDICIAL SYSTEM

What is property，and what is property law？

Everyone has property，and everyone has some idea of what property law is，or should be.But not everyone is satisfied with the arrangement of properties； competing arguments arise over properties，and over proper arrangements of things； and the law of property evolves over the hundreds of years regulating different interests among individuals and between different individuals and governments.

If we say，“This is mine”，we are claiming an ownership over “this” thing； and if we say，“Don’t touch it”，we are enforcing our claim of the property right.You can claim a lot of things，or the World，or the Universe，but you have to be able to enforce your claim before it becomes an actual property right.

The “property” and the “things” are different ideas，and are often misconceived as to what property really is.A lot of things existing in nature are unowned，owned，or disowned，but a property is always owned by someone.You may have something in your hand (in your possession，to be exact），but you don’t necessarily have full ownership，or only have possessory right inferior to other people’s superior rights.In other words，the physical things are arranged in objective orders of nature (even though through the hand of human interference），but the property is entirely a legal arrangement of human interests in things，which we will try to find some natural elements justifying such arrangements.

Some people divide properties into “tangible” and “intangible” types，such as ownership in a house，or over a book，and proprietorship in a patent or a trademark.This is mistreatment of the property concept：all property rights are intangible； the subject matters under the right may be tangible (as in a house），or intangible (as in intellectual properties）.In a sense，the Law of Property is not about things； it is about a “bundle of rights” over the things.

The property law is about how resources are distributed among individuals.Natural things exist with，or without，human interference； but properties are the creatures of human invention or intervention.A property may be created，transferred or conveyed，inherited，passed over as gifts，or abandoned or even destroyed by means of legal steps without destroying the actual thing.We all have the experience of buying something.The actual buying moment–handing over the money and receiving the purchase–may be governed by Contract Law，but the aftermath is governed by Property Law.Your buying not only creates a transfer of property，but also establishes entitlement to the purchase in your favor as a property right.

The property law is about how resources are regulated among individuals by the government.When a transfer takes place between private individuals–as，e.g.，when you buy a book–you might think it’s purely private action，an action entirely based on private consents：you ask for the price，agree to the price，and hand over the money to receive the book.But you may not be aware that this “private” action is always somehow regulated by a governmental force.For example，the money you pay is called the “legal tender”–an instrument for the exchange value of something.This instrument is issued by the government for a predetermined market value and none other.You cannot say，“My $10 bill is worth 20”，even if the other person agrees to it.And there is more.You are not entirely free to buy and sell whatever you want to.The government has a heavy hand in regulating all private transactions.Sometimes，you’ve made a purchase over something，but you may not establish property right at all (e.g.，a gun，or illegal substances）.In a simple word，you can own property，simply because the government says so.This we will see in our case studies.