Legal Definition and Related Resources of Eminent Domain

The right of the state to take the property of a citizen for the common good of all citizens. An attribute of sovereignty and inherent therein as a necessary and inseparable part. The power of eminent domain, as its name imports , is paramount to all private rights vested under the government which rights are held in subordination to this power, yielding in every instance when the powers of eminent domain are properly exercised. See West river Bridge Co. v Dix, 6 How (U.S.)507. The limitations on the exercise of the powers of eminent domain are those under the constitution of the United States , property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation and secondly that no person shall be deprived of his property without due process of law.

The power to take private property for public use, whether exercised by the sovereign directly, or by one to whom the sovereign power has been delegated for qiMsi public purposes. The superior right of property subsisting in a sovereignty, by which private property may in certain cases be taken or its use controlled for the public benefit, without regard to the wishes of the owner. The highest and most exact idea of property remaining in the government, or in the aggregate body of the people in their sovereign capacity, giving a right to resume the possession of the property in the manner directed by the constitution and the laws of the state whenever the public good requires it. 3 Paige, Ch. (N. Y.) 73. The term was originated by Grotius (De Jure Belli, lib. 3, c. 20, VII).

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Eminent Domain in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Eminent Domain in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Eminent Domain in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

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Mentioned in these terms

Adequate, Appropriation, Condemn, Condemnation, Expropriation, Inverse Condemnation, Just Compensation, Plottage, Special Purpose Or Use.

Eminent Domain Legal Definition

The power to take private property for public use by the state and municipalities.

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This definition of Eminent Domain is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.

Vocabularies (Semantic Web Information)

Resources

See Also

Further Reading

Coyle, Dennis J. Property Rights and the Constitution: Shaping Society through Land Use Regulation. Albany: State University of New York, 1993.

Fischel, William A. Regulatory Takings: Law, Economics, and Politics. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1995.

R. BlakeBrown

Eric L.Chase

Harold W.Chase

Eminent Domain

Resources

See Also

• See expropriation.

Meaning of Eminent Domain in the U.S. Legal System

Definition of Eminent Domain published by the National Association for Court Management: The power of the government to take private property for public use through condemnation.

Concept of Eminent Domain in the context of Real Property

A short definition of Eminent Domain: A governmental right to acquire private property for public use by condemnation, and the payment of just compensation.

Concept of Eminent Domain in the context of Real Property

A short definition of Eminent Domain: A governmental right to acquire private property for public use by condemnation, and the payment of just compensation.