
PART ONE
 INTERESTS IN LAND
 CHAPTER ONE
 POSSESSION AND OWNERSHIP
 Real property (realty) consists of land and
objects that are permanently affixed to land, such
as trees and buildings. Real property generally is
immovable. Personal property (personalty)
consists of movable objects. Personal property can
be tangible, such as a book or car, or intangible,
such as an idea or the good will of a business.

Most of the law of property consists of
issues relating to real property, rather than
to personal property. By and large, however,
the rules are the same for both. In this
Chapter, we will examine three of the most
commonly studied topics concerning the
importance of possession: (1) possession of
owned and unowned personal property, (2)
gifts, and (3) adverse possession.
第一篇 不动产权益
 第一章 占有权和所有权

不动产由土地和诸如林木、建筑物等永久附
着于土地上的物所组成。不动产一般是固定不
动的，动产则由可移动的物所组成。动产可以
是有形的，如书或汽车；也可以是无形的，如
思想或商誉。财产法所规定的大多数是不动产
而不是动产方面的事项。然而，两者的规则大
致相同。本章将探讨关于占有权最常见的三个
重要问题：1．有主和无主动产的占有；2．赠
与物；3．无权占有(adverse possession)。


I. POSSESSION OF UNOWNED AND
OWNED PERSONAL PROPERTY
 A. UNOWNED PERSONAL
PROPERTY
 Possessors' claims depend on whether the
property has a legal owner. If the property is
unowned (e.g. wild animals, undiscovered
minerals, and abandoned goods), the taking
of possession may enable the possessor to
claim ownership of the asset. At the very
least, no other owner can assert rights
against the possessor.

I．无主和有主动产的占有
 A．无主物
 占有人的权利主张，取决于财产是否存
在合法的所有人。如果是无主物(如野生
动物、未被他人发现的矿藏、遗弃物)，
通过占有，占有人就可能成为该财产的
所有人。至少，没有人可以向占有人主
张权利。


Illustration: Paul captures a whale on the
high seas. While governments or
conservation groups may challenge Paul' s
right to capture the whale, no person can
say "That whale is mine."
例：保罗在公海捕获了一只鲸鱼。除政府
或者环保组织可以质疑其捕鲸的权利外，
没有人可以主张“那鲸鱼是我的”。

1. Rights of Possessors
 Unless a person is legally prohibited from
taking unowned assets (e.g. no killing of
endangered species or taking rocks from a
national preserve), the possessor of an
unowned asset is its "owner" and is entitled
to all the rights owners have over goods
they have purchased or inherited.

1．占有人的权利

除法律禁止取得无主财产的情形(如禁
止猎杀濒危物种，或者禁止在国家自然
保护区采矿)外，谁占有了无主物，谁就
是它的“所有人”，谁就被赋予如购买
或继承该财物的所有人一样完整的所有
权。

Illustration: Paul catches a fish in the ocean,
and Sue purchases a fish in the grocery
store. Paul's and Sue's rights with regard to
their fish are the same.

例：保罗从大海里抓了一条鱼，而苏伊
从杂货店买了一条鱼。保罗和苏伊对各
自的鱼享有同样的权利。

2. Rival Possessors
 The law gives priority to the person who
first takes possession of an object. "First in
time is first in right. " However, this rule
will not apply if the circumstances make it
unfair.

2．竞争占有人
 谁先取得物的占有，法律就将先占权赋
予谁，这就是所谓的“先占先得”(First
in time is first in fight．)规则。但是，若
通过不正当的手段取得先占，则不适用
此规则。

Illustration: Paul spots a diamond lying on
the ground. As he is about to pick it up, Sue
hits him from behind and takes it for herself.
A court may not award the diamond to Sue
as the first possessor.

例：保罗见地上有颗钻石，正要拾起来
时，苏伊从后面将他击倒从而将该物据
为已有。法院不会认为苏伊是第一占有
入而把钻石判给她。

3. What Constitutes Possession
 Possession requires both physical control
over the item and an intent to control it or to
exclude others from it. But these
generalizations function more as guidelines
than as direct determinants of possession
issues. Possession is a blurred question of
law and fact. The following Illustrations
show some of the more common and
troublesome situations.

3．构成占有的行为
 构成占有，必须具有对物的实际控制行
为以及控制或者排他控制的意图。这一
概括，对认定是否构成占有具有指导意
义，但不能直接据此认定是否构成占有，
而应具体情况具体分析。无论在事实上
还是在法律上，占有均是个模糊的概念。
下列例子可以说明较常见的占有情形及
其困惑之处。

Illustration — Killing: Paul war pursuing a
fox on horseback when Sue took her gun
and shot it. Pursuit of a wild animal alone
does not constitute taking it into possession.
However, if Paul had shot and killed the fox
before Sue got to it, Paul would have been
the prior possessor. If Sue's shot merely had
wounded the fox, rather than killed it: Paul
might have prevailed if he got to it first.

The result is the same whether the quarry
being pursued is a wild animal (i.e. in ferae
nuturar) or previously had been captured by
another and then escaped hack into the wild
(demonstrated an animus revertendi) and
thereby had become unowned again. State
hunting statutes could alter these outcomes.

例1 —— 猎杀：保罗正策马追赶一只狐
狸，这时，苏伊举枪将它击中。仅仅追
赶野生动物的行为本身并不构成取得占
有。但是，如果在苏伊之前，保罗已经
开枪并杀死了狐狸．那么他就应该是第
一占有人。如果苏伊只是打伤但不是打
死了狐狸，而保罗先抓住了它的话，那
保罗就取得先占。无论被追的猎物是野
生动物，还是先被人抓获接着又逃回野
外而又成为无主物的动物，结果都相同。
但各州关于狩猎的立法规定可以改变上
述结果。

Illustration--Trapping: Paul had thrown a
net around a school of fish, but then Sue
caught some of them. If the net was closed
so that the fish could not escape, Paul had
possession, but he did not have possession
if the fish had a means of escape,
Conservationists often attack outcomes such
as this as leading to the premature depletion
of scarce resources.

例2——捕捞：保罗撒网圈住一群鱼，但
接着苏伊抓住了这群鱼中的一些鱼。如
果保罗的网密到那群鱼根本不可能逃走，
保罗就占有了那群鱼。如果鱼有处可逃，
保罗就没有占有那群鱼。环保主义者常
常抨击这种结果，因为这种结果导致稀
有鱼类在幼小时就被捕尽杀绝。

Illustratlon--Spotting: Paul finds an ancient
Greek treasure ship at the bottom of the
ocean and leaves a marker on the ship.
However, before he can return with the
necessary equipment to raiSe it, Sue finds
the ship and brings it to the surface. The
outcome depends on whether leaving a
marker on a sunken ship is a sufficient act
of possession to qualify Paul us the first
possessor.

例3一发现：保罗在海底发现了一艘装满
珠宝的古希腊沉船，并在该船上标注了
记号。但在他携带必备的打捞工具返回
前，苏伊发现了该船并已经将其打捞出
了水面。结果如何，应视在沉船上做记
号，是否足以证明保罗是该沉船的第一
占有人而定。

Illustration--Unconscious Possession: Paul is
standing on a $100 bill without realizing it. Sue
asks him to lift his foot, picks up the money, and
pockets it. Or Paul finds and removes a box lying
in a trash can, but Sue opens it first and discovers
a $100 bill in it. It can be argued on one hand that
Paul lacked possession in these cases because he
had no intent to appropriate or to exclude since he
was unaware of the asset. On the other hand, Paul
had possession of the money, albeit unconscious,
in light of his undisputed physical control over it.

例4——无意识占有：保罗踩在一张百元
美钞上却未觉察。苏伊请他提脚后，捡
起了那张美钞并放进她自己的口袋。或
者，保罗在垃圾堆中发现一只箱子并搬
移，但苏伊先打开它并发现里面有张百
元美钞。上述情形，保罗是否占有该美
钞存在争议：一方面，可以认为，他没
有占有该美钞，因为他没有意识到该物，
也就无意占有或排他占有；另一方面，
也可以认为，尽管他没有意识到，但据
其无可争议地实际控制了该美钞，他就
已经占有7该物。

Illustration--Landowner's Possession: Paul
finds money in Olga's house. Courts often
say that a landowner has "constructive
possession" of whatever is on her property,
whether she knows it is there. Therefore,
Olga is the prior possessor. When this issue
comes up in the case of previously owned
goods, additional considerations apply. See
p. 9-11.

