sequestro

Sequestro is a polysemous term used in several Romance languages, notably Portuguese and Italian, with several related meanings. It comes from Latin sequestrare, meaning to set apart or confiscate. In everyday usage, it describes the act of taking something or someone away and holding it, usually by lawful authority or by coercion. The specific legal meaning depends on the jurisdiction.

In criminal law, sequestro de pessoas refers to kidnapping: unlawfully detaining a person with the intent to obtain ransom or to influence a person’s actions. Penalties and definitions vary by country and are among the most serious offenses in many legal systems.

In civil and administrative law, sequestro denotes a protective or conservatory measure whereby property or assets are temporarily seized to preserve rights or guarantee a claim during litigation. This is known as sequestro judicial or conservatory seizure in some systems. The purpose is to prevent dissipation of assets prior to judgment.

Outside legal contexts, sequestro is used in environmental science to describe sequestration: the capture and long-term storage of substances such as carbon dioxide, or of nutrients or pollutants in soils or geological formations, to limit their release into the atmosphere or water.

Because meanings vary by jurisdiction, terms are often clarified by context or by adding qualifiers (for example, sequestro de bens, sequestro judicial, or sequestro de carbono). See also related concepts such as kidnapping, attachment, confiscation, and environmental sequestration.