The Future of Prescriptive Easements in Australia and England

[The law of prescription — prescriptive easements in particular — has played a vital role in English and Australian land law. Prescriptive easements were easily accommodated into a land law system based on possessory, relative and defeasible titles. However, the advent of title by registration in both countries has raised the issue of whether prescriptive easements have any future value or utility. This article examines and compares the present state of prescriptive easements in Australia and England. It then considers arguments for changes to the law of prescriptive easements, and suggests what action would need to be taken if they were abolished. This article contends that abolition would not be a simple process, as prescription has not only had a role to play in protecting retrospective interests, but also in mediating claims for access and use between landowners.]