The Special Significance of the Time-Factor in the Romanian Regulation of Adverse Possession of Immovables

Abstract

In our study, we describe the regulation of the institution of adverse possession in Romania from a legal historical point of view. We present the main structures of adverse possession in the norms codified on the basis of Austrian and French models, as well as those influenced by Hungarian customary law, during the 19th and 20th century. We monitor the evolution of the conditions necessary for adverse possession based on good faith, legitimate title or registration in a real estate registry, or even bad faith de facto possession. We conclude that the temporal variability of the regulation of adverse possession and the overlapping of different adