Barton, B. (2010). To the centre of the earth? New Zealand Law Journal, October, 345–346.
Abstract
How far do the rights of a land owner extend upwards and downwards? The simple answer is expressed by the Latin maxim cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos: to whom belongs the surface it belongs also all the way up to the sky and down to the depths. While this is familiar and conventional, there has been uncertainty about its application deep below the surface. Evolving technology makes this uncertainty more significant. A case of directional drilling, from the small British onshore oil industry (from Oxted, just south of London) has allowed the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to clarify the vitality of the principle: Star Energy Weald Basin Ltd v Bocardo SA [2010] UKSC 35, 28 July 2010.
Rights
This is an authors accepted version. A later version of this article was published in the New Zealand Law Journal 2010 NZLJ Oct. 345-346. © 2010 LexisNexis NZ Ltd. Used with permission.