例5——不动产所有人之占有：保罗在奥
尔嘉的房子里发现了钱币。法院通常认
为，无论不动产所有入是否知道该财物
在其不动产上，他都已“推定占有”其
不动产上的任何财物。因此，奥尔嘉取
得先占的地位。若是曾经为有主之物，
则还要考虑其他囡素。参见本章第1节
B．6部分。

B. OWNED GOODS
 When someone takes possession of
property that is owned by another, he has an
obligation to return it to the owner. A
borrower, renter, finder, and thief all are
obligated to return the property to its owner
on demand or according to the terms of
their agreement. Each also has some duty of
care in handling the property.

B．有主物

占有他人所有物的占有人，负有将该
物返还物之所有人的义务。借物人、租
物人、拾物人和盗物人，都负有按照所
有人的要求或者根据协议条件，将其占
有的财物返还物之所有人的义务。每一
个人在处置该物时，都负有一定的注意
义务。

Illustration: Olga loses a camera, and Ann
finds it. Ann loans it to Bob, and Cathy
steals it from him. Cathy has a duty to
return it to Bob, who has a duty to return it
to Ann, who has a duty to return it to Olga.
Any person's failure to do so creates
liability for recovery of the camera or for
damages. Additionally, each may be liable
to the one with the prior claim for negligent
handling of the camera.

例：奥尔嘉丢失的一部相机被安拾得。
安将它借给鲍勃，卡西从鲍勃处将它偷
走。卡西有义务将它还给鲍勃，鲍勃有
义务将它还给安，安有义务将它还给奥
尔嘉。任何未能履行该义务的人，均负
有返还该相机或者赔偿损失的责任。此
外，每个疏于处置该相机的人，都可能
面临前一权利人提出的赔偿请求。

1. Types of Possessors
 A possessor's duties to an owner frequently
depend on the nature of the possession. (1)
Persons who take possession of goods with
the owner's consent, such as borrowers, coat
checkers, and auto mechanics, usually are
referred to as bailees under a bailment
transaction. (2) Persons who take
possession of goods without the owner's
consent, such as finders and thieves,
sometimes are referred to as involuntary or
constructive bailees.

(3) Persons who do not take possession of
goods that are stored in a space that they
control, such as unattended parking lots and
wet umbrella stands in store entrances, are
not bailees. The space owner's duties are
determined by rules other than those for
bailments, such as by landlord-tenant law.

(4) Courts sometimes distinguish between
possessors and custodians who hold goods subject
to the owner's direction and control, such as a
friend or customer examining a book shown to
him by the owner. The old criminal law
distinctions between larceny and embezzlement
depended on this characterization. (5) A person
asked to take possession of a container does not
necessarily possess its contents if they are
unknown to him. For example, a person holding
another's purse, briefcase, coat, or car may not
have possession of its contents.

1．占有人的分类
 占有人对所有人负有的义务，一般视占
有的性质而定：
 (1)诸如借物人、衣物寄存人、汽车修理
工等取得财物所有人同意的占有人，通
常被称为寄(委)托行为中的受托人。
 (2)诸如拾物人和盗物人等未取得财物所
有人同意的占有人，有时被称为非自愿
的或者推定的受托人。

(3)仅仅因为财物存放于其控制的场所，诸如无
人看管的停车场、商场人口的雨伞存放处等，
而未实施占有行为的人，不属于受托人。这些
场所所有人的义务，不是由委托规则而是由房
屋租赁等规则决定。
 (4)法院有时把根据所有人的指令而持有财物的
保管人，如翻阅所有人所提供的书的朋友或者
顾客，与占有人相区分。从前的刑法据此区分
偷盗罪和盗用罪。
 (5)应他人请求持有容器之类物品的人，若不知
道容器内有何物，并不一定占有容器内的物品。
如持有他人钱包、公文包、外套或者汽车的人，
并不一定占有这些物品里面的东西。

2. Duty to Return
 A true bailee has an absolute duty to return goods
to their owner. He is liable if he falls to do so,
even if the goods were stolen from him or were
destroyed without his fault. An involuntary bailee
may be liable for nonreturn only if it results from
his negligence. A space owner has no duty to
return goods that were never in his possession
unless he agreed to do so or in special cases, such
as when a parking lot ticket states that no bailment
exists, but car owners believe that their cars are
being watched by guards and by attend ants who
are visibly present.

2．返还义务
 真正的受托人负有将财物返还所有人的
绝对义务。如果没有返还财物，他就必
须承担责任；即使财物被盗或被毁，而
且他不存在过错，仍须承担责任。非自
愿的受托人不负返还财物的义务，除非
他有过失。场所所有人没有义务返还他
从未占有的财物，除非他愿意返还，或
者在某些特殊情形下，如虽然停车卡明
示不托管，但车辆所有人因见现场有保
安和管理人员而确信自己的车被其看管
的情形下，才负有返还财物的义务。

3. Duty of Care
 A possessor has some duty of care toward the
item during his possession. Traditionally, the
duty's extent depended on the nature of the
possession. (1) When the bailment is for the
bailor's benefit, such as when the bailee is doing a
favor for the owner by holding her goods, the
bailee's duty of care is only slight. He is liable
only for gross negligence. Finders generally have
no duty of care for goods they see but do not pick
up. But if a finder takes possession, he may come
under the slight care standard.

(2) When the bailment is for the bailee's benefit,
such as when the owner is doing the bailee a favor
by loaning him the item, the bailee's duty of care
is extreme. However, he does not have an absolute
duty of protection. For example, he is not liable
for damage from an earthquake. (3) When the
bailment is for the bailor and bailee's mutual
benefit, the bailee is liable for ordinary negligence.
This standard applies when both parties benefit
from the transaction, such as when an owner pays
a shipper to transport goods. (4) If no bailment is
created, the owner of the space may have no duty
of care for the goods placed there by the owner.
For example, a parking lot owner sometimes has
no duty of care for cars parked in the lot.

3．注意义务
 在占有期间，占有人对占有之物负有一
定的注意义务。在通常情况下，注意义
务的程度取决于占有的性质：
 (1)若为委托人的利益而接受委托，如受
托人占有所有人的财物是为了帮助所有
人，则受托人仅负有轻微的注意义务。
只有在存在重大过失的情况下，他才负
有责任。看见但没有捡起他人财物的人，
一般不负注意义务。但占有了该财物的
拾物人，就负有轻度注意义务。

(2)若为受托人的利益而接受委托，如委托人为
帮助受托人而借与财物给受托人，则受托人负
有最高度注意义务。然而，他并非负有绝对的
保护义务，如因地震而导致的损失，他无须负
责。
 (3)若为委托人和受托人的共同利益而接受委托，
则受托人应为一般过失负责。当双方皆受益于
该行为时，如货物所有人租船委托船舶所有人
运输货物，就属于这种情形。
 (4)若不存在委托关系，则场所所有人对财物所
有人存放于其场所的财物，不负注意义务，如
有时，停车场的所有人对停放于其停车场的车
辆，不负注意义务。

4. Exculpatory（辩解的，免罪的，雪冤
的） and Limitation of Liability Clauses
 Many courts limit a possessor's ability to
disclaim liability for nonreturn of goods.
Such issues are not unique to property law.
They apply in contract and tort law as well.

4．免责和限责条款
 许多法院限制占有人不负返还财物义务
的主张，不仅在财产法领域如此，在合
同法与侵权法领域也一样。


5. Possessors' Rights Against Others
 A possessor's obligation to return goods to
their owner is not a duty owed to anyone
else, because the possessor has a better
claim to the goods than they do. Therefore,
the possessor does not have to give the
goods to any third person (a "stranger to the
title") who demands them from her, and the
possessor may demand that any such third
person who takes the goods from her return
them to her.

