The owner of a Swedish land successfully retained possession of a 14-kilogram meteorite after an appeals court ruled that these types of rocks are classified as “immovable property” and therefore belong to the land on which they were discovered.

According to the decision of the Svea Court of Appeals, the land where the meteorite fell has both iron and the meteorite itself is also made of iron. Therefore, it is difficult to separate the meteorite from the land, which is typically seen as fixed and unmovable.

On November 7th, 2020, an iron meteorite landed on a private property in Uppland, located north of Stockholm. In December of that same year, two geologists discovered the meteorite and ultimately donated it to the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm.

According to Swedish news agency TT, the individual who possesses the private property where the rock was discovered, Johan Benzelstierna von Engeström, disagreed with the decision made by the Uppsala district court in December 2022. The court concluded that the finders of the rock, Andreas Forsberg and Anders Zetterqvist, should be given ownership as the meteorite was not considered part of the property and did not have a known owner.

According to the appeals court ruling on Thursday, the iron meteorite is composed of materials that can be found naturally on the surface of the earth. Judge Robert Green stated that meteorites, despite seeming foreign to the earth, should be treated as inanimate objects like any other stones and are thus part of immovable property.

According to the Svea court, a law in Sweden called ‘Allemansraetten’ allows individuals to explore the country freely as long as they show consideration for nature and animals. However, it does not grant permission to collect meteorites from another person’s property.

The individuals who discovered the meteorite had previously stated that they had permission to take it. Nevertheless, the appeals court determined that there was no proof of such a agreement. It is currently unclear if the geologists will pursue an appeal to the Supreme Court of Sweden.

Source: wral.com