Legal Definitions - public servitude

Public servitude is a type of legal limitation on the use of property that benefits the general public or a particular group of people. It can be an encumbrance on an estate or a charge on land for another's benefit. Examples of public servitudes include:

• The right of the public to use a highway over privately owned land
• The right to navigate a river the bed of which belongs to some private person
• Restrictions on certain uses of the shores of navigable rivers
• The obligation of an owner to provide a passage to an enclosed estate

These examples illustrate how public servitudes are limitations on the use of property that benefit the public or a particular group of people. They are imposed by law and cannot be ignored by property owners.