5．占有人对抗他人的权利
 占有人负有向财物所有人返还财物的义
务，并不意味着对其他人负有义务。相
对于其他人而言，占有人对该财物享有
更全面的权利。因此，任何第三人(权利
的陌生人)要求占有人交付财物，占有人
都没有该义务。相反，占有人有权要求，
任何从其处取走该物的第三人，必须把
该物返还给他。

Illustration — Borrowing and Renting: Ann
borrowed or rented a car for a week and
then loaned or rented it to Bob for the day.
At the end of the day, Bob must return the
car to Ann, and Ann is entitled to demand
the car from Bob.

例1——借物与租物：安借或租了一部车，
租(借)期一周。而后她将该车借或租给鲍
勃使用一天。当天期满，鲍勃必须将车
还给安，安也有权要求鲍勃还车。

Illustration--Finding and Stealing: Ann
picked up a camera she found lying on the
ground, but Bob stole it from her. Ann may
recover the camera from Bob, even though
she does not own it and will have to give it
to the owner if he is ever identified. Just as
the owner did not lose his rights to the
camera when he lost it, Ann does not lose
the rights she acquired on finding the
camera just because Bob steals it. However,
finding situations may be subject to
statutory modifications.

例2——拾物与盗物：安见地上有部相机，
遂拾起来，后鲍勃从她那里偷走了该相
机。尽管相机不属于她所有，而且她还
得将相机返还被证明是相机所有人的人，
但是，安可以要求鲍勃返还相机。正如
相机所有人丢失了相机，并没有丢失相
机的所有权一样，鲍勃偷走相机，并没
有偷走安对自己拾得的相机享有的权利。
然而，拾物的情形随立法的修改而变化。

A hierarchy （层系，分类）of claims exists by
virtue of the possessor's ability to demand that a
third person return the goods on one hand, but the
possessor's duty to return them to the owner on the
other hand. In the last Illustration, the finder's
rights are below the owner's but above the thief's.
The common saying that possession is nine points
of the law expresses this notion, since there is
usually only one owner above the possessor and
many other persons who neither own nor have the
right to possess the item.

When more than one person claims the right to
possess the same asset, the conflict is resolved by
determining who has the better claim to it as
between the two claimants. This standard may
require a court to determine whether the first
claimant's acts constituted possession, such as
whether seeing or picking up a lost wallet
constitutes possession. Considerations other than
time of possession are irrelevant. Success does not
depend on which claimant is needier, will make
better use of the asset, or has a morally superior
claim.

一方面，占有人有权要求第三人返还其占有之物；另
一方面，占有人又有义务将占有之物返还所有人，所
以存在各个人的权利有大小高低之分的请求权等级体
系。在第2例中，拾物人的权利低于所有人而高于盗物
人。俗语云“现实占有之物主在法律上占有九分道
理”，表达的就是这个道理，因为只有所有人的权利，
高于占有人和对该物既不享有所有权也不享有占有权
的其他人。当不止一人主张有权占有某物时，解决争
议之道，是看提出权利主张的人中，谁的理由更充分。
这一标准要求法院必须确定，首先提出权利主张的人
的行为是否构成占有，如看见或者捡起他人丢失的钱
包的行为是否构成占有。占有时间以外的因素均与此
无关，如请求人是否更需要该物、是否能更有效地利
用该物、是否在道义上有更充足的理由，均无助于其
主张获得确认。

One party need not have a perfect claim (i.e.
be the owner), so long as her claim is better
than the rival claimant's. Therefore, a
person cannot take or withhold goods from
another merely because they are owned by a
third person. The person from whom they
were taken still may have a better claim
than the person who took them. In the
previous Illustration, the thief cannot defend
his wrongful retention by arguing that the
finder does not own the goods.

只要当事人的权利优于异议人的权利即
可，不要求其享有完整无缺的权利(即属
于所有人)。因此，不能仅仅因为第三人
对某物享有所有权，其他人就可以取走
或扣留另一个人手中占有的该物。被取
走之人的权利，仍然优于取走该物之人
的权利。在前例中，盗物人不能以拾物
人对该物没有所有权为由，主张自己违
法持有该物有理。

Illustration--Finder v. Finder: Ann finds a
camera but loses it. Bob then finds it. As
between Ann and Bob, Ann has the better
claim because she possessed it first. Except
as against Olga, the owner, she has the same
right to recover what she loses as does an
owner. She can recover "her" lost camera
from the finder, Bob.

例3——拾物人v．拾物人：安拾得一部
相机却又遗失，后被鲍勃拾得。在他们
之间，安的权利较优，因为她首先占有
该物。除不能对抗所有人奥尔嘉之外，
她可以像所有人一样，要求他人归还其
丢失之物。她有权要求拾物人鲍勃归还
“她的”丢失之物。

Illustration--Thief v. Thief.“ Ann steals a
camera, and Bob steals it from her. Ann has
a better claim to the camera than Bob, even
though she acquired possession by theft.
She is a wrongful possessor as far as Olga
and the penal system are concerned, but she
is the prior possessor against Bob and is
higher in the hierarchy. Although Ann
possibly should be sent to jail, strangers are
not entitled to confiscate（充公，没收）
her goods.

例4——盗物人v．盗物人：安偷了一部
相机，鲍勃又从她那里把相机偷走。尽
管安是以盗窃的手段占有相机，但她对
相机的权利优于鲍勃。就相对于奥尔嘉
和在刑法方面而言，安系非法占有人；
但相对于鲍勃而言，她是先占人，她的
权利高于鲍勃。尽管安应被判入狱，但
第三人无权侵夺其财物。

Illustration--Thief v. Finder: Ann steals a camera
but loses it, and Bob finds it. The outcome is the
same as in the previous Illustration. The guilty
possessor prevails over the innocent possessor
because she possessed first. Commentators often
attack this outcome, but property rules sometimes
lack the reasonableness or fairness involved in a
torts analysis. For instance, Ann need not share
possession of her property with Bob even though
she has more than enough of everything and Bob
has nothing. “Property rights” is not necessarily a
“reasonable” concept, and the rules protecting
possessors do not purport（声称，旨在） to
eradicate many of the world's ills.

例5——盗物人V．拾物人：安偷了一相
机却丢失了，被鲍勃拾得。处理结果如
前例。因占有在先，有罪占有人的权利
优于无罪占有人的权利。反对的人常常
抨击这样的处理结果，但是，财产法的
规则，有时确实缺乏侵权行为规则中所
述的公道或公平。比如，尽管鲍勃一无
所有，安的财产多得用不完，但安无须
让鲍勃分享她的财产。“财产权利”并
非一定是个“公道合理”的概念，保护
占有人的规则并非是为了清除这个世界
的众多弊病。
6. Landowner‘s （地主，拥有土地者）
Claims
 Since goods often are found on property
that belongs to or is possessed by someone
else, conflicts often arise between the finder
and the person on whose land it was found.
This straightforward issue has not led to
straightforward outcomes. Instead, courts
employ a number of somewhat conflicting
distinctions.


