It's one of the reasons we don't have any court/lawyer movies. In latin cultures, breaches of contracts (of which there are as many as in anglo-saxon lands) are solved outside any court as often as possible. It seems the more south you go, the stronger this trend is.
Do note this is not a criticism, simply an observation !
De: "David Weihe" <blerg2_at_Cdv2RonFWxF3i_f-OvCgULTafAHsjInM2wciyjnS4PC3blq0-H9Zu2hLEbs-4gCjoKrdrw-g18ZW_w.yahoo.invalid>
> I was mostly thinking of people you kill yourself, not grave robbing.
It the bandit was outlawed, it is yours until the proper owner sues you for its return (subject to a finder's fee, of course).
If the bandit was not an outlaw, the bandit's heirs have rights and you owe them wergeld. Of course, since the bandit died robbing you, the kin also owe you a fine, which oddly enough is usually a lot more than you owe them. In play, it might be fun panicking your characters when they hear that they have to pay a big fine for killing the bandit before the court announces that the relatives owe you even more. Again, if the bandit's stuff can be identified as stolen, the original owners can sue for the items' return, but will be subject to a finders fee. If they cannot pay the fee, it is yours (at least until they try resuing you), but returning some or all of the stuff without taking your fee will get you in good stead with them, and may be a better idea.
Finally, you can give the loot to your chieftain, and then the owners have to sue him, instead. Actually, the way that it works is that they sue you, you announce to the court that you gave control of the objects to your chief, and they have to resue the chief (essentially like having to refile, in RW courts). After you gave your chief the fancy sword and armor, he might well lend you their use until the original owners make claim, BTW, so you can still make out from giving the items to him (so long as your loot is not better than his).
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