Long possession begets right.

Explanation

Continuous, quiet possession over time ripens into a right that the law will defend, even against a prior claimant who slept on his rights.

Where this applies

• A family has used a footpath across a neighboring parcel to reach the river for over fifty years without objection — their long and continuous possession of that right of way has ripened into a legal right the neighbor can no longer deny.
• A rancher has grazed cattle on an unfenced section of open land for three generations, and no one has ever challenged his use — his decades of quiet possession have created a prescriptive right that the law will now defend.
• A church has maintained and used a small cemetery plot on adjacent private land for over a century with the landowner's knowledge and silence — the long, uninterrupted use has begotten a right that a new owner cannot simply revoke.

See also

• 5.1.8 Possession is the best title where no better title appears.
• 5.2.9 Prescription is a title derived from use and time, having the force of law.