Legal Definitions - novel disseisin

Definition: A recent act of wrongful dispossession of lands and tenements. It is a legal term used in English law.

Example: If a freeholder of land is ejected from his property, he can require the sheriff to set up a jury of twelve, have them go look at the land, and bring them before the king's justices when they next came to hold court in the county. The justices asked the jurors whether the freeholder had been illegally put out of his holding, as he complained, and if they said that he had then the court would restore the land to him at once.

Explanation: The example illustrates how the term "novel disseisin" was used in English law to protect the rights of freeholders who were wrongfully dispossessed of their lands and tenements. The legal process involved setting up a jury to investigate the claim and determine whether the freeholder had been illegally put out of his holding. If the jury found in favor of the freeholder, the court would restore the land to him.