Zubachyk N. Acquisition of property rights on the basis of acquisitive prescription

The dissertation has been devoted to the analysis of the acquisition of the right of ownership to various kinds of property by virtue of usucaption. The author has ascertained that usucaption – which is an institute of civil law – should be construed as a relatively separate group of interrelated legal norms stipulating the procedure for acquisition of the right of ownership to abandoned property (or to property which belongs to another person by virtue of his or her right of ownership) as a result of qualified prolonged control over this property for a certain duration, stipulated by law. Usucaption does not cover intangible property (for instance, to property rights, to results of intellectual and creative activity, to information and suchlike). The right of ownership by virtue of usucaption covers certain varieties of movable property, specifically: transportation vehicles and securities which become subject to usucaption as a result of a decision of a court of law whereby the right of ownership is conferred upon at the moment such a decision is made. At the same time, the right of ownership to immovable property by virtue of usucaption is conferred upon at the moment the ius in re for the said property undergoes state registration. Examination of court cases examining the right of ownership by virtue of usucaption is taking place under litigation rules. Considering the fact that there may be no respondent in a case like that, nor a dispute (no contest), the case may be examined within a separate proceeding. A third party with an interest in such a case will be the local authority (called a Territorial Community under Ukrainian law) whose territory hosts the property towards which a claim of prolonged ownership has been made under principles of usucaption. Thereby–only if and when a local authority authorized to represent such a Territorial Community does not object the conferring of the right of ownership due to prolonged owner (controller), the case may be examined within a separate proceeding. Acquisition of the right of ownership (under usucaption terms) to transportation vehicles and securities by virtue of a decision of a court of law shall take place not on the basis of their value criteria but through a special legal regime (with a special legal treatment). By and large, the academic novelty of the results obtained consists in the fact that, for the first time, an entire Dissertation Thesis has been compiled, containing a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the acquisition of the right of ownership by virtue of usucaption, and also in the fact that suggestions and recommendations have been elaborated as to how these social interactions may be adjusted in Ukrainian law. The results of the Dissertation Research may be used in subsequent academic researches, to enhance national legislation and the practice of its application as well as for the preparation of textbooks, academic guidebooks and for teaching special courses to university students of law.