Void things are as no things.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) That which is void has no legal existence — it creates no rights, imposes no duties, and cannot be ratified or validated by the passage of time.

Where this applies

• A court enters a judgment without jurisdiction over the defendant, and the judgment is treated as though it never existed — it creates no lien, no obligation, and no enforceable rights.
• An unconstitutional statute purporting to create a new criminal offense is void and treated as no thing — no one can be convicted under it because it has no legal existence.
• A forged deed is discovered in a chain of title, and the court treats it as a nullity — void things are as no things, and the forgery conveyed nothing to anyone.

See also

• 1.5.268 What ought not to be done, when done, is valid.
• 1.5.272 Time cannot render valid an act void in its origin.