The Distinction in Law between Movables and Immo...
Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual or jointly by a group of individuals.An owner of property has the right to consume,sell,rent,mortgage,transfer and exchange his or her property.[1]Basically,there are two types of property: movables and immovables.Immovables,res immobiles,are the equivalent of “real property” in common law systems,i.e.it is land or any permanent feature or structure above or below the surface; all other property is considered movables,i.e.the equivalent of personal property in common law systems.
The distinction between movables and immovables is especially important in private international law.Rights over immovables are determined by the law of the situs; rights over movables are not necessarily governed by that law.For instance,in the United States,England,France,Belgium,Austria,and China as well,the succession upon death to movable property is governed by the personal law of the deceased,while in the case of immovables,the lex situs is decisive.(https://www.daowen.com)
Unfortunately,the distinction between movables and immovables are not everywhere distinguished alike.Different systems of law may characterize things as movables or immovables in different ways.Fish in a pond,or wild animals in a forest are classified as immovables under Austrian law,and as movables under the law of most other countries.Mortgages on immovables are regarded as movables under French and German law,and as immovables under Anglo-American law.1 As to the law that determines whether a thing is movable or immovable,it is universally accepted that the lex situs is to be decisive.