Suchergebnisse

The present article covers the codification of Civil Law in Belgium, which has in record time led to the enactment of several books of the new 2020 Civil Code. The article expounds the background and the plan for the new Civil Law codification in Belgium, the system and drafting methods of the Civil Code, as well as its future perspectives. The article offers insight into the example of a "recodification" process in the private law domain of an early 21st century West European state.

Abstract: Once Europe knew of a "European common law", the so-called Ius Commune. This old Ius Commune is nowadays considered to be a possible source of inspiration for a future common European Law. But apart from the Law of Obligations, there are few examples of such a new legal order. This is only logical, since the Law of Property of old used to be local and regional, that is, outside the Ius Commune. However, the feudal system of land tenure existed everywhere in Europe, and thus, became part of the Ius Commune. The basic idea of this feudal system was that of divided property. Both the feudal lord and the feudatory were owners of the tenure, both with different rights, though. This theory was quite flexible, and was thus applied to any kind of property. Alas, this idea of divided property disappeared with the demise of the feudal system at around 1800. However, the author is of the opinion that a revival of this idea could prove beneficial for the law. The possibility to combine several variants of property within Europe into a common concept would, beyond doubt, amount to a great improvement in the law of an ever-tighter Europe.