6．房产所有人的权利

因为拾物地一般为他人所有或占有的
不动产，所以，拾物人与拾物地所有人
之间的纠纷不断。简单明了的问题并没
有简单明了的答案。法院采用一套有点
相互矛盾的区分规则。

a. Status of the Finder
 The finder‘s claim to the found goods is
weaker if he (1) is a trespasser （非法入侵
者） on the property, (2) is on the property
for a limited purpose, such as to repair the
sink or to deliver the mail, (3) is on the
property as an employee of the landowner,
or (4) agreed to give any found goods to the
landowner, as often occurs in agreements
between hotels and their housekeeping
crews.
a. 拾物人的状况
 若拾物人属于下列情形之一，其对所拾
之物的权利较小：
 (1)非法侵入他人不动产者；
 (2)如为修理下水道或者传递邮件等限定
目的进入他人不动产者；
 (3)作为不动产所有人的雇员而进入该不
动产者；
(4)同意将任何所拾之物交给不动产所有
人者，此常见于宾馆和其员工之间的协
议条款

b. Status of the Premises （房产）
 The finder's claim is weaker if the goods
were found in a private, rather than public,
place. For example, a person who finds a
lost item in another's private home is less
likely to prevail against the landowner than
one who finds the item in a supermarket.


b．房产的状况
 若财物系在私人之处而非公共场所被拾
得，则拾物人的权利较小。例如，在他
人家中拾得遗失物之人较之在超市拾得
遗失物之人，在对抗不动产所有人时，
更难以如愿胜诉。
c. Status of the Land Based Claim （请求
权）
 The strength of a land based claim may be
affected by whether the claimant is a
landowner who has not yet moved in, a
landlord who has never resided on the
premises, a long-term tenant, or a weekend
guest.


c.以不动产为基础的请求权的状况
 以不动产为基础的请求权的效力，受请
求人是否是尚未入住的不动产所有人、
是否是从未在该处居住的出租人、是否
是长期承租人或者是否是周末住客等因
素的影响。

d. Where the Goods are Found
 Goods found under the soil, rather than
lying on it, generally are awarded to the
landowner, rather than to the finder.
However, if the goods were buried
intentionally, they may be characterized as
treasure trove (被发现的东西，一批). In
that case, the outcome may change, or they
may belong to the state.
d. 拾物地
 若系地下而不是地上发现之物，则一般
属于不动产所有人而不是拾物人。然而，
若系他人有意埋藏之物，则可被视为珠
宝之类的财富。在这种情形里，结果可
能不同，或许该物应属于国家。



e. How the Goods Came to be There
When goods are found in a public place, the finder
is entitled to possession if the goods were lost or
abandoned. The landowner is entitled to
possession if they were mislaid(误放，误置；
将——放置某处而记不起来) (i.e. intentionally
set down by the owner who forgot to pick them up
later). The assumption is that the owner of mislaid
goods will return to retrieve them, which will be
facilitated （使容易，使便利，帮助他人）if the
landowner, rather than the finder, has the goods.
Statutes regarding findings sometimes abolish
these distinctions, but some courts have held that
statutes that refer only to "lost" goods do not apply
to mislaid goods.
e. 所拾之物何以至该处
 若系遗失或遗弃在公共场所之物，拾物
人有权占有。若系遗忘物(即所有人有意
放在该处后忘记带走之物)，则不动产所
有人有权占有。如此处理系基于这么一
个假定：遗忘物的所有人将会返回来取
回该物，由不动产所有人而不是拾物人
占有该物，将有助于遗忘物所有人返回
取得该物。有些关于拾得物的立法规定，
已经取消了这种区分，但是，有些法院
坚持认为，仅规范“遗失”物的立法不
能适用于遗忘物。


7. Modern Status
 Many issues in this area now are resolved by tort
or contract concepts or by statutory rules, rather
than by the more primitive distinctions of
possession and bailment. Many states have estray
（离开本来位置之人或者物，迷失物，迷失之
家畜） statutes that regulate how individuals
should deal with found goods. These statutes are
helpful but are not essential knowledge in this part
of the Property Law course, because finding is
studied as a method for acquiring possession.

7．现在的状况
 这方面的许多问题，现在均由侵权、合
同观念或者立法来解决，而不是由较为
古老的占有和委托的区分理论来解决。
许多州均制定了关于失主不明家畜的归
属法律(estray statutes)，规范个人应如何
处置拾得物。了解这些立法规定会有所
帮助，但这不属于本财产法课程的基础
知识，因为在这里，拾得是作为获得占
有的一种方式而加以研究的。


II. GIFTS
A gift is a voluntary transfer of property by the owner for no
consideration. The donor (the person making the gift) may
make an inter vivos[1] gift or a gift cause mortis[2] to a donee
(the gift recipient). A gift is inter vivos if it is between a living
donor and donee and if the donor intends the gift to take
effect immediately, irrevocably, and unconditionally. A gift is
causa mortis[3] if the donor makes it in anticipation of her
imminent death.

[1] adv., adj. [拉]当事人活着时有效(的) trust inter vivos
[inter-vivos trust] 生前信托.
 [2]【法】 考虑死因.
 [3]遗赠. And by him, that spoke only as a philosopher and
natural man, it was well said; pompa mortis magis terret,
quam mars ipsa.那位仅以人间哲学家及世人之一的资格说
话的古人说得很好:“与死亡俱来的一切，比死亡更骇人”

A third type of gift is a testamentary gift. A
testamentary gift becomes effective only at
the donor's death. It generally must be made
by will, which is subject to statutory
requirements. Because testamentary gifts
are the subject of an upper-class course on
Wills, we will not consider them further
here.
Ⅱ．赠与物
 赠与物，是财产所有人自愿无偿转让的财物。
赠与人(提供赠与物之人)可以生前赠与，也可
以死因赠与财物给受赠人(接受赠与物之人)。
若赠与发生于在世的赠与人与受赠人之间，且
赠与人希望该赠与不可撤销、无条件地立即生
效，则系生前赠与。若赠与人预料自己即将死
亡而做出赠与，则系死因赠与。第三种赠与是
遗嘱赠与。遗嘱赠与仅在赠与人死后生效，一
般要以符合法定要件的遗嘱方式做出。因为遗
嘱赠与系遗嘱法的高级课程内容，此处不做深
入探讨。


A. INTER VIVOS GIFTS
 The three necessary elements for an inter
vivos gift are (1) intent, (2) delivery, and (3)
acceptance.
 A．生前赠与

生前赠与必须具备三个要素：

(1)赠与的意图；

(2)赠与物的交付；

(3)赠与物的接受。

1. Intent
 The donor must intend to make a present,
irrevocable transfer of a property interest.
The gift can be of a presently possessory
（占有性） interest or of a future interest.
However, if the donor intends the transfer to
take effect only in the future, rather than
immediately, the transfer is a mere promise
to make a gift in the future, which is
unenforceable for lack of consideration.

1．赠与的意图
 赠与人必须具有做出不可撤销的即时转
让财产权益的目的。赠与物既可以是当
前占有性权益，也可以是未来权益。但
是，若赠与人的意思是，财产的转让行
为不立即生效而只在将来生效，则因其
欠缺赠与要素而无法执行，这只是将来
做出赠与的承诺。

a. Effect of Conditions on the Transfer
 When a gift is subject to a condition, you must
determine whether the condition is precedent or
subsequent. If it is precedent, the condition must
occur before the gift becomes effective. Therefore,
the attempted gift is invalid because it is not a
present transfer. If the condition is subsequent, a
present transfer of the property occurs, but the gift
will be revoked if the condition subsequently
occurs. Because a gift subject to a condition
subsequent is a present transfer, it is a valid gift.
Determining whether a particular condition is
precedent or subsequent requires an analysis of the
donor's verbal and written statements.

a．转让条件的效力

当赠与附有条件时，必须弄清是生效
条件还是解除条件。若是生效条件，则
条件成就，赠与才生效；因此，若不能
立即转让赠与物，则赠与行为无效。若
是解除条件，则财产的转让立即进行，
但是，如果解除条件随后成就，赠与就
被撤销；因为附解除条件的赠与系立即
转让财产，所以，它是有效的赠与。要
判断某一条件是生效条件还是解除条件，
必须考察分析赠与人的口头和书面语言。

Illustration: Daniel says to his friend: "If
you get an A in Property Law, I will give
you a new car." The language Daniel used
indicates that he was promising to make a
gift in the future if the condition of getting
an A occurred. He said, "I will give," rather
than "I give." Therefore, the gift was subject
to a condition precedent and is
unenforceable.

例1：丹尼尔对朋友说：“如果你在财产
法考试中取得A的成绩，我将给你一部新
车。”丹尼尔的话表明，他的承诺是：
将来出现取得成绩A的条件，他将赠与财
物。他讲的是“我将给”而不是“我
给”。因此，该赠与附有生效条件而无
法执行。

Illustration: Daniel says to a friend: "Here
are the keys to my car. It is yours. But, if
you don't get an A in Property, you must
return the car to me." Daniel's language and
actions reflect an intent to make a present
gift, even though the gift might be revoked
in the future. Therefore, the gift is subject to
a condition subsequent and is enforceable.

