abstract:Vicious intromission is a term of Scots law denoting the unauthorised assumption of ownership, or other interference with the rights of an estate. In 1771 James Boswell appeared before the Court of Session in Wilson vs Smith and Armour, arguing for a return to the principle that the punishment for vicious intromission should be restored to its traditional severity, of rendering the intromittor liable to pay all the debts of the estate.