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Bona vacantia (Latin for "vacant goods") is a common law doctrine in the United Kingdom under which ownerless property passes by law to the Crown. It has largely replaced the doctrine of escheat, which had a similar effect in relation to feudal tenures. The body that administers bona vacantia varies within the UK:
- In England and Wales, the Bona Vacantia division of the Treasury Solicitor's Department of the UK Government is responsible for dealing with bona vacantia assets, which are chiefly:
- Treasure Trove
- Assets of companies for which ownership cannot be traced
- Assets of the estates of those deceased who died intestate and for whom no beneficiaries can be traced. In such cases the department will normally distribute the property under 'discretionary grants' to persons who had been close friends of the deceased.
- In Scotland, bona vacantia refers only to the assets of dissolved companies and lost property, which is administered under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. The separate doctrine of ultimus haerus states that the assets of those who die intestate leaving no other person entitled to inherit pass to the Crown. Both of these rights, together with treasure trove, are administered by the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer, an office held by the Crown Agent, the senior official in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
- In Northern Ireland, bona vacantia is dealt with by the Crown Solicitor as the Treasury Solicitor's Nominee.
- In the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, bona vacantia is in favour of the Duchy of Cornwall or the Duchy of Lancaster instead of the Crown, highlighting the Duchies' distinct constitutional position from the rest of England, and the administration is dealt with a firm of solicitors, Farrer and Co.
External links
"Bona vacantia"