Nemo dat quod non habet, Latin for "Nobody gives what he does not have," often abbreviated to nemo dat, is a legal parameter stating that an item of personal property cannot be purchased from someone who does not actually rightfully own it. An example of its use: An individual attends an estate auction and purchases an antique Tiffany lamp. Unbeknownst to them, this lamp had been stolen by the late homeowner from one of their living relatives, who becomes aware of the theft when the lamp is uncovered at the auction. The buyer has made no act in bad faith, but the lamp must be restored to its rightful owner, insofar as the owner can demonstrate proof of ownership. This idea becomes geopolitically complicated when it extends beyond private individual ownership and into international relations, such as Greece demanding that the United Kingdom repatriate the Elgin marble friezes stolen from ancient Greek monuments and displayed in the British Museum.
A related parameter is Nemo plus iurus ad alium transferre potest quam ipse habet, "Nobody is able to transfer more rights to another than he himself has."
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