“True, he constructed it, and by all accounts, it served him well. Then he passed it on to you. You have since made your own modifications. So it is now your lightsaber.” – Huyang
In the final episode of Star Wars: Rebels, Ezra handed his lightsaber to Chopper before sneaking off to surrender to Thrawn. Chopper gave it to Sabine, and she used it to help the rebels escape the Imperial Command Center.
By the beginning of Ahsoka, Sabine had modified Ezra’s lightsaber. In Episode 2 of Ahsoka, Huyang remarks that, after her modifications, the lightsaber is now Sabine’s. While I certainly share Huyang’s enthusiasm for lightsabers, I would respectfully disagree with Huyang’s take on property law.
Exhibit A: The lightsaber in question (Lucasfilm booth, SDCC July 2023)
Gift
If Ezra had gifted the lightsaber to Sabine, then she would be entitled to do as she pleased with it, including modifying it to her heart’s content. Gifting an item of personal property transfers title to the property from the giver to the recipient, who thereafter owns the property outright. See Cal. Civil Code § 1146.
As an aside, the circumstances of Ezra’s relinquishment of his lightsaber raise an interesting question about the nature of the gift. On one hand, if Ezra meant merely to gift the lightsaber as a sign of affection, the gift would be inter vivos, an ordinary gift between living parties. On the other hand, if Ezra expected that his gambit with Thrawn’s ship and the purrgil would cause his death, the gift would be a gift causa mortis, which is sort of a quasi-testamentary gift given under an apprehension of imminent death.
Either way, a legal gift requires intent, delivery, and acceptance, and the circumstances in the Rebels finale raise questions regarding at least intent and delivery. Burkle v. Burkle, 141 Cal. App. 4th 1029 (2006). First, it seems unlikely that Ezra intended to gift the lightsaber to Chopper, to whom he delivered the item. One shudders to contemplate the havoc that Chopper could inflict with such a weapon, but more than that, astromechs like Chopper are more frequently mere custodians (see, e.g., Return of the Jedi). If anyone, it’s more likely Ezra intended it to be a gift for Sabine, who had already demonstrated her aptitude with the Darksaber and with whom Ezra shares a close, affectionate relationship. But in that case, it’s curious that he did not give it to her directly even though he had the opportunity when silently communicating with her in the Rebels finale his intent to sneak off and surrender. So even if Sabine could establish intent, notwithstanding Huyang’s comment that Ezra “passed it on to you,” the lightsaber was probably not a legal gift as Ezra arguably did not actually or symbolically deliver it to Sabine’s possession. See Cal. Civil Code § 1147 (for unwritten gifts, requiring actual or symbolic delivery of object to recipient).
In any event, Sabine herself does not seem to interpret the transfer as a gift, as she still refers to it as “Ezra’s lightsaber” in Ahsoka. Under these circumstances, Sabine would have no right to alter Ezra’s personal property, and the modifications certainly would not result in transferring title to her.
Gratuitous Deposit
Alternatively, personal property left in the physical custody of another raises the issue of bailment, where the owner transfers possession but not title to a bailee. The lightsaber’s bailment here would be best described as a situation where the bailee, Sabine, receives the benefit of possession, and the owner, Ezra, receives no reciprocal benefit, such as a rental fee. California regards this kind of bailment as a “gratuitous deposit” under Civil Code section 1844. California law requires a bailee of this kind of deposit to “use, at least, slight care for the preservation of the thing deposited.” Cal. Civ. Code § 1846(a).
Framing Sabine’s possession of the lightsaber as a gratuitous deposit would be better for her in terms of avoiding trouble for its modifications. She could argue that adding embellishment to the nozzle and polishing up the hilt did not impair the lightsaber’s function or value. She could argue that the modifications added value given her reputation and skill as an artist and reflected “at least, slight care” for the lightsaber’s preservation while in her custody.
However, as with all deposited property, California law would require Sabine to return the lightsaber to the owner when demanded. So assuming that her and Ahsoka’s quest is successful, what happens if Ezra is unhappy with the modifications to his lightsaber while it was in Sabine’s care?
