Eminent domain Eminent domain means the power of the government to convert private property into public property (Mayer, Warner, Siedel & Lieberman, 2019). According to the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States the federal, state, and local governments have the power to confiscate the property of any citizen and convert it into public property (Eminent Domain - Full Video, 2015). The government must provide just compensation to the person or persons; whose property taken over by the government.