res communis

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Res communis is a conceptWang. Handbook on Ocean Politics & Law. Greenwood Press. 1992. [https://books.google.com/books?id=GrEOofrVra4C&pg=PA64 p 64]. or doctrine.Johnston. The International Law of Fisheries. 1987. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Vfs5vtLSCD8C&pg=PA309 p 309]. The expression is a Latin term derived from Roman law that preceded today's concepts of the commons and common heritage of mankind.{{cite book |last=Baslar |first=Kemal |year=1997 |title=The Concept of the Common Heritage of Mankind in International Law |url=http://www.brill.com/concept-common-heritage-mankind-international-law |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789041105059 |accessdate=25 March 2014}} It has relevance in international law and common law.

In the 6th century, the Institutes of Justinian codified the relevant Roman law as: "By the law of nature these things are common to mankind – the air, running water, the sea, and consequently the shores of the sea."{{cite journal |last=Barresi |first=Paul |year=2012 |title=MOBILIZING THE PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE IN SUPPORT OF PUBLICLY OWNED FORESTS AS CARBON DIOXIDE SINKS IN INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES |journal=Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy |volume=23 |issue=1 |page=47 |url=http://www.colorado.edu/law/sites/default/files/Vol.23.1.pdf |accessdate=25 March 2014}}

Res communis has gained new currency in environmental law, in terms of managing natural resources. The key concept is that the state is the trustee of communal natural resources and cannot alienate them into private ownership. Examples are Lake Michigan,Illinois Central Railroad v Illinois 146 US 387 (1892) Victoria Harbour in Hong KongSociety for the Protection of the Harbour Ltd v Town Planning Board [2003] 2 HKLRD 787 and Sydney Harbour.Stannards Marine Pty Ltd v North Sydney Council [2022] NSWLEC 99

Biological examples of res communis include fish and mammals in high seas.{{cite book |last=Milun |first=Kathryn |year=2010 |title=The Political Uncommons: The Cross-cultural Logic of the Global Commons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FhOrAuSR6HAC&q=doctrine+of+res+communis&pg=PA58 |publisher=Ashgate |page=58 |isbn=978-0-7546-7139-8 |accessdate=25 March 2014}} Rules for use of the continent Antarctica{{cite book |last=Joyner |first=Christopher |year=1992 |title=Antarctica and the Law of the Sea |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y6JAr747H60C&q=antarctic+res+communis&pg=PA90 |page=90 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=0792318234 |accessdate=25 March 2014}}{{cite book |last=Slomanson |first=William |year=2010 |title=Fundamental Perspectives on International Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LeMEAAAAQBAJ&q=antarctic+res+communis&pg=PA288 |page=288 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0495797197 |accessdate=25 March 2014}} were based on res communis as was development of space law.