Revisiting possessio naturalis and possessio civilis in Roman law: a new perspective emerges?

Summary This is a brief critical assessment of the distinction between possessio naturalis and possessio civilis in Roman law. The text provides a concise historical outline of the distinction. Costa-Neto re-examines conventional perspectives concerning possession, including those proposed by Savigny, Jhering and Riccobono. It also examines the notion of possessio naturalis as proposed by D’Angelo and Klinck in recently published works. Costa-Neto underscores the differences from possessio civilis and mere detention and concludes that, even if a ‘quite dominant’ view basically reduces naturalis possessio to mere detention, a new trend is gradually emerging: naturalis possessio as an independent and separate institution, distinct from detention.