in property law, act of appropriating private property for state or sovereign use. Confiscation as an incident of state power can be traced back to the Roman Empire and earlier; it has existed in some form in most countries around the world. It was most often predicated on the doing of some prohibited act resulting in the forfeiture by the wrongdoer of his property to the state or crown. International crimes, such as acts of war, still carry the penalty of confiscation, although it is not often exercised. See also eminent domain.