This triggers a concept called accession, which is the addition of value to bailed property by the expenditure of labor or the addition of new materials. See Cal. Civ. Code § 1025 et seq. Since Ezra owns the principal lightsaber, Ezra would be entitled to entirely reclaim the newly embellished lightsaber, although he may be obligated to reimburse Sabine for her effort and materials. Id. § 1025. Alternatively, he could demand that the new ornamentation be removed and his property restored to its original condition. Id. § 1026.
However, given that Sabine’s modifications likely do not exceed the value of the overall lightsaber, the modifications would not result in transferring ownership to her, despite Huyang’s evaluation.
What will Ezra think of Sabine’s additions to his lightsaber? Will he ultimately gift it to her in a way that results in an effective transfer of title? It looks like Sabine, Huyang, and Ahsoka will have to travel to a galaxy even farther, farther away to answer these and many other questions.
This post was composed during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. We acknowledge that this show would not exist without the labor of currently striking artists and are grateful for their hard work.
In this week’s episode, the Bad Batch travels to a remote planet to secure a valuable mineral resource. Wrecker is charged with keeping watch for poachers while the rest of the crew is occupied with the delicate extraction of the volatile substance. However, a mysterious thief steals the clones’ ship, the Marauder, from under Wrecker’s nose, and fingers immediately start pointing.
Other than having to endure Tech’s blistering blame game, does Wrecker bear any legal responsibility to the other clones for the loss of the Marauder on his watch?
First, Tech has previously referred to the Marauder as “my ship” in Cornered, Season 1, Episode 4. Although Wrecker’s reaction in that episode strongly suggested that the Marauder was not actually Tech’s personal property, Tech might first argue that the Marauder belonged exclusively to him as its primary mechanic. Thus, Tech could try to characterize Wrecker’s failure to prevent the Marauder’s theft as a matter of contract.
Entrusting someone else with personal property creates a bailment contract between the owner and the bailee. These facts sound like the kind of bailment that exists between a car owner and the operator of a parking lot or garage. Usually, this kind of bailment is a bailment for hire where the arrangement benefits both parties, which means that the bailee has a duty of ordinary care to protect the value of the property. Beetson v. Hollywood Athletic Club, 109 Cal. App. 715, 718 (1930). Framing it as a bailment, Tech could argue that Wrecker’s failure to prevent the Marauder’s theft was sufficiently negligent to breach Wrecker’s duty of care as a bailee of the Marauder.
However, a more likely way of characterizing Wrecker’s potential liability would be as one of the vessel’s co-owners. Under California law, the clones’ co-ownership of a vessel like the Marauder would amount to a tenancy in common. Ferem v. Olson & Mahony, 176 Cal. 652, 655 (1917). Common tenancy creates a fiduciary relationship between the co-owners where each owner has a duty to preserve the value of the shared interest in the property.
Specifically, each owner may be entitled to recovery if another owner’s conduct amounts to “waste” of the property, which is defined as “an unlawful act or omission of duty on the part of a tenant which results in permanent injury.” Avalon Pac.-Santa Ana, L.P. v. HD Supply Repair & Remodel, LLC, 192 Cal. App. 4th 1183, 1214 (2011). Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 732, a party may sue for treble damages from a co-tenant whose conduct amounts to waste of the property. To recover these hefty damages, Tech, Hunter, and Omega could argue that Wrecker’s failure to adequately monitor the vessel when it was parked in a known high-crime area was an omission that resulted in the unlawful waste of the Marauder.
However, Wrecker himself asserted a strong defense to any breach-of-duty theory in the episode: because of a lack of “suitable landing zones,” Tech had docked the Marauder out of view from Wrecker’s watch post at the entrance of the mine. Wrecker could make a compelling argument that he could not be in two places at once, and protecting the clones’ safety superseded his duty to protect the Marauder.
And after all, while the value of the Marauder is certainly immense to the Bad Batch, Wrecker himself potentially suffered the greatest property loss of any of the clones with the ship’s theft: Lula.
Is Lula okay? Are they safe?
Under these tragic circumstances, burdening Wrecker with liability for the Marauder’s loss would be like kicking a clone while he’s down.
