> Our Law Firm provides legal representation in the proceedings of establishing, protecting and acquiring the right of ownership and of interference of possession.
Right of ownership must be established in a court proceeding when the status of a real property is not aligned with the data in the relevant official records. Namely, it may happen that an individual enjoys and uses a real property without being registered as its owner. In order to register as the owner of the subject real property, that individual must bring an action in order to start a proceeding with the purpose of aligning the actual status of the subject real property with its formal status in the books. The individual bringing an action for establishment of the right of ownership actually wants to acquire the right of ownership on the basis of adverse possession, meaning that the individual who possesses a certain property for a long time as its owner, whereas the property carries a certain value for the possessor, acquires the right of ownership, in which manner the long-term mismatch between the actual and legal status of the property is actually resolved.
Considering that the right of ownership over any property is prone to various violations, such as misappropriation or unauthorised use, the law envisages various modes of protection of your property through possessory actions:
- rei vindicatio - legal action by which the plaintiff demands that the defendant returns a thing that belongs to the plaintiff;
- actio publiciana - legal action for recovery of goods on the basis of a stronger legal ground;
- actio negatoria - legal action for seeking protection from disturbance of property right.
As opposed to legal action for interference with possession, possessory actions may not lapse.
A possessor is an individual who has de facto power over a thing or a right or over only a part of a thing or a right. Possession is acquired by introducing de facto power over a certain thing that includes a factual possibility of exploiting the subject thing.
Possession is characterised by three main things: lawfulness, truthfulness and fairness.
Possession is considered lawful if the possessor has a valid legal foundation for the possession. It is considered truthful if it was not acquired by force, secretly or by abuse of trust, whereas it is considered fair if the holder was not aware that he or she did not have the right to the possession.
Regardless of the nature of possession, any arbitrary interference with the possession is prohibited in any case, even if someone believes that he or she has a stronger ground for the subject possession. The possession is considered being interfered with if the possessor is being obstructed from exercising his/her factual power over the possession.
The possessor has the right to protect his or her possession within thirty days of finding out about the act of obstruction and about the perpetrator, and at the latest within one year from the date on which the obstruction began. The right to protect one’s possession is exercised through a special court proceeding (proceeding for interference with possession) or by self-help.
