Property Law Perspectives V

Part I General Property Law 21

1 Contractual Fragmentation of Property in Europe 23
Francesco Mezzanotte
1.1 Introduction 23
1.2 Property Fragmentation via Atypical Personal Servitudes 27
1.2.1 A Case Study 28
1.2.2 The German Solution 29
1.2.3 The French Solution 31
1.2.4 The Italian Solution 33
1.2.5 Comparative Overview 35
1.3 Party Autonomy, Property Law and the Internal Market 38
1.3.1 National Property Law and Cross-border Transactions 39
1.3.2 National Property Law and the Architecture of the Market 40
1.3.3 Private Autonomy in European Private Law 42
1.4 Perspectives on Party Autonomy in European Property Law 44

2 The French Trustee’s Ownership 55
Rafael Ibarra Garza
2.1 Introduction 55
2.2 The French Trustee’s Ownership and the Absoluteness of the Right of Ownership 56
2.3 The French Trustee’s Ownership and the Perpetuity of the Right of Ownership 58
2.4 The French Trustee’s Ownership and the Exclusiveness of the Right of Ownership 60
2.4.1 The principle: the monopoly of the French trustee of the trust assets 61
2.4.2 The exception: the loss of ownership of the trust assets 63
2.5 Conclusion 65


3 Acquisitive Prescription of Public Domain Goods (Government Property) in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and England 69
Marlies Lernout & Johan Van de Voorde
3.1 Introduction 69
3.2 Domain Goods: the Distinction between Public and Private Domain 70
3.2.1 Domain Goods 70
3.2.2 The Distinction between Public and Private Domain 71
3.2.3 Definition of the Public Domain 72
3.2.3.1 General 72
3.2.3.2 Material Criterion 73
3.2.3.3 Formal Criterion in Belgium and France 75
3.2.3.4 Théorie de L’accessoire, Théorie de la Domanialité Publique Globale 77
3.3 Consequences of the Difference between Public and Private Domain 78
3.3.1 Countries with a ‘Strong’ Public Domain: Belgium and France 78
3.3.1.1 Principle 78
3.3.1.2 Nuances 78
3.3.2 Countries with ‘Weak’ Public Domain: Netherlands and England 79
3.3.3 Preliminary Conclusion on Domain Goods in General 80
3.4 Acquisitive Prescription of the Public Domain 81
3.4.1 Introduction 81
3.4.2 Case Law Supporting Acquisitive Prescription of Public Domain Goods 82
3.4.2.1 Planting Rights on Public Roads 82
3.4.2.2 Other Real Rights 83
3.4.3 Requirements for Acquisitive Prescription of Public Domain Goods in Belgium 85
3.4.4 Possible Other Hindrances to Acquisitive Prescription of Public Domain Goods 88
3.5 General Conclusion 89

4 Acquisition of ownership by poachers 95
Jelle Jansen
4.1 Lion hunt 95
4.2 Cecil in Roman-Dutch Law 97
4.3 Royal fowl and royal fish in England and Scotland 98
4.4 German Law: The Aneignungsrecht (appropriation right) 100
4.5 Conclusion 102

Part II Land Law 105

5 The Battle of the Courts: The Acquisition a non Domino of Real Estate before 1 January 2014 107
Magda Schusterová
5.1 Introduction 107
5.2 The Acquisition a non Domino in the Civil Code of 1964 in General 108
5.3 The Czech Real Estate Cadastre before 01 January 2014 and the Mirror Principle 111
5.4 The Battle 112
5.4.1 The Supreme Court on the Good Faith Acquisition a non Domino 112
5.4.2 The Development of the Case Law of the Constitutional Court 113
5.4.3 The Peak of the Battle 114
5.4.4 Aftermath 118
5.5 Another Battlefield: Procedural Law 119
5.6 The New Civil Code and Acquisition of Real Estate by a ‘Not Entitled’ Person 120
5.7 Conclusions 122

6 Does one size fit all?
A comparative analysis of the mandatory legal regime for apartment co-ownership 125
Charlotte Willemot
6.1 Introduction 125
6.2 Condominium legislation in Belgium 127
6.2.1 The situation before 30 June 1994 127
6.2.2 The law of 30 June 1994 and the law of 2 July 2010 130
6.3 Mandatory uniform legal regime 132
6.3.1 A general lack of flexibility 132
6.3.2 The issues for ‘small’ condominiums 133
6.3.3 Not tailored for ‘large’ and ‘mixed-use’ condominiums 134
6.4 Exceptions to the uniform legal regime 136
6.4.1 General exemption 136
6.4.2 Three limited exceptions 138
6.4.2.1 The condominium board 138
6.4.2.2 Simplified book-keeping 139
6.4.2.3 The subsidiary co-owners association 139
6.5 Condominium legislation in France 140
6.5.1 Exceptions to the uniform legal regime 141
6.5.2 Introduction of a gradual regime 142
6.5.3 Condominiums with less than 10 units 143
6.5.3.1 The condominium board 143

6.5.3.2 Reserve fund 143
6.5.3.3 Simplified book-keeping 144
6.5.4 Condominiums with no more than 15 units: Separate bank account 144
6.5.5 Condominiums not destined for habitation 144
6.5.5.1 Model contract with the syndic (manager) 144
6.5.5.2 Technical sheet 145
6.5.6 Evaluation 145
6.6 Conclusion 145

7 Grids, a Gordian Knot? 151
Leon Hoppenbrouwers
7.1 Introduction 151
7.2 Legal Framework before 1 February 2007 153
7.2.1 Distinction between Movable and Immovable Property 153
7.2.2 Ownership 153
7.2.3 Accession 154
7.3 Case Law 155
7.3.1 Supreme Court Rulings 155
7.3.2 Practical Complications 156
7.4 Changes in Legislation 157
7.4.1 Amendment of Section 5:20 DCC 157
7.4.2 Section 155a New Civil Code Transition Act 159
7.4.3 Result of New Legislation 160
7.5 Practical Issues 160
7.5.1 Demarcation of a Grid 160
7.5.2 Unrightful Construction 162
7.5.3 Missing Information 163
7.5.4 Construction in One’s Own Soil 163
7.5.5 Right of Superficies v. Registration of a Grid 163
7.5.6 How to Deal with Ducts 164
7.6 Conclusion 165

Part III Property Theory 167

8 A systemic constitutional approach to the regulation of the use of property in South African law 169
Elsabé van der Sijde
8.1 Introduction 169
8.2 The traditional doctrinal view as starting point 171
8.3 A changed legal landscape for South African property law 175
8.3.1 Background 175

8.3.2 An alternative approach to regulation 177
8.3.3 Regulation as an inherent part of the constitutional legal system: The possibility of competing regulatory frameworks 180
8.3.4 Practical significance of a systemic constitutional approach to regulation 183
8.4 Concluding remarks 186

9 Towards an Access-Based Paradigm of Ownership. A Plea for Inclusion in Property Law 191
Alessandra Quarta
9.1 Introduction 191
9.2 The Idea of Property 192
9.3 Denying the Binary Model: Property and No-Property 199
9.4 Between Access and Exclusion 202
9.5 Towards an Access-Based Paradigm of Property 204
9.6 Conclusion 206

List of Contibutors 209
Previously Published in the Vastgoed, Omgeving & Recht Series 211