Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

In rem \In rem\ [L.] (Law)
   Lit., in or against a (or the) thing;

   Note: used:
   (a) Of any right (called

   {right, or jus},

   {in rem}) of such a nature as to be available over its
      subject without reference to one person more than another,
      or, as generally expressed, a right competent, or
      available, against all persons. Rights in rem include not
      alone rights over physical property, but all rights
      available against all persons indifferently, as those of
      life, liberty, and reputation.
   (b) Of actions for recovering or reducing to possession or
       enjoyment a specific object, as in the enforcement of
       maritime liens against a vessel, which is made the
       defendant by a sort of personification. Most actions for
       the specific recovery of property in English and American
       law are in the nature of actions in personam against a
       person alleged to be unlawfully withholding the property.