We may only be a few days into the new year, but Star Wars has already gifted fans with fresh content, as Bad Batch returned for its sophomore season on January 4th. Star Wars legal geeks didn’t have to wait long for some prime galactic legal issues to surface–one was teed up right in the title of Episode 1: Spoils of War.
After narrowly surviving the Empire’s destruction of all cloning facilities on Kamino, the Bad Batch quickly found themselves back in action with a new mission from Cid–one that promised to bring in more riches than all their prior jobs combined. The mission: Infiltrate Serenno and steal some of the late Count Dooku’s vast fortune while the Empire was busy attempting to seize it for its own use.
Postwar Castle Serenno, home to the galaxy’s largest home furnishings liquidation sale!
The clones arrive on Serenno to find the ultimate estate sale in action, as the newly minted Galactic Empire was rapidly readying Dooku’s valuables to be taken off world. The scale of the seizure is massive, as multiple huge Class Four Container Transports were loaded for bear with mountains of shipping containers filled to the brim with money, jewels, and other treasures from Dooku’s palace.
Count Dooku, having recently had his head detached from his shoulders via lightsaber, wasn’t in any position to protest. However with the clone wars over, what does international law have to say about this sort of apparently brazen pilfering?
Saying that heads will roll for stealing Dooku’s treasure seems a bit uncouth under the circumstances.
Even though wars end, the laws governing them don’t suddenly cease to exist. The practice of battlefield theft and seizures have endured as long as humans have waged war, from pillaging Vikings to the Nazis’ rampant theft of cultural treasures. The notion of one side taking an enemy’s during or after a war might seem a little unfair, but the law doesn’t treat all wartime takings equally. Although theft is generally outlawed during conflict, there are many circumstances where one side is legally able to take spoils of war from an opponent after a conflict.
When it comes to taking property, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), also known as the law of armed conflict, draws a distinction between private and government property. On one hand, the forcible seizure of private property for personal use, also known as pillaging, is generally outlawed. On the other hand, taking enemy property is generally lawful–a concept known as “spoils of war.” This practice is condoned in IHL treaty law, as the Hague Regulations of 1907 allow an occupying army to take possession of a wide variety of movable property belonging to the occupied State. The legal ability to seize war booty is also recognized under Customary International Law, which is a subset of IHL stemming from long standing accepted international practices and carry the same binding legal effects as treaty law (e.g. Geneva Conventions).
We’re still awaiting news on the fate of the ultimate prize at Dooku’s castle: The Count’s Exquisite Pajamas
Given Serenno’s key role in the Clone Wars, the Empire’s mission to seize property there had a solid basis in law. Serenno was a key opponent of the Galactic Republic (and by extension the Empire) during the Clone Wars. Having been a core member of the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) at the very heart of the war effort against the Republic, Serenno was a reasonable place for the Empire to look to seize war booty.
But Serenno’s status as a defeated Republic enemy doesn’t automatically mean the Empire could sweep in and take whatever it wanted after the war. The private property of Serennian citizens would be protected from pillage under IHL–a prohibition that would seemingly protect Count Dooku’s fortune. After all, the mere act of participating in a war doesn’t give the enemy a free pass to seize all your personal property outside of the battlefield.
However, Count Dooku was no ordinary citizen–his unique status and role in the war are key to how his property is classified. As the head of House Serenno, Dooku was the political ruler and head of state for the planet–a status that fueled his departure from the Jedi Order. Although Serenno had a planetary council and Galactic Senator, Dooku acted as ruling head of state, serving as the planetary emissary and acting as the planet’s decision-maker in all key areas, including its cessation from the Republic. He was also one of the military leaders of the Separatist war effort, taking a frequent direct role in hostilities. Castle Serenno was the seat of Dooku’s power on the planet and was the location from which he ran planetary affairs (including war efforts). This meant that Dooku’s fortress wasn’t simply a private residence. Based on the circumstances, the castle was effectively government property and thus was fair game for the Empire to search for war booty.
Dooku’s Force ghost watching his palace get lawfully ransacked by his old boss.
