Just Compensation and the Navigation Power

The fifth amendment of the United States Constitution commands that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. Many cases involve the issue of what constitutes just compensation for particular private property which has been taken. Few guiding principles have been formulated, other than a general proposition that just compensation is based upon the market value of the property with due consideration of all its available uses. The amount assessed under the above formula cannot be enhanced by any special use of the property to the Government, because just compensation means the amount of loss to the owner, not the gain derived by the appropriator from the taking.

The purpose of this comment is to outline a major exception to the usual rules of just compensation.