例2：丹尼尔对朋友说：“我的车钥匙
给你。这车是你的了。但是，如果你在
财产法考试中没有取得A的成绩，那你必
须将车还回给我。”丹尼尔的话与行为
表明，其意图是立即赠与财物，尽管该
赠与在将来也许会被撤销。因此，该赠
与所附条件。


Illustration: Dora owns a painting. She
writes a letter to her son that says: "In honor
of your birthday today, I give you my
painting. However, I am going to keep
possession of it until my death." Her use of
the present verb tense “ I give"-shows an
intent to make a present transfer. Because
her son is not entitled to immediate
possession of the painting, it is a present
transfer of a future interest in the painting.

例3：多拉拥有一幅画，她写信给儿子说：
“今天为庆祝你的生日，我把我的画送
给你。但在我离开人世之前，画还是由
我占有。”她使用的系动词一般现在时
“I give”(我给)——表明其意图系立即赠
与财物。因为她儿子未被授权立即占有
该画，该赠与系立即转让画的未来权益。

b. Circumstances Surrounding the Gift
 To determine the donor's intent, courts also
consider the surrounding circumstances, including
the parties' relationship, the gift's size in relation to
previous gifts from the donor to the donee, and the
donor's conduct after the transfer. For instance, in
the preceding Illustration, the intent to make a
present transfer is supported by the facts that the
transfer was made on the donee's birthday and that
the letter expressly referred to the birthday.


b赠与的具体情况
 为判断赠与人的意图，法院也会考虑包
括赠与双方的关系、与前次赠与物相比
较本次赠与物的价值大小、赠与人转让
赠与物后的行为表现等在内的具体情况。
如前例，之所以认为是生前赠与，是因
为赠与物的转让是在受赠人生日那天做
出的，且那封信明确表明是为了庆祝生
日而做出赠与。

c. Effect of Donor's Retention of Rights
 Although a gift need not be of all rights in
the property, the donor's retention of certain
rights may invalidate the gift. For example,
if the alleged donor retains control of the
property, reserves a right to revoke the gift,
or continues to treat the property as her own,
the transfer probably is not a gift.


c.保留权利的效力
 虽然赠与财物不必赠与财物的所有权利，
但是，赠与人保留某项权利，可能导致
赠与无效。例如，如果赠与人保留财产
的控制权，保留撤回赠与的权利，或者
继续把赠与物当作自己的财产，该转让
很可能就不属于赠与。

A special issue arises when one person deposits money
into a joint bank account and retains the right to make
withdrawals. The issue is whether the depositor intended to
make a gift to the other party named on the signature card
or merely created the joint account as a convenience for
himself. A majority of jurisdictions use gift theory in this
situation and apply the usual legal requirements of intent,
delivery, and acceptance. The creation of the account
provides prima facie[1] evidence of a gift. But the prima
facie evidence is rebutted 反驳，击退，拒绝if the alleged
donor maintained control over the account and did not
intend to give up control

[1] adj.[拉]初看时, 据初次印象自明的, 无争论余地的【律】足以构成案件
[事实等]的prima facie case 【律】表面上证据确凿的案件prima facie
evidence 【律】表面上确凿的证据, 初步证据a prima facie right 无争论余
地的权利
 当一个人在联合银行帐户存钱并保留取款的权利时，就会出现这么一个
特殊的问题：存款人意图将财物赠与其签名中指定的另一当事人，还是
仅仅为方便自己而开设联合银行帐户?对这种情况，多数法域[1][9]采纳
赠与理论解决问题，要求赠与必须具备赠与的意图、赠与物的交付和赠
与物的接受这一通说的法定要件。开设帐户是赠与财物的初步证据(prima
facie evidence)。若赠与人继续控制该帐户且无意放弃控制，则这一初步
证据就被推翻。

[1]原文“jurisdiction”系“管辖权”、“审判权”或者“管辖范围”之意，
有时也译为“法院”。美国系联邦制国家，存在联邦管辖权和各州管辖
权、联邦法院系统和各州法院系统之分，在各州内部又有各地方管辖权
及法院，即存在不同层次的不同法域。所以，一般采“法域”的译文，
间或采“法院”或者其他译文请读者明鉴。


——译者注


Illustration: Owen transfers the entire
balance （余额） of his bank account to an
account in the name of his two minor （未
成年） children. Owen retains possession
of the passbook （银行存折） and
makes withdrawals from the account to
purchase items for his personal needs.
Because Owen retained control over the
account and treated it as his own, he does
not have the necessary intent to make an
irrevocable gift to the children.

例：欧文将其银行帐户的全部存款转到
以其两个年幼儿的名义开设的帐户上。
欧文保留占有该存折，且为其个人需要
从该帐户支钱购买物品。因为欧文仍然
控制该帐户，把它作为自己的帐户看待，
故他并无意图将财物不可撤销地赠与儿
子。

A minority of courts apply contract theory
and hold that the contract with the bank
gives the donee a right to the money in the
account.

少数法院采纳合同法理论，认为与银行
签订的合同，赋予了受赠人享有该帐户
中的金钱的所有权。

2. Delivery
 To satisfy the delivery requirement, the donor generally
must give actual possession of the gift and must surrender
（交出，放弃） all dominion and control over it. The
delivery requirement serves three purposes. First, it
protects the donor by impressing upon her the significance
of the act done. Second, it makes the donor's act
unequivocal (不含糊的) to witnesses. Finally, it gives the
donee prima facie evidence that a gift was made.
 2．赠与物的交付
 为满足赠与物的交付要件，赠与人一般应转让赠与物
的实际占有权并让与该物的支配权、控制权。赠与物
的交付要件可以起到三个作用：首先，通过使赠与人
明白其所实施的交付行为的重要性来保护她。其次，
向目击者明白无误地表明赠与人的行为。最后，使受
赠人拥有已存在赠与行为的初步证据。

a. Types of Delivery

What constitutes a valid delivery depends on the
circumstances.
 (1) Actual Delivery
 Actual delivery consists of giving possession of the gift to
the donee or to the donee's agent. It is a formal, immediate
transfer of property, and it is always an accepted means of
effectuating （实行，完成）a gift.

a. 交付类型

有效交付的构成要件视不同情形而定。(有效交付的
构成要件)

(1)实际交付

实际交付指将赠与物的占有权让与受赠人及其代理
人的行为，系正式地立即转让财产的行为，是普遍认
可的赠与生效的方式。

Illustration: Father told Son he could have two of
Father‘s colts （马仔） and that Father would
advance money so that Son could buy hay for the
horses. Father retained possession of the colts until
his death one year later. The horses were not given
hay until three or four days before Father's death.
Because there was no actual delivery of the colts,
there was no gift.

例：父亲告诉儿子，他可以获得父亲的两匹
马仔，且父亲会预付金钱以便儿子可以为马仔
购买草料。一年后，父亲在去世前还在占有那
些马仔。直至死亡前三四天，父亲都没放弃对
马仔的占有。因为马仔并没有实际交付，所以，
没有实施赠与行为。


(2) Constructive and Symbolic Delivery
If actual delivery has not occurred, a court may uphold the
gift on the basis of constructive delivery. “Constructive”
delivery refers to those situations in which a court
determines that delivery has occurred even though it
literally (字面上，真正，完全) has not. Symbolic
delivery is one type of constructive delivery in which a
written instrument （正式的文件，文书） or some item
is delivered that generally is accepted as a symbol of the
gift or as providing access to it. Constructive and symbolic
delivery normally are sufficient only if the gift cannot
reasonably be delivered manually or if other circumstances
prevent actual delivery. Courts examine factors such as the
property‘s proximity (n.接近，附近) and size and the state
of the donor's health.

(2)推定交付与象征交付

没有实际交付行为，法院也可以根据推定交
付行为而认定存在赠与。“推定”交付，指尽
管确实没有交付，但法院认定已经实施交付行
为的情形。象征交付系推定交付的一种类型，
在种交付中，交付的通常是象征赠与物或可获
取赠与物的书面文件或者其他类似的东西。只
有在赠与物不能正常亲手（manually）交付或
者有其他情况导致不能实际交付的情况下，才
允许推定交付和象征交付。判断是推定交付还
是象征交付，法院会考虑诸如财产的远近、大
小和赠与人的身体状况等因素。

Illustration: Father wanted to make a gift of stock
and cash to Son and Daughter. The stock already
was in Son‘s possession in a vault （地窖, 地下
室） 3,000 miles from Father when he made the
gift. Father directed his bookkeeper （记账人）
to change his books to reflect the transfer of the
property to Son and Daughter. Because Son
already had possession of the stock, Father did not
have to manually deliver the stock again, and the
bookkeeper's change in the records was sufficient
to satisfy the delivery requirement. However,
because no entry was made on the books to
support the gift of cash, the attempted gift of cash
did not satisfy the delivery requirement.

