European Property Rights and Wrongs - Diana Wallis MEP

which can be held outright, on trust (which means it is managed by someone
on behalf of someone else), or by several people jointly. Different from the civil
law, the co-entitlement of interests in land is shared also at the practical level. It
is therefore possible to be entitled to a part of a house or to a piece of land or a
building on it for a limited (recurring) duration of time (timeshare). Civil lawyers
refer to this as fragmentation of the primary entitlement to land. The common
law tradition is followed in Member States such as the United Kingdom (Engand
and Wales and Northern Ireland) and the Republic of Ireland. Finally, there is also
a third category of legal systems that adhere to a mix between civil law (the first
group) and common law (the second group). These mixed legal systems generally
adhere to the civil law land law, but do except important influences from the
common law. This last aspect generally includes the recognition of trusts with
which entitlement to interests in land can be shared or fragmented (such as in a
timeshare). Mixed legal systems are Scotland and Cyprus.
These differences are relevant beyond a mere theoretical level. Technically
speaking the only owner of land in the civil law sense of the term in English law is
the Queen.19 All other persons hold land from the queen in tenure, meaning that
their rights are less than ownership in the civil law sense. These rights in respect to
land are generally called estate. The forms of estates are standardised and can be a
freehold estate, meaning an estate without further limitations, or a leasehold estate
(or a term of years), meaning an entitlement to land for a limited duration of time.
All other estates on land exist through a trust (such as a version of a life estate).
Generally, entitlement to land is transferred, or conveyed, between parties by
adhering to the rules on transfer of ownership. Depending on the legal system
there will be a contract of sale, but also further property law requirements such as
registration. In some systems the validity of the contract of sale remains relevant for
the conveyance, whereas in other systems the validity of the contract loses its importance
at the moment of conveyance, i.e. the property effect of the transaction.
Besides the entitlement to land, also the way in which land is registered differs
between Member States. Member States whose legal system is based on
the French tradition, such as Belgium, Italy, Romania, follow a deeds registration
system (or a negative system). In this system the land registry simply registers the
title document that is prepared by a civil law notary, without looking at the ac-
19 Who holds a so-called demesne title.
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A European Land Law?