158. Necessitas non habet legem. Necessity has no law.
(See next Max.)
159. Necessitas vincit legem. Necessity defeats the law.
(See last Max. and No. 230.)
160. Nemo contra factum suum venire potest. No one can go against his own deed.
This maxim illustrates the doctrine of estoppel, of which there are three kinds. (1) By matter of record; (2) by deed; (3) by matter in pais. No person can, after execution, dispute his own solemn deed, which is conclusive against him and those claiming under him, even as to facts recited therein. (See Chitty on Contracts, 16th ed. p. 5.)
161. Nemo dat quod non habet. No one can give what he has not.
No one can, other than by sale in market overt, confer upon another a better title than he himself has. A great exception to this principle occurs in the case of “negotiable securities,” which by custom are transferable like cash by delivery. (See Miller v. Race, 1 Sm. L. C. p. 463.) A thief can confer no title to stolen goods. (See Maxs. Nos. 166 and 232.)
162. Nemo de domo suâ extrahi potest. No man can be dragged out of his own house.
(See Max. No. 62.)