Res merae facultatis meaning

Res merae facultatis describes rights or liberties that a holder may exercise (or choose not to) at will, without losing them through mere non‑use. In Scots law, the term—derived from Roman law and used descriptively in case law and academic writing rather than defined in statute—explains why certain rights are imprescriptible under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. A principal example is ownership of heritable property: title is not forfeited by inaction or by failing to exercise particular incidents of ownership. Rights commonly characterised as mere faculties therefore do not fall to negative prescription. The topic is discussed in the Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia (Imprescriptible rights and obligations). Practical significance: there is no need to “use” or enforce such a right to preserve it; however, it may still be defeated by another’s positive prescription or (in other jurisdictions) adverse possession. Jurisdictional note: The Latin expression is rarely used in England & Wales, Northern Ireland or Ireland. While similar outcomes often follow—non‑use alone does not normally extinguish ownership—those systems address loss of rights through limitation statutes and adverse possession rather than the Scots doctrine of negative prescription.