Even if Dooku is considered a private citizen, his deep participation in the war effort still renders at least some of his property as war booty. Under IHL, private property that has been used for hostile purposes can also be seized as spoils of war. Dooku was at the heart of the Separatist war effort, using his heavily fortified castle on Serenno as his base of operations. By intertwining his private property with his war involvement, his actions therefore exposed much of his own private property to seizure.
The Empire was also acting lawfully when it specifically targeted Dooku’s riches for seizure. While war booty is often thought of as items such as weapons or military vehicles, the term encompasses a far greater range of property, including non-military property like money. Under U.S. law, “spoils of war” are defined as “enemy movable property lawfully captured, seized, confiscated, or found…” This is a broad spanning definition that includes a wide range of items, including money. The Hague Regulations provide that an occupying army “…can only take possession of cash, funds, and realizable securities which are strictly the property of the State, depots of arms, means of transport, stores and supplies, and, generally, all movable property belonging to the State which may be used for military operations.” Additionally, under Customary International Law, a party to an armed conflict can seize moveable state property as war booty, including military equipment and even cash.
On Serenno, we see the Empire carrying out a wholesale seizure of Count Dooku’s fortune–piles of credits, jewels, artifacts, and more can be seen inside Imperial shipping containers. These items, particularly the currency, fall squarely within the IHL definition of spoils of war. This wealth was no doubt intertwined with Dooku’s governance of Serenno, including directly funding the Separatist war effort, which effectively rendered it state property eligible for seizure.
While the Empire’s seizure of Dooku’s booty was generally lawful, it would only be entitled to property that actually belonged to Dooku/Serenno. In the episode, we learn from a Serennian citizen named Romar that Dooku stole untold amounts of his fortune from the Serennian people. How much and what was stolen isn’t known, but stolen property is doubtlessly amongst the items being seized. The Empire has no legal claim to that stolen property, but then again Emperor Palpatine isn’t known for his strict adherence to the rule of law.
I’m sure Dooku would’ve just Venmo’d Palpatine some cash if he’d only asked.
As a group of rogue clones unaffiliated with the Empire, the Bad Batch on the other hand had no legal basis to take any of Dooku’s booty. The right to seize spoils of war rests with a party to the armed conflict, not individual citizens or even individual soldiers taking part in the war. In either case, the real lesson is that if you find yourself inheriting a vast galactic fortune, think twice before you leave the Jedi Order and start up a massive war you’re destined to lose–otherwise you might lose a lot more than you bargained for (including your head).
The Galactic Empire is exceedingly good at a few things, from holding the Guinness World Record for using the most black/gray color schemes to allowing the Millennium Falcon to slip through its fingers at only the most opportunemoments. Chief among those “accomplishments” is its constant innovation in the field of brutal torture. From the moment the frightening black interrogation droid and its menacing needle floated into Princess Leia’s cell in A New Hope, it has been clear that torturing prisoners is part of the Galactic Empire’s core means of doing business. From Luke to Han, Hera, Kanan, and even poor Chewbacca, the roster of Imperial torture victims is so deep the best question to ask is what prisoner has the Empire somehow not tortured?
Unfortunately for Dedra, getting accosted outside work by the creepiest man this side of Alderaan doesn’t meet the legal definition of torture.
Andor showcases one of the darkest examples of this ruthless practice in Season 1, Episode 9 (titled “Nobody’s Listening!”), as Bix Caleen, Cassian’s longtime friend and ally, is brought in for questioning on Ferrix. Following the Rebel raid on the Imperial garrison at Aldhani, the Empire tightens its galactic noose in an effort to identify and destroy Rebel networks. Lieutenant Dedra Meero, ever the dutiful fascist, leads the ISB effort to identify the Rebel agent believed responsible for planning the raid—someone they dubs as “Axis” (whom the audience knows to be Luthen Rael, portrayed masterfully by Stellan Skarsgård). Her efforts lead to the capture of Bix and her colleague Salman Paak, who are hauled in for questioning.