例1：父亲打算向儿女赠送股票和现金。
做出赠与时，远离父亲3000公里的儿子
已占有该股票。父亲指示会计人员改变
帐本记载内容以反映财产已转让给儿女。
因为儿子已经占有了股票，父亲不必再
亲手交付股票，改变帐本记载内容足以
满足交付要件。但是，若无法在帐本上
做出记载以证明赠与了现金，则现金的
赠与就不符合交付要件。

Illustration: On Wife's birthday, Husband gave her
a written instrument that said he was giving her
stock for her birthday. At the time, the stock was
in a safe deposit box in another state, which
prevented Husband from manually delivering the
stock. The instrument was a legally sufficient
symbolic delivery.

例2：在妻子生日那天，丈夫书写了一份文
件给妻子，言明把股票送给她以祝贺其生日。
此时，因该股票存放于另一卅的银行保管箱里，
所以他无法亲手交付股票。在法律上，这份文
件足以证明已象征交付。

Illustration: Mae manifested a present
intent to give securities contained in a safe
deposit box to Everett. She gave him the
key to the safe deposit box. This constituted
sufficient delivery.
 例3：梅伊宣布，现在就想把她存放于银
行保管箱的证券送给埃弗里特，并把保
管箱的钥匙交给了他。这完全符合交付
要件。


b. Delivery to Third Parties
A gift is valid if delivered to someone other than
the donee only if the donor intended the gift to be
irrevocable upon transfer to the third party and the
third party is the donee's agent. If the evidence
clearly demonstrates the donor's intent to make an
irrevocable gift, delivery to a third party on behalf
of the donee does not defeat the gift.

b．交付给第三人

只有在赠与人表示赠与物一经交付给第三人
就不能撤销，且第三人系受赠人的代理人的情
况下，赠与物不交付给受赠人而交付给第三人，
赠与也有效。若有证据证明，赠与人做出的赠
与是不可撤销的，则将赠与物交付给代表受赠
人的第三人的行为，属于赠与的交付行为。

Illustration: Father wanted to make a gift of stock
to Son and Daughter. The stock already was in
Son's possession. Father directed Son to deliver to
Daughter her share of the stock. Even though Son
had not manually delivered the stock to Daughter
before Father's death, delivery to Son was
sufficient to satisfy the delivery requirement with
respect to Daughter.
 例1：父亲想将股票赠与儿子和女儿。股票已
由儿子占有。父亲已指示儿子，将女儿应有的
份额交给女儿。虽然在父亲死亡之前，儿子没
有把股票亲手交付给女儿，但对女儿而言，交
付给儿子，也足以满足交付要件。

In contrast, if the third party is the donor's agent,
the delivery requirement probably has not been
satisfied because the donor could revoke the gift
by directing the agent to return it to him. However,
if the property was delivered to donee's agent, the
delivery requirement is satisfied.

与此相反，若第三人系赠与人的代理人，可能
就不符合交付的要件，因为赠与人可以通过指
示代理人将赠与物返还给他本人，从而撤回该
赠与。但若财物已经交付给受赠人的代理人，
则满足了交付要件。

Illustration: When he was in failing health,
Grandfather signed a document assigning
twenty shares of stock to Granddaughter.
Grandfather handed the document to
Grandmother. Grandmother thereby became
Granddaughter's agent, and the delivery
requirement was satisfied.
 例2：祖父在自己身体日趋恶化之时，签
署文件将20股股票转让给孙女。祖父将
该文件交给了祖母。祖母因此成为孙女
的代理人，符合交付要件。

Illustration: When Father was ill, he signed
documents that assigned an interest in a bond and
mortgage to Son. Father delivered the documents
to his lawyer and instructed him to deliver the
documents to Son if Father died during surgery.
The delivery requirement was satisfied because
the lawyer held the documents as Son's agent.

例3：父亲生病时，签署文件将合同和抵押
中的权益转让给儿子，并将该文件交付给律师
且指示说：如果他在手术中死亡，将文件交付
给其儿子。因为律师作为儿子的代理人已持有
该文件，符合交付要件。

To uphold a gift that is otherwise invalid for lack of
delivery, a court may hold that the donor held the property
in trust for the donee. As beneficiary of the trust, the donee
is entitled to the benefit of the property. To create a trust,
there must be a settlor (委托人), a beneficiary, a trustee, and
a res, and the settlor clearly must have intended to create a
trust. The settlor is the person who creates the trust (the
donor in this case). The beneficiary is the person who is
entitled to the benefits of the property held in trust (the
intended donee in this case). The trustee is the person who
holds the legal title to the trust property and administers it
for the beneficiary's benefit. The trustee may be the settlor
or a third party. The res is the property that is placed in
trust. In this context, the res is the property that was the
object of the imperfect gift.

为支持因为欠缺交付要件而在其他情况下属于
无效的赠与，法院有权认为，赠与人系出于信
托目的为受赠人占有财产。作为信托的受益人，
受赠人享有财产的收益。成立信托，必须有委
托人、受托人、受益人和信托财产(a res)信托财
产，且委托人必须明确地、有意识地设立信托。
委托人系创设信托之人(此处的赠与人)，受益
人系有权从信托财产的收益中受益之人(此处的
受赠人)，受托人系享有信托财产的普通法所有
权(1egal title)并为受益人的利益管理该财产之
人。受托人可以是委托人或者第三人。信托财
产系置于信托之下的财产。在这种情形中，信
托财产系作为不完整赠与行为的客体的财物。

Illustration: Xavier purchased bonds for Nephew
and told his father that he had put the bonds aside
for Nephew. After Xavier's death, the bonds were
found in an envelope, which said that Xavier had
held them for Nephew. This created a valid trust
with Xavier acting as trustee for Nephew.
 例4：泽维尔为外甥购买了债券并告诉他父亲，
他自己已为外甥将债券保存起来了。在泽维尔
死后，人们发现债券放在一个信封里，信中说
泽维尔为外甥而持有那些债券。此乃创设了有
效的信托，泽维尔系外甥的受托人。

3. Acceptance

If an intended donee refuses to accept a gift, title to the
property will not pass to the donee. When a gift is
beneficial to the donee, acceptance is usually presumed.
The presumption of acceptance is rebutted if the intended
donee's actions indicate a refusal to accept or if other facts
demonstrate that the gift would not be beneficial.
Acceptance need not be contemporaneous with delivery of
the gift.

3．赠与物的接受
 若受赠人拒绝接受赠与物，则赠与物的权利就不能转
移给受赠人。当赠与使受赠人受益时，一般推定为接
受赠与。若受赠人的行为表明拒绝接受赠与，或者有
其他事实证明该赠与不能使受赠人受益，则推翻推定
接受。接受不必与赠与物的交付同时进行。

B. GIFTS CAUSA MORTIS
 A gift causa mortis (遗赠) is made in
anticipation of the donor's imminent death. It is
intended to give a person who is near death one
last opportunity to dispose of her property. The
substantial possibility for false claims to the
decedent's property generally has caused courts to
strictly apply the requirements for a gift causa
mortis.
 B．死因赠与

死因赠与，系赠与人预料自己即将死亡而做
出的赠与行为。其目的是使面临死亡的人有最
后的机会处分自己的财产。极有可能发生有人
谎称自己有权接受死者财产的案件的现实情况，
使法院通常严格适用死因赠与的要件。





1. Elements
a. Intent, Delivery, and Acceptance
A gift causa mortis requires the same elements as an inter
vivos当事人活着时有效(的) gift-intent, delivery,
and acceptance. In determining whether these elements
have been satisfied, courts tend to be more exacting than
for an inter vivos gift because of the greater potential for
fraud inherent in a claim made against the estate of a
deceased donor.
1．要素
a。赠与的意图、赠与物的交付和接受死因赠与的要
素与生前赠与的要素相同——赠与的意图、赠与物的
交付和接受。在判断这些要素是否齐备时，法院比考
虑生前赠与更为审慎，因为在这种案件中，更有可能
出现针对死者财产的诈骗行为。

b. Donor Anticipates Imminent Death
 For a gift causa mortis to be valid, it must
be made when the donor is suffering from a
life-threatening illness or injury. A
generalized fear of death, such as a fear of
flying or of nuclear war, is insufficient.
 b．赠与人预料自己即将死亡
 有效的死因赠与，必须是赠与人患有致
命疾病或者受有致命伤时做出的。一般
的害怕死亡，如害怕飞行或者核战争，
是不符合这一要求的。

Illustration: Dan indorsed a check and laid it
on a table with a note stating that it was for
Elizabeth. Dan then committed suicide.
Suicide can satisfy the requirement that the
donor is stricken with a disorder that makes
death imminent.

