What is "mandement van spolie"

n. (context South Africa English) An order (restitutory interdict) handed down by a Court on application, originating in Roman Dutch Law where a person (spoliator) is compelled to return a thing that has been taken unlawfully. The case turns on possession, not ownership. In South African Law, a ''mandement van spolie'' can even be brought by a thief where the owner unlawfully retrieves the thing stolen.