Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Texas A&M Journal of Property Law
Publication Date
Spring 2023
ISSN
2572-7044
Page Number
545
Keywords
private property, natural law, eminent domain, regulation, police power
Disciplines
Law | Natural Law | Property Law and Real Estate
Abstract
This Article first explores the ambiguous relationship between natural law and the rights of property owners in American history. It points out that invocation of natural law principles was frequently conflated with English common law guarantees of property rights in the Revolutionary Era. Reliance on natural law as a source of protection for private property faded during the nineteenth century and was largely rejected in the early twentieth century. The Article then considers the extent to which natural law principles are useful in addressing contemporary issues relating to eminent domain and police power regulation of private property. Taking a skeptical review, it concludes that natural law, standing alone, is largely theoretical and does not appear to offer meaningful guidance to current problems.
Recommended Citation
James W. Ely Jr.,
How Far Does Natural Law Protect Private Property, 9 Texas A&M Journal of Property Law. 545
(2023)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty-publications/1372