Dedra wastes no time in laying out her demands to Bix, seeking information on Axis, Cassian Andor, and every piece of equipment that she’s had a role in stealing or selling. However, it quickly becomes clear that this will not be any normal interview. Dedra reveals that Salman resisted his interrogation and suffered a terrible fate at the hands of the exceedingly creepy Dr. Gorst. With Gorst lurking in the background, Dedra warns Bix that failure to cough up every bit of information would result in Dr. Gorst taking over. The threat of torture couldn’t be clearer if Dedra had “REFUSE AND YOU’RE GETTING TORTURED…BIG TIME” tattooed across her forehead.
Dr. Gorst: Reigning 12-time champion of the Galaxy’s Creepiest Smile competition.
After Bix shows the slightest bit of defiance, Dr. Gorst steps in and lays out one of the most brutal methods of torture ever seen in the galaxy far far away. Using a specialized headset, Bix is subjected to enhanced recordings of children dying en masse. Gorst explains that the recordings came from the Imperial massacre at Dizon Fray, in which the Empire wiped out the moon’s native sentient species after they resisted construction of an Imperial facility. The Empire discovered that recordings of the Dizonites’ screams while dying possessed unique acoustic characteristics that caused devastating psychological impact on anyone listening. Never one to miss a sadistic opportunity, the Empire weaponized the recordings as a novel method of extracting information from prisoners. Bix is strapped to her chair and subjected to the recordings, almost immediately letting out a primal scream that makes Luke’s yell on Cloud City seem like a tiny mouse squeak.
Just in case you thought “maybe the Empire’s not so bad,” Andor is here to fix that with one little headset.
Before Dedra unleashes Dr. Gorst, she makes clear her belief that Salman and Bix are part of a Rebel cell, describing Bix’s connections with Salman, Cassian, and Axis as a “nest of relationships.” Dedra’s mission is to bring the weight of the Empire down on the nascent Rebellion, destroying Axis and his Rebel network before more damage can be done.
The Rebellion’s struggle against the Empire implicates the real-world Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), also known as International Humanitarian Law (IHL)—the branch of international law that governs how warfare is conducted. IHL is a large web of treaty, domestic, and customary laws that aim to reign in the destructive effects of war and provide critical legal protections that help reduce suffering.
Before diving into the business of torture, it’s important to assess the type of armed conflict occurring in Andor. Real-world armed conflicts are classified as either “international” or “non-international.” The classification depends on the parties involved in the conflict. International armed conflicts (“IACs”) involve two or more nations fighting each other, such as World War II or the current Ukraine conflict. On the other hand, non-international armed conflicts (“NIACs”) involve a nation fighting an organized non-state armed group (e.g. Iraq versus ISIS), or multiple non-state armed groups fighting each other in a country. The law behind how conflicts are classified is best saved for another article, but how a conflict is classified means a great deal. For our purposes, we’ll consider the Rebellion’s fight against the Empire to be what’s known as a “non-international armed conflict.” That classification determines which provisions of IHL are applicable during the fighting.
There is a big difference in legal coverage between the two types of armed conflicts. IACs trigger the full suite of IHL, including more than 600 treaty rules. Contrastingly, NIACs trigger only a portion of IHL, including fewer than 30 treaty rules. This difference in legal coverage is especially pronounced when it comes to protections for those captured on the battlefield. For example, combatants captured during IACs are generally considered to be Prisoners of War (POWs). While “POW” is a commonly used term, it refers to a key legal status that grants a robust set of protections. There is no such thing as POW status during NIACs, which has huge implications for captured fighters.
Nothing brings a smile to Dedra’s face like committing grave breaches of international humanitarian law.
Even though NIACs don’t trigger the full complement of IHL rules, that doesn’t mean there are no protections at all. Both Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions (CA 3) and Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions (AP II) provide the bedrock set of rules for NIACs. Those rules include provisions for the protection and humane treatment of prisoners, including addressing torture.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines “torture” as:
The intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, upon a person in the custody of the accused.
In the case of Andor, Dr. Gorst’s method of extracting information from prisoners like Bix and Salman absolutely qualifies as torture. The Empire’s use of the recordings to inflict mental suffering is unquestionably intentional. The Empire is fully aware of the serious mental effects inflicted on those who listen to recordings of dying Dizonites. After discovering three of their own officers huddled in various states of emotional distress after listening to the scream recordings, the Empire elected to weaponize the audio for use against prisoners. They even took the additional astoundingly cruel step of isolating a section of audio featuring dying Dizonite children, which apparently has an even more devastating effect on the listener, in an effort to maximize the psychological damage.
