美国财产法(2)

2.1 What is Property

Property一般译为"财产",通常的理解是指某一具体的物,又可以分为不动产（Real property）和动产（Personal

property）,这种划分来源于普通法早期的诉讼程序, 在此诉讼程序中,有两种诉讼,一为"真实的诉讼"（Real

action）,处理土地为他人不当占有的案子,这时土地可以返回给合法的所有人,另一种为"个人的诉讼"（Personal

action）,处理土地以外的的财产纠纷,这时所有人只能获得金钱赔偿,不得要求返还原物。

关于动产,英文有"Chattels"和"Personal property"两种不同的表述,现在,人们一改早期普遍使用的"Chattels",而广泛地采用"Personal

property".动产又可以分为两类:有形动产（Tangible personal property）和无形动产（

Intangible personal property

Types of property）,前者指能够看到、摸得到的有体财产,而后者则指看不到、摸不到的无体财产,如股份,银行账号,人寿保险等。

Note:According to Black's

Law Dictionary, property is defined as:

"That which is peculiar or proper to any person； that which

belongs exclusively to one. An aggregate of rights which are

guaranteed and protected by the government. Property extends

to every species of valuable right and interest……the right

to

posses it, use it, and to exclude every one else from interfering

with it."

问题:下面哪些不是财产？

a） Military Retirement

b） Earning Capacity

c） Accrued Goodwill of Medical Practice

d） Law Degree

答案:都不是

2.2 Philosophies

财产和财产权是什么？不同的法学家和法学派（Philosophies）有不同的观点,以下就是几个有代表性的观点:

Posner（波斯纳）:（1）财产权是天赋的（Property

rights are "natural"）；（2）没有财产权,财产就不能被有效地利用（Without

property rights, there is no incentive to use property efficiently.）；（3）普遍性（Universality）、排他性（Exclusivity）和可转让性（Transferability）是财产权的三大要素（Three

Elements）。

Bentham （边沁）:Property是一种"能够从物当中获得一种利益的期待"（basis

for expectation）。

Cohen（科恩）:财产权必须要考虑到下列因素:政府、契约、管制、价值（Property

merges by imperceptible degrees into government, contract, force

& value）。

Locke（洛克）:劳动创造财产（Labor creates

property）。

Note:

关于边沁和波斯纳之观点比较,请参见下列注释:

Comparing Bentham to Posner

（1） Anomalies under Bentham: Under the Posner theory, property

is something that has value, not just what is legally defined

as property as under Bentham, but from what people hold as having

value. There are several cases of items treated as property

without law, such as illegal drugs, territories for marketing

such, boyfriends and girlfriends. Here no property right exists

but people treat it as such either by enforcement of societal

values or by fear of retaliation.

（2） Anomalies under Posner: Transferability frequently measures

more how much a person wants something, we being non-rational

operators, than how efficiently we will do so. Transferability

of some items actually induces inefficiencies, such as those

which are merit based. If you could transfer law school admissions,

you would be measuring who wanted it the most, or who could

pay the most for it, and not who could best utilize it.

2.3 Attributes of Ownership

大陆法系的法律以所有权（Ownership）为基础来分析财产和财产权,宣称"一物一权",美国财产法不像大陆法系那样强调财产的所有权,它重视的是财产权中各种不同的利益和所有权的分割情况（Attributes

of Ownership）,这些利益常常是指:

e） 占有权——Possession （right to have, hold, & keep）

f） 排他权——Exclusion （right to exclude others）

g） 处置权——Disposition （right to alienate）

h） 使用权——Use （right to employ the property as desired）

i） 受益权——Benefit （right to profits realized through property's

use）

j） 破坏权——Destruction （right to destroy property）

2.4 Origins of Property

一个人如何获得一件物品的财产权呢？财产权的最原始取得（Origins of Property）是如何实现的呢？按照洛克的观点（Lockean

view）:财产是通过劳动和努力来取得的（Property is acquired through investment

of labor and effort）,关于财产的取得（Acquisition）,这里还有一条重要的原则: First

in time, first in right（时间在先,则权利在先）。例如在美国:Indians have right

to land, they were here first

Note:如果想在美国买房子或土地,就要查询其所有权的链锁（Chain of title）,这个链锁可以追溯到该财产的原始取得之时,如果这个链锁的记录有问题,那你购买该财产就不安全,别的人可能对所有权提出争议,这个情况我们以后会详细讨论。

