Movable Property

• Author: Stephen G.A. Pitel/Nicholas S. Rafferty
• Profession: Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario/Faculty of Law, University of Calgary
• Pages: 329-339

329

CHAPTER 18

MOVABLE PROPERTY

A. INTRODUCTION

The previous two chapters have explained the nature of property in

the conf‌lict of laws and the choice of law rules for immovable property.

This chapter covers the choice of law rules for movable property, some-

times referred to as movables. The central issue is to determine what

law governs the issue of ownership of movable property. This issue

arises in many different contexts, including the f‌inding of property,

gifts, transfers pursuant to contract, and disposition on death. The last

of these contexts is considered separately in Chapter 19. The focus of

this chapter is on inter vivos transfers— transfers made when the trans-

feror is alive— of movable property.

When property is transferred under a contract, the contract will

often be silent on issues of ownership, particularly the question of

when ownership of the property passes between the parties. The con-

tract could contain express language on this issue, but most contracts

do not. So in those cases the law of contract will govern many aspects

of the transfer, but the law of movable property will govern the issue of

ownership. Some commentators have suggested that this separation of

issues is unhelpful, because it could lead to different but highly related

aspects of a single tran sfer being governed by different, and potentially

conf‌licting, applicable laws. While the common law separates contract

and property issues, in a wholly domestic case one would expect those

areas of law to work together, complementing each other, to produce an