例：丹签发了一张支票放在桌上并附
言：该支票送给伊丽莎白。接着丹就自
杀了。自杀符合这一要件，因为赠与人
患上了足以导致立即死亡的严重精神错
乱的疾病。

The donor must die from the illness or
injury that prompted the gift, rather than
from an intervening cause.

c．如期死亡
 赠与人必须死于促使其做出赠与决定行
为的疾病或者伤害，丽非死于其他介人
的原因。

Illustration: A car accident victim is put in an ambulance
after making a gift causa morris. If the ambulance is struck
by a train and the injured person dies from the injuries
suffered in the train crash, the older view is that the gift is
invalid because the injured person died from an
intervening cause. The modern view is more liberal and
treats the entire chain of events as one connected
occurrence. Therefore, the gift would be valid despite the
intervening train crash.
 例：在做出死因赠与后，车辆交通事故的被害人被抬
上救护车。后救护车又被火车碰撞，伤者死于因火车
碰撞而导致的伤情。以前的观点认为该赠与无效，因
为伤者死于介入的原因。现在的观点更宽容，把事件
的各个环节视为一个相互联系的过程。因此，尽管介
入了火车碰撞事故，赠与仍然有效。

d. Donor does not Recover
 If the donor recovers from the illness or
injury that prompted the gift, the gift
automatically is revoked by operation of law.
 d．赠与人没有恢复健康
 若赠与人从促使其做出赠与决定行为的
疾病或者伤痛中恢复过来了，赠与行为
自然而然就被依法取消。








e. Absence of Revocation by Donor
Unlike an inter vivos gift, a donor can revoke a gift causa
mortis.
e．赠与人没有撤销赠与
不同于生前赠与，赠与人可以撤销死因赠与。
f Donee Survives Donor
Because a gift causa mortis is a gift to a particular
individual, the gift is revoked by operation of law if the
donee predeceases the donor. Otherwise, the donee's heirs
or legatees, rather than the donee, would receive the
benefit of the gift.
f．赠与人先于受赠人死亡
因为死因赠与是赠与财物给特定的个人，所以，如果
受赠人先于赠与人死亡，赠与行为就被依法取消。否
则，接受赠与物的权利之人就不是受赠人，而是受赠
人的继承人或者受遗赠人。


g. Condition Precedent or Subsequent
Some courts will invalidate the gift if the donor
uses language of condition precedent, indicating
that the gift is to take effect only at the donor's
death. These courts reason that the donor did not
intend to make an immediately effective gift causa
mortis, but only a testamentary transfer. Because
the gift did not satisfy the legal requirements for a
valid will, the attempted gift is invalid. The better
opinions, however, look to the donor's intent and
to the surrounding circumstances, because a donor
who is about to die is unlikely to think about the
legal requirements for a gift causa morris or to
articulate his wishes precisely. By definition, such
gifts are emergency measures.

g．生效条件或解除条件
 若赠与附有生效条件，则表明该赠与仅在赠
与人死亡时生效。有的法院认为，该赠与行为
无效，理由是：赠与人的本意并非做出立即生
效的死因赠与，而仅仅是遗嘱转让；由于该赠
与无法满足有效遗嘱的法定要件，因此，该赠
与无效。然而，更为合理的意见是：要注意赠
与人的意愿和具体情况，因为即将死亡的赠与
人对死因赠与的法定要件，不太可能考虑得很
周全，或者准确地表达其意思。毕竟，由定义
可知，这种赠与是在紧急情况下实施的行为。

III. POSSESSION OF LAND APART FROM
OWNERSHIP
 While it is often the case that a person in
possession of land is the owner of it or is in
possession by virtue of the owner's consent (e.g. a
tenant), it also may happen that a possessor of land
is there without either being the owner or having
the owner's consent.

Ⅲ．无所有权的占有不动产行为
 虽然在一般情况下，占有不动产之人，就是不
动产的所有人或者取得所有人同意的占有人(如
承租人)，但是，也会出现占有人既不是所有人
也未取得所有人同意的情形。




Illustration: Paul received a deed to Lot 1 but mistakenly
moved onto Lot 2 instead. Here, Paul owns Lot 1 but
possesses (without owning or having the consent of the
owner) Lot 2.
例1：保罗取得了1号不动产的契据，却阴差阳错地搬
入了2号不动产。在这种情形下，保罗拥有1号不动产
的所有权却占有了(既无所有权也未取得所有人同意)2
号不动产。
Illustration: Paul received a deed to Lot 1 and took
possession of Lot 1, but the deed to Paul was defectively
executed (or, alternatively, an earlier deed in the chain of
title was defectively executed) so that he is not the owner
of Lot 1, although he is in possession of it.
例2：保罗取得了1号不动产的契据并占有了1号不动
产，但是，由于签发给保罗的契据有误(或者说，产权
链中的前一契据有误)，所以，他并不是1号不动产的
所有人，尽管他占有了该不动产。

Illustration: Paul received a valid deed to Lot 1
and took possession of Lot 1. However, by
mistake, Paul built a fence that encroached five
feet onto Lot 2 and then built his house up to the
fence line. Paul possesses but does not own the
five foot strip.
 例3：保罗取得了1号不动产的有效契据并占有
了该不动产。然而，他建筑栅栏时，却阴差阳
错地把属于2号不动产的5英尺的土地也围了起
来，且将房子建至栅栏线上。保罗占有了那5
英尺的狭窄地带，却对它不拥有所有权。

Illustration: Paul is a squatter on Lot 1. He
knows that he does not own Lot 1 but hopes
that the real owner will not do anything
about it. He intends to stay until evicted.
Paul possesses but does not own Lot 1.
 例4：保罗擅自占用了1号不动产。他知
道自己不拥有l号不动产的所有权，但希
望真正的所有人不干涉他。他打算一直
呆在那里直到被人驱逐出去为止。保罗
占有了该不动产但并没有所有权。