2.5 经典案例（中英文对照）

Case:Armory v. Delamirie

The plaintiff being a chimney sweeper's boy found a jewel and

carried it to the defendant's shop （who was a goldsmith） to

know what it was, and delivered it into the hands of the apprentice,

who under pretence of weighing it, took out the stones, and

calling to the master to let him know it came to three halfpence,

the master offered the boy the money, who refused to take it,

and insisted to have the thing again； whereupon the apprentice

delivered him back the socket without the stones. And now in

trover against the master these points were ruled:

1. That the finder of a jewel, though he does not by such finding

acquire an absolute property or ownership, yet he has such a

property as will enable him to keep it against all but the rightful

owner, and subsequently may maintain trover.

2. That the action well lay against the master, who gives a

credit to his apprentice, add is answerable for his neglect

3. As to the value of the jewel several of the trade were examined

to prove what a jewel of the finest water that would fit the

socket would be worth； and the Chief Justice directed the jury,

that unless the defendant did produce the jewel, and shew it

not to be of the finest water, they should presume the strongest

case against him, and make the value of the best jewels the

measure of their damages: which they accordingly did.

案例来源:（1722） 1 Strange 5O5； 93 E.R.

664 （Court of King's Bench）

案例:阿莫里捡宝石案

该案发生在1722年的英国。原告是一个烟筒清洁工。一天,原告捡到一枚宝石,然后交给被告金行鉴定。原告将宝石交给金行的徒弟手里。该徒弟在假装称重时将宝石取下,然后告诉师傅,原告捡到的东西价值3个半便士。师傅就付钱给原告。原告不接受钱,坚持要求被告返还原物。徒弟在要求之下只将嵌宝石的托子还给原告,没有将宝石还给原告。现在原告以失主的身份起诉,要求被告赔偿。法院的判决如下:

（1）尽管失物的发现者不因拾到宝石而获得一种绝对的所有权（ownership）,但是他有这样一种财产权,即可以保留失物,除了原失主以外任何人都不得妨碍。因此,原告可以具有失主的身份。

（2）这个诉讼的被告是金行的师傅是正确的。金行的师傅信任他的徒弟,因而对自己的疏忽大意负有责任。

（3）至于宝石的价值,根据考查交易行情,只有最好水准的宝石才配有该托子。法官指示陪审团,除非被告拿出原宝石并证明它不是最好水准的,陪审团就应当要求被告按照最好水准的宝石来计算宝石赔偿价值。

Note: 这个案子已经有270多年的历史了,但是至今美国法院仍视其为美国普通法的原则之一。法学院的教科书中仍可以读到这个案子。

这个案子的关键部分是判决的第一部分,即失物的发现者可以享有占有该失物的财产权。这个财产权属于一种先占（prior possession）。先占只要不是非法的,就可以导致所有权。在这个案子里,如果原告一直没有出现并诉求归还宝石,那么阿莫里就有可能获得一种完全的所有权。

2.6 本章节英文读物:

"First-in-time" rule

1. The general rule of possession is that the

first person to take a

possession of a thing owns it. A corollary to this rule is that

a prior possessor prevails over a subsequent possessor. Thus,

a finder has rights superior to everyone but the true owner.

Armory v. Delamarie. However, there are important exceptions

to this rule.

EX: In Armory, A finds a jewel and takes it to

a jeweler to have

it appraised. The jeweler refuses to give the jewel back to

A,

saying that A does not own it. A is entitled to recover from

the jeweler either the jewel or the full money value of the

jewel.

As between A and the jeweler, the prior possessor has superior

right.

2. The "prior possessor wins" rule also applies to

objects acquired

through theft or trespass.

EX: If A steals a jewel and hands it to B, who

refuses to return it, B is liable to A. B cannot question A's

title or rightful prior possession if B is merely the subsequent

possessor.

The rationale for this is that to rule in favor of B would most

likely not deter crime, but it would likely immerse owners and

prior possessors in costly litigation with subsequent possessors

to prove they are not thieves.

3. For the finder to become a prior possessor,

the finder must:

a. Intend to possess object； AND

b. Take steps toward possessing object

Thus, mere discovery is not enough for possession