The Doctrine of Nemo Dat Quod Non Habet and Its Exceptions

The old common law rule on Nemo Dat Quod Non Habet (‘no one can give what he has not’) is found in the English section 21(1) and in the equivalent Malaysian Sale of Goods Act 1957 section 27(1), the latter which states that: ‘Subject to this Act and for any law for the time being force, where goods are sold by a person who is not the owner thereof, and does not sell them under the authority or with consent of the buyer, the buyer acquires no better title to the goods than the seller had, unless the owner of the goods is by his conduct precluded from denying the seller’s authority to sell.’ The rule means no one can transfer a better title than he himself has. Thus if goods are purchased from a person who is not the owner and who does not sell them under owner’s authority, the buyer does not acquire a title to any of the same notwithstanding that he has paid value for the same in good faith. In this research we discuss around this subject and their results.