Even though Dr. Gorst doesn’t lay a finger on Bix, his intentional infliction of severe mental torment squarely fits the definition of torture. The law recognizes that physical harm isn’t the only method of inflicting suffering upon a prisoner. Infliction of severe mental distress counts as torture the same as any punch, kick, or other physical abuse. The Empire clearly saw the Dizonite recordings as a way to inflict a tidal wave of mental anguish on prisoners in order to quickly get them to divulge information. Here, Gorst and Dedra went above and beyond in their effort to maximize Bix’s mental distress by telling her the disturbing backstory of the recordings and disclosing the awful effects they’d just had on Salman.
The extreme severity of mental suffering caused by the records is immediately apparent, as Bix is in obvious distress. Within seconds of donning the headset, she is sweating, shaking, and lets out a bone-chilling guttural scream. Dr. Gorst fully understands the effects, requiring her to be strapped down and noting that she might not even have the ability to speak while listening. When we next see Bix, she’s laying in a devastated heap on a mattress in her cell after only a short time listening. Under IHL, there is no requirement that torture last for a certain amount of time to qualify as “severe”—here, the Empire was able to inflict an extremely high degree of distress in a short period.
Although IHL differs in many aspects between IACs and NIACs, torture is treated the same across the board. Torture is flatly outlawed in all circumstances under IHL, regardless of the type of armed conflict. Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions bans torture outright, including in NIACs. Similarly, Additional Protocol II, Article 4 enshrines its ban on torture as a “fundamental guarantee” for those detained during NIACs. This flat ban reflects the uniform view of the international community that torture has no place in any type of armed conflict. Torture as a practice represents the exact type of needless suffering that IHL is in place to eliminate.
The ISB goes from zero to brutal torture in record time.
Dedra and her stiff-collared ISB colleagues might argue that Bix’s torture was necessary because of an urgent need to identify Axis and gain information about his Rebel cell. However, IHL bans torture without any exceptions. In other words, there is no legal justification for torture. Period. That includes situations where interrogators have a perceived pressing need for information—a scenario commonly played out in movies and TV against the backdrop of some looming major threat (looking at you, Jack Bauer and 24). Simply put, the law of war roundly rejects torture in all circumstances.
That means there is no excuse for the ISB’s use of torture as an interrogation tactic. Even if Bix held a treasure trove of valuable intel, including Luthen’s exact whereabouts, Mon Mothma’s ATM PIN code, and the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker’s juicy personal diary, that still wouldn’t legally justify her torture. Making things worse, Dedra and the ISB seemingly torture Bix and Salman because they want to, not because they think they must due to some existential threat to the Empire. Both Dedra and Dr. Gorst seemingly take twisted pleasure in subjecting Bix to this awful new torture technique.
Even if an exigent security threat justified torture—which is absolutely does not—there is no such urgency at the time Bix is tortured. The raid on Aldhani was long finished by the time Bix is tortured. As Bix is strapped to her chair, the Empire has no actionable intelligence on any imminent Rebel attacks—even the plot against the Imperial power station at Spellhaus isn’t discovered by the ISB until after her torture, following the unrelated capture of a Rebel pilot.
While Dedra is attempting to gain critical intel—Axis’ identity—she also seems determined to inflict severe suffering as a way of maliciously punishing Bix for daring to defy the Empire. Dedra’s arc over the first nine episodes has showcased the caustic and corrupting effects of power, which is on full display as she briefly questions Bix before turning her over to Dr. Gorst. This is exactly the type of sadistic, pointless infliction of suffering that IHL aims to prevent by outlawing torture.
Ever the ambitious evil Imperial officer, Dedra can therefore add “war criminal” to her ISB resume. While the Empire and ISB play by only the laws that suit their needs, the legal ban on torture under IHL remains an enduring protection for those captured on the battlefield.
