Property Law [DROIB313]

Learning outcomes

Specific competences
- Explain the purpose and consequences of the rules and mechanisms that organise the different relationships to property.
- Identify in a correct way the questions which arise in concrete situations relating to property, and propose the most adequate solutions by exploiting in an optimal way the applicable rules.
- Understand the legislative evolutions as well as the social and economic stakes linked to a more flexible, creative and responsible approach to property and its dismemberments.
Cross-cutting skills
- Conduct a rigorous and reasoned analysis of jurisprudential solutions, adding a personal and critical viewpoint.
- Demonstrate a sense of synthesis, precision and discernment.
- Build a structured, supported and convincing argument.
- Project yourself into concrete situations, devise judicious examples, identify the advantages and disadvantages of different solutions.

 

Objectives

- The course aims to enable the student to understand the legal and jurisprudential mechanisms that organise the relationship to property.
- It invites the student to discuss the material in a reasoned and critical manner.
- It helps the student to project him/herself into concrete situations that require a rigorous and creative application of theoretical rules.
- It offers the student a global reflection on the evolution of the subject and on the margin of progress offered to it in view of the challenges of society. Among these, particular attention is devoted to sustainable development and to more participatory models likely to make property rights more flexible.

 

Content

The lessons are generally organised as follows, subject to change.
Lessons (1) and (2) are devoted to a general introduction to the new law of property, as remodelled by the Act of 4 February 2020 within the new Civil Code. They aim to explain the orientations and methods that have been adopted by the legislator. The fundamental notions of the subject will then be presented, including: types of property, the right of ownership, dismembered real rights, as well as the modes of acquisition of these rights.
From the third lesson onwards, each lesson will follow a participatory teaching model. Nine (9) topics will be discussed, which will largely correspond to the titles of Book 3 of the new Civil Code, namely: (3) the classification of property and, among these, the different kinds of immovable property (4) movable property, (4) movable property, its modes of acquisition and proof of ownership (5) [neighbourhood relations (part 1)] the extent and limits of real property in space (6) [neighbourhood relations (part 2)] neighbourhood disturbances (7) [neighbourhood relations (part 3)] easements (8) usufruct and habitation (9) emphyteusis (10) surface area (11) co-ownership
Lesson (12) is devoted to publicity concerning real property and to legal proceedings concerning ownership and possession. In addition, if circumstances permit, it will give students the opportunity to submit questions in preparation for the examination.
Particular attention will be paid to developments and reforms in the subject, including a more socially and environmentally responsible approach.
The students are invited to discuss the most relevant issues in an argumentative manner, to take a position on certain legal proposals, and even to present certain parts of the subject themselves (reversed class). The teacher takes care to provide as many examples as possible which implement the mechanisms explained in order to allow students to project themselves into concrete situations and to proceed to a rigorous or even creative application of the theoretical rules.
Students will be presented with judicial decisions.
Students will be invited to prepare the material and the judicial decisions that will be examined in the course, in order to take part in the debates and possible votes either in class or at a distance. The decisions to be prepared are posted on Webcampus according to a schedule that takes into account the order of the courses.

 

Table of contents

A detailed table of contents will be available on Webcampus.
Courses are usually structured as follows, subject to change.

1.     COURSE 1
General introduction: purpose of the course, societal issues, presentation of the new property law code, working method (participatory model, work plan, timetable), sources and materials, evaluation method, information on monitorships and permanences.
2.    COURSE 2
Fundamental concepts: the right of ownership, its definition, its relationship to possession, its characteristics, its prerogatives, its objects, its modes of acquisition, its dismemberments, its regulation.  Presentation of the participatory courses and instructions for their preparation.
3.    COURSE 3
Analysis of the types of property (immovable versus movable, tangible and intangible, the condition of animals, common property). Focus on the different types of real estate (real estate by nature, real estate by destination, real estate by perpetual attachment). Link with the course and practical cases.
4.    COURSE 4
Focus on movable property: modes of acquisition of ownership, role of possession, incidence of prescription, presumption of ownership (link with the monitorat and practical cases).
5.    COURSE 5
Study of real property in a neighbourhood context: object and spatial extent, delimitation, demarcation, fencing, encroachment situation, cases of accession, joint ownership; links with practical cases.
6.    COURSE 6
Studies of neighbourhood disturbances; links with practical cases.
7.    COURSE 7
Study of easements; links with practical cases.
8.    COURSE 8
Study of usufruct: links with practical cases.
9.    COURSE 9
Study of emphyteusis; links with practical cases.
10.    COURSE 10
Study of surface area; links with practical cases.
11.    COURSE 11
Study of co-ownership: types of co-ownership; modes of regulation; links with practical cases.
12.    COURSE 12 and 13
Real estate ownership and publicity. Legal actions concerning ownership and possession. The flexibility of the legal framework of property law. Questions and answers.



 

Exercises description

Two or three (maximum) exercise sessions are organised during the first four months. In these sessions, the main focus is on solving practical cases. Each session has two parts.
The first part is intended to remind and deepen the mechanisms exposed during the lecture or participative course, and to ensure, through a question and answer exchange, that the student has correctly integrated them. To do this, support material (in the form of tables or diagrams will be made available on Webcampus after the sessions).
The second part of the course is intended for solving case studies based on the examples and concrete problems discussed during the course, or on current events.
Unless modified, the following system will be used. An exercise sheet will be put online on Webcampus. The student will then be invited to solve the exercises and submit them through the "homework" tool on Webcampus, in the section indicated before the session.
In addition to the weekly tutorials, students have the possibility to submit - anonymously - questions concerning subject areas for which they need explanations or clarifications to be dealt with during the practical sessions. Finally, they can ask specific questions or get feedback on their resolutions.