2 Concept of Possession

The two-element definition (Savigny's classic): possession = corpus possessionis (effective physical control over the thing) + animus possidendi (the intention to hold the thing for oneself, as one's own, excluding others).The elements are separable, and the separations define the doctrine:• Physical control without intent to hold as one's own = custody, not possession. The watchman at the godown, the driver of the bus, the servant milking the master's buffalo — each has corpus, but the animus is the master's: they hold for another. They are custodians; the master is the possessor (through them).• Intent without control = mere ambition, not possession. I intend to own the distant hill; I do not possess it.Savigny vs. Ihering — the classic debate:• Savigny (subjective theory): animus is a distinct, independent element — the intent to exclude others as an owner would. Possession in the full (owner-like) sense requires this special intent; hence the distinction between possession and detention (mere holding).• Ihering (objective theory): animus is not a separate ingredient but follows from corpus as a matter of course — anyone exercising control, in the ordinary course of things, intends to hold; law need not inquire into secret states of mind. Possession is protected wherever control is exercised for oneself rather than openly in another's name and account. Ihering's theory better matches modern law's…