Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Bailment definition

What does Bailment mean? In legal practice, bailment describes one person (the bailee) having possession and control of another’s tangible goods (the bailor) on the basis that the goods will be returned, delivered to a third party, or otherwise dealt with as directed. It arises by agreement or by operation of law (for example, carriage, storage, repair, hire, pledge, or where goods are found or delivered by mistake). There is no transfer of ownership. Bailment is a common-law concept shaped by case law rather than a single statutory definition. Across England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, usage is broadly consistent; in Scotland...

Art market bailment: duties, deviation, burden-shifting, conversion, sub-bailment and distinctions from trusts (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

Questions about Bailment frequently surface within the art sphere. For instance, warehousing or freight operators may owe bailment obligations when holding and/or moving artworks or other chattels. Lending pieces and/or using artworks as security or collateral can also create bailment relationships. Claims founded on Breach of contract and/or Negligence often additionally plead bailment. Further illustrations appear throughout this Practice Note. Bailment is a nuanced field. This Practice Note concentrates on bailment issues in the context of art law. For a fuller outline of bailment law generally, see Practice Note: Bailment. See also Q&A: How are damages quantified when bailed goods have been negligently lost? For a summary of aspects of art law pertinent to Private Client practitioners, see Practice Note: Art law-introduction for Private Client practitioners. Additional examples are set out across this Practice Note.

What is bailment?

Put simply, a bailment may arise at common law where one party assumes temporary possession of another party’s goods, for example:

a collector, the bailor, delivers an artwork or other chattel to a second party, the bailee
the bailee voluntarily takes possession of the artwork
by taking possession, the bailee thereby acquires possessory rights together...

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Adam Carvalho

Adam Carvalho has more than 15 years' experience as a contentious Private Client lawyer. Most recently, he was a Legal Director in the Contentious Trusts and Probate Team at Myerson, where he worked on complex and high-value contentious trust and probate matters.Adam trained, qualified and worked as a senior associate and partner in a central London firm in the Tier 1 nationally for Contentious Trust and Probate work.Adam has considerable experience of ultra-high value litigation, cross-jurisdictional matters and disputes in non-UK courts. Adam has litigated in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and advised in relation to complex matters in courts from Bermuda to New Zealand. Adam is known for his constructive, pragmatic advice, his down to earth approach, and his technical knowledge. Adam is a firm believer in focusing on the main issues and providing sound and accessible advice....

Web page updated on 28/05/2026

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