Statute of Mortmain
Quick Summary
In English law, mortmain referred to land held by a corporation in "dead hand" (French: mort main). This practice, prevalent in feudal times, deprived lords of feudal dues because corporations, unlike individuals, never died or committed offenses.
To address this, statutes were enacted between the 13th and 16th centuries, requiring a license from the crown for land to be conveyed to corporations. The Mortmain and Charitable Uses Acts of 1888 and 1891 updated these laws, allowing some corporations to hold land without a license. Unauthorized conveyances could result in forfeiture to the crown. The law of mortmain was abolished in Britain in 1960, though similar legislation exists in some other Commonwealth countries and the United States.1
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