Assize of novel disseisin

In English law, the Assize of novel disseisin ("recent dispossession") was an action to recover lands of which the plaintiff had been disseised, or dispossessed. The action became extremely popular due to its expediency. Rather than dealing with the issue of lawful possession, it simply asked whether a dispossession had taken place, in which case the property was restored to the plaintiff, and the question of true ownership was dealt with later.

It was one of the so-called "petty assizes" established by the Assize of Clarendon by Henry II in 1166. Like the other two assizes, it was abolished in 1833.

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