This lecture examines the relationship between European and National Property Law. One of the pillars of the economic constitution of the EU is what might be called freedom of property. It is, however, not really clear what is meant by property and property rights in a private law sense. How can property rights or, rights against the world be defined at a European level? A search for common policies, principles, concepts and rules is badly needed. In the lecture a research map is drawn in which problem areas are presented as well as some suggestions are made as to where this search could lead to, taking the work on the Ius Commune Casebook Property Law as a starting-point. For indeed, under the surface of the differing rules, European property law systems seem to share several leading policies and principles, although existing differences should also not be ignored.
This lecture examines the relationship between European and National Property Law. One of the pillars of the economic constitution of the EU is what might be called freedom of property. It is, however, not really clear what is meant by property and property rights in a private law sense. How can property rights or, rights against the world be defined at a European level? A search for common policies, principles, concepts and rules is badly needed. In the lecture a research map is drawn in which problem areas are presented as well as some suggestions are made as to where this search could lead to, taking the work on the Ius Commune Casebook Property Law as a starting-point. For indeed, under the surface of the differing rules, European property law systems seem to share several leading policies and principles, although existing differences should also not be ignored.