Expropriation cannot be exercised for private use

The power of eminent domain can only be exercised for public use and with just compensation. Taking an individual’s private property is a deprivation which can only be justified by a higher good – which is public use – and can only be counterbalanced by just compensation. Without these safeguards, the taking of property would not only be unlawful, immoral, and null and void, but would also constitute a gross and condemnable transgression of an individual’s basic right to property as well.