Quote Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh
That's "eminent" domain -- though after Kelo, those of us in the USA might have to worry about your version as well.

Eminent domain is an old doctrine in English property law allowing the government to acquire/take back land needed for a recognized public purpose. This concept has become a part of most of the legal codes in all of the former British colonies (regardless of the means by which they acquired the "former" status).

I am not aware of how the concept plays out in other legal cultures/systems, but suspect most have an analogous concept. Comments from those of you in Code Napoleon or Sharia countries?
I don't do spell checks for forums, not worth the time. And I figured it was from English law. Ours is 100% base on the English system. Like common law marriages and such, you have a version of that?