Legal Definitions - immemorial possession

Definition: Immorial possession is a type of possession that began so long ago that no one still living witnessed its beginning. Possession refers to the fact of having or holding property in one's power and exercising dominion over it.

Example: An indigenous tribe that has lived on a piece of land for generations without any legal documentation of ownership has immorial possession of that land.

This example illustrates immorial possession because the tribe has been in possession of the land for so long that no one can remember when they first started living there. Even though they may not have any legal documentation of ownership, their long-standing possession of the land gives them a claim to it.