A. CONSEQUENCES OF POSSESSION
UNCONNECTED TO OWNERSHIP
Possession has always been an important concept in our
legal system. The old doctrine of seisin had more to do
with possession than with ownership. (On seisin, see
Chapter 2, p. 50) A possessor has a legal status in the
common law even when he or she is not an owner. Both
rights and liabilities attach to possession.
A．与所有权无关的占有法律后果
在我们的法律制度中，占有是个非常重要的概念。
古老的封地占有权(seisin)[。’]学说，涉及更多的是占
有而不是所有(关于seisin，参见第二章第1节B部分)。
在普通法里，占有人即使不是所有人，也依然有其合
法地位。占有人既享有权利又负有义务。
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1. Liabilities of a Possessor--Ejectment
If a possessor is not the owner and does not have the owner's
permission to possess the property, the owner may bring an ejectment
action驱逐之诉to recover both possession and damages against the
possessor. Ejectment驱逐之诉is an action designed to restore
possession to the person entitled to it. Not only must the plaintiff
establish a right to possession in himself, he also must show that the
defendant is in wrongful possession, i.e. dispossessing剥夺the plaintiff.
If the defendant has not possessed the property but has only
occasionally trespassed on it, an action for trespass (damages) may lie,
but not for ejectment.
1．占有人的责任
若占有人不是所有人，也未取得所有人的同意而占有不动产，则
所有人可以提起驱逐之诉以恢复占有，并可以要求占有人赔偿损
失。驱逐之诉旨在恢复有权占有人的占有权。原告不仅要证明其
有权占有，还要证明被告系错误(违法)占有，即剥夺了原告的占
有权。若被告并不占有该不动产，只是偶然非法侵犯了该不动产，
则应提起非法侵入(损害赔偿)之诉而不是驱逐之诉。
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2. Rights of a Possessor
Even though a possessor does not own the property and is subject to
ejectment by the owner, as against the rest of the world the possessor is
entitled to maintain that possession ("Possession is nine points of the
law."). If a stranger appears and dispossesses him, he may bring
ejectment against the stranger to be restored to possession. It is no
defense for the stranger to show that the former vossessor was not in
fact the owner (unless the stranger can also show that he owns the
property or claims through the owner).
2．占有人的权利
尽管占有人并不享有该不动产的所有权，且要受所有人驱逐之诉
的约束，但是，对于其他人，占有人有权保持占有(现实占有之物
主在法律上占有九分道理)。如果出现第三人剥夺其占有权利的情
形，他就可以提起驱逐之诉以恢复其占有。第三人关于占有人并
不是所有人的证明，不成为其对抗占有人的理由(除非第三人能证
明，其对该财产享有所有权，或者从所有人处取得了该财产的权
利)。
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Illustration: Paul entered Lot 1 under a deed he believed to be valid.
Paul then was ousted from possession by Rachel and brought
ejectment against her. At the trial, Paul discovers that his deed is
defective and that it did not in fact convey title to Lot 1 to him.
Nevertheless, he may prevail
against Rachel by virtue of having been in peaceable possession of the
lot before her entry. Paul prevails, because he is a prior possessor as
against Rachel, though he is a wrongful possessor as against Olga.
例：保罗根据其相信有效的契据搬入1号不动产，后被雷切尔赶
走。保罗遂针对雷切尔提起了驱逐之诉。庭审时，保罗发现自己
的契据有问题，事实上该契据并没有将1号不动产的权利转让给他。
但是，他却可以以在雷切尔之前他已经和平地占有该不动产为由，
而享有优于雷切尔的I权利。尽管相对于所有人奥尔嘉，保罗系错
误(违法)占有人，但相对于雷切尔，保罗对该不动产取得先占的
权利，所以保罗的权利优于她的权利。
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3. Possession as Both Rightful and Wrongful
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Since a nonowning possessor may defend that possession
against all the world (except the owner) and yet is subject
to ejectment by the owner, such possession is both
"rightful" and "wrongful." To the extent that ownership
usually is taken as the ability to exclude others, the
possessor is in a sense a 99% owner because he or she can
exclude everyone else in the world from the property
except the owner.
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3．合法与违法兼有的占有
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因为无所有权的占有人就其占有，一方面可以对抗
任何人(所有人除外)，另一方面又受制于所有人的驱逐
之诉，故其占有既“合法”又“违法”。就所有权普
遍地排他的权利性质而言，占有人在某种意义上是99
％的所有人，因为除所有人以外，他或她可以排除任
何人取得该不动产的权利。
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B. DURATION OF POSSESSION
A plaintiff in ejectment need not show any particular duration of
possession to claim as a prior possessor. Time is relevant only in that
the plaintiff must have possessed first, but it does not matter how long
he was there beforehand (so long as he was still there at the time of the
defendant's entry). But time is relevant with regard to the statute of
limitations. A cause of action in ejectment arises in favor of the owner
or a prior possessor the moment someone else wrongfully takes
possession of the property. And, like all causes of action, it expires
after a certain lapse of time, except when the government owns the
property. Thus, if a person has been in possession long enough, others
who previously were entitled to eject him lose their rights to do so.
B．占有期间
提起驱逐之诉的原告，不必证明其作为先占人已占有该财产有
多长时间。与时间唯一有关的是，原告必须首先占有，而与其以
前已占有多长时间无关(只要他在被告进入之前还在占有就行)。
就诉讼时效法而言，时间是有关的。当某人开始违法占有该财产
之时，所有人或者先占人就获得了提起驱逐之诉的诉因。如所有
的诉讼一样，经过一定的期间，驱逐之诉的诉讼时效就会届满，
但政府对该财产享有所有权的除外。因此，若他人占有该财产经
过一定的时间，则原有权要求前者返还该财产的人，就会丧失其
请求权。
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Illustration: Paul possessed Lot 1 but was
dispossessed by Rachel eleven years ago.
The statute of Limitations on ejectment
actions is ten years. Paul no longer can
recover in ejectment against Rachel, even if
Paul's prior possession had continued for
fifteen years.
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例1：保罗曾占有1号不动产，但在11
年前被雷切尔剥夺了其占有。提起驱逐
之诉的诉讼时效是10年。保罗无权要求
雷切尔放弃占有以恢复其权利，尽管保
罗以前的占有持续了15年之久。
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Illustration: Paul possessed Lot 1 for two
years before Rachel dispossessed him five
years ago. The statute of limitations for
ejectment actions is ten years. Paul still may
bring ejectment against Rachel, even though
she possessed the property longer than he
did.
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例2：在雷切尔5年前剥夺保罗的占有
前，保罗已占有1号不动产2年。提起驱
逐之诉的诉讼时效是10年。尽管雷切尔
占有该不动产的年限超过保罗，保罗仍
然可以对雷切尔提起驱逐之诉。
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Illustration: Paul has possessed Lot 1 for
eleven years. The statute of limitations in
ejectment is ten years. Olga, the owner, no
longer can eject Paul.
 例3：保罗占有1号不动产至今有11年了，
驱逐之诉的诉 讼时效是10年，所有人奥
尔嘉就不再有权驱逐保罗。
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C. ADVERSE POSSESSION
1. Duration and Adverse Possession
It already has been said that a nonowning possessor of
property may protect that possession against everyone but
the owner. The last illustration shows that, if such
possession lasts long enough, the possessor is protected
even from the owner's claims. The possessor's 99% rights
have become 100%. If no one in the world can eject him
and if he can eject anyone in the world who intrudes, then
for all practical purposes he now owns the property. He
might as well be said to have title to the preperty, since he
now has all the rights that title gives to its owner. The
possessor is now a successful adverse possessor. Adverse
possession does not transfer the former owner's title to the
possessor; rather, by eliminating the one defect that
previously existed in the possessory title, it creates a new
and complete title in the possessor.
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C：无权占有
1．期间与无权占有
 前面已阐述，无所有权的财产占有人的占有权
利，可以对抗除所有人以外的任何人。上述最
后一例表明，若占有达到一定的期间，占有人
甚至拥有对抗所有人的权利，占有人享有的99
％的权利就已成为100％的权利。如果世上没
有人可以驱赶他，而他又可以驱赶任何侵入人，
他实际上就对该财产享有了所有权。也可以说，
他享有该财产的所有权，是因为他已拥有了赋
予所有人的全部权利。这种状态的占有人，就
是成功的无权占有人。无权占有并非把前所有
人的权利转让给了占有人，而是通过消除此前
占有权利的缺陷，为占有人创设了全新的完整
的权利。
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a. How Long Possession Must Continue
 Statutes dealing with adverse possession vary
from an upper limit of twenty years in some states
to a lower one of five years in other states, with
more extreme time periods covering certain
special cases. There may be different periods of
time within a single state, depending on whether
the adverse possessor has "color of title" or has
paid the property taxes. (Color of title is described
at p. 35). In some cases, a longer possession is
required against an owner that is a public entity
than against a private individual. (In all the
following illustrations, assume that a ten-year
statute is in effect.)
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a．占有必须持续多长时间在无权占有必
须持续多长时间的立法规定上，各州千
差万别，较高年限有20年的，较低年限
有5年的，在特殊案件中还有更高或更低
的年限。根据无权占有人是否持有“权
利外衣”(color 0f title)或者是否已支付财
产税，各州规定的年限有所不