Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

animus domini

[latin] roman law. the intent to exercise dominion over a thing; the intent to own something. cf. animus possidendi. "all possession has two elements, a physical and a mental, which the romans distinguish as corpus and animus. the first is the physical relation of the possessor to the object. the second is his sense of that relation. if he is minded to deal with the thing as his own (animus domini - animus sibi habendi), no matter whether rightfully or wrongfully, he possesses in the fullest sense." r.w. lee, the elements of roman law 179-80 (4th ed. 1956).