The above provision on right to property is not absolute under any international
instrument. However, the right may be interfered with in the general interest of the
community and in accordance with the provisions of appropriate laws.
Article 10 para 1&2 of the Harvard Draft before the senate committee on foreign
relations on executives, E, G and H, 84th Congress and session, 15 (1956), para 3(a)
defined ‘a “taking of property” as not only an outright taking of property but also
any such unreasonable interference with the use, enjoyment, or disposal of property
as to justify an inference that the owner thereof, will not be able to use, enjoy or
dispose of the property within a reason period of time after the inception of such
interference.’
The Plaintiff has not shown that the alleged seizure or taking of his passport is a
continued one to amount to a deprivation of his right to property. More so, the
plaintiff affirmed that the said passport was returned to him that same day to proceed
on his journey. The alleged seizure complained of is therefore provisional as it did
not prevent the Plaintiff from enjoying and using his property as he pleased of which
he remained the owner.
It is observed that the Plaintiff has over the years passed through the borders of the
Defendant and his passport in all instances duly stamped. Two days before the
incident occurred, the Plaintiff equally passed through the same border without any
problems with the officers at the post. It is difficult to ascertain what will warrant
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