The present book contains the revised papers that were presented at a conference on ‘The Consequences of Possession’, which took place in the University of Edinburgh's Old College on 12-13 October 2012. Thanks are owed, first and foremost, to the speakers who made for a fascinating two days of presentations and discussion in the beautiful Raeburn Room; also to Karen Baston, Sarah Burnett, Daniel Carr, Paul du Plessis, Lorna Gallacher, George Gretton, Alasdair Peterson, Elspeth Reid, Kenneth Reid and John Watson for their help with the organisation of the conference and then the production of the book; and last but not least to the University of Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Law Review Trust and the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust for making the whole project – workshop and book – financially possible.