[German version]

(from Latin usus, 'use', and capere, 'to take in hand'), 'usucaption', the 'acquisition of ownership by use': acquisition of civil property ( dominium ) - land and other objects - on the basis of one or two years of possession in Roman law (Mod. Dig. 41,3,3; Ulp. 19,8; Boeth. ad Cic. Top. 4,23; Isid. Orig. 5,25,30). Usucapio was only available to Roman citizens (Gai. Inst. 2,65). According to the Twelve Tables ( tabulae duodecim , Tab. 8,17) usucaption of stolen goods was excluded (Gai. Inst. 2,45; 49). However, according to a lex Atinia (late 3rd cent./early 2nd cent. B…