ACCESSION

Coming into possession of a right or office; increase; augmentation; addition.

The right to all that one's own property produces, whether that property be movable or immovable; and the right to that which is united to it by accession, either naturally or artificially. The right to own things that become a part of something already owned.

A principle derived from thecivil law, by which the owner of property becomes entitled to all that it produces, and to all that is added or united to it, either naturally or artificially (that is, by the labor or skill of another) even where such addition extends to a change of form or materials; and by which, on the other hand, the possessor of property becomes entitled to it, as against the original owner, where the addition made to it by skill and labor is of greater value than the property itself, or where the change effected in its form is so great as to render it impossible to restore it to its original shape.

Generally, accession signifies acquisition of title topersonal propertyby bestowing labor on it that converts it into an entirely different thing or by incorporation of property into a union with other property.

The commencement or inauguration of a sovereign's reign.

For example, a person who owns property along a river also takes ownership of any additional land that builds up along the riverbank. This right may extend to additions that result from the work or skill of another person. The buyer of a car who fails to make scheduled payments cannot get back his new spark plugs after the car is repossessed because they have become a part of the whole car. The principle of accession does not necessarily apply, however, where the addition has substantially improved the value and changed the character of the property, as when by mistake someone else's grapes were made into wine or someone else's clay made into bricks. In such cases, the original owner might recover only the value of the raw material rather than take ownership of the finished product.

In the context of a treaty, accession may be gained in either of two ways: (1) the new member nation may be formally accepted by all the nations already parties to the treaty; or (2) the new nation may simply bind itself to the obligations already existing in the treaty. Frequently, a treaty will expressly provide that certain nations or categories of nations may accede. In some cases, the parties to a treaty will invite one or more nations to accede to the treaty.

ac·ces·sion / akˈseshən/ • n. 1. the attainment or acquisition of a position of rank or power, typically that of monarch or president: the queen's accession to the throne. ∎  the action or process of formally joining or being accepted by an association, institution, or group: the accession of Spain into the European Community. 2. a new item added to an existing collection of books, paintings, or artifacts. ∎  an amount added to an existing quantity of something. 3. the formal acceptance of a treaty or agreement. • v. [tr.] (usu. be accessioned) record the addition of (a new item) to a library, museum, or other collection.