Common European Property Law II/2

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christian Rudolf Friedrich-Wilhelm von Bar
• Subject Area: Private Law
• Term: from 2016 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 315338686

Common European Property Law. Volume I was published by Beck (Munich) in August 2015. It covers the concept of property law (§ 1), the objects protected by property law (§ 2) and the types and manifestations of real rights in property (§ 3). Volume II intends to treat the law of legal and factual possession (§ 4), rules on the transfer of property rights (§ 5) and remedies for the protection of property rights (§ 6). The project as a whole develops property law as a sub-discipline of European private law. It covers the entire ambit of property law, including the so-called law of real property, and develops for the first time a theory of European property law. I roughly expect each of the three chapters of volume II to require one year for completion. However, funding for the project is only secured until the end of 2016. This would mean to leave the project incomplete. Hence, I hereby apply for funding for my research team for the year 2017.From a European private law point of view, property law is an unusually unwieldy subject, not only when it comes to rights in property (the core subject of volume I) but also when it comes to the law of possession. A broad-based comparative law penetration of all areas of property law promises highly valuable insights. The focus is to uncover and decipher the mutual interrelations and inherent necessities of property law. The wealth of material brought to light by the two volumes of the book permits to use it as a work of reference for European property law. It is, nonetheless, the idea to consolidate the property law systems of all member states in a (single) picture that is at the heart of the project. Plausibly drawn, such a picture allows to capture each national legal system with its respective proper concepts and legal policies. The overarching system develops through constantly shifting perspectives, from specific details to the broader panorama and back to the details. The true challenge is to accurately depict the property law of all Member States, free of inconsistencies and repetitions, drawing on the immense wealth of national knowledge and experience, whilst avoiding the monotony of national reports. We are confident that we succeeded in doing so in volume I, are further confident that our approach shall again prove its value in analysing the law of possession and are finally confident that we shall be able to maintain it up to the completion of our project.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants