Communist ideas and Scots property law: Canning v Glasgow Caledonian University

Ownership is nine-tenths of property law, or so the saying does not go. For the (unscientifically verified) one-tenth of property law disputes where ownership is not the decisive factor, something else must come into play. This brings an actual turn of phrase to mind, also entirely unscientific, namely that possession is nine-tenths of the law. How Scots law deals with cases where the owner plays but a background role is demonstrated in the case of Canning v Glasgow Caledonian University and Another [2015] SC GLA 75. That recent Sheriff Court case, about what to do with a collection of corporeal moveables in a contest between personalities with claims short of ownership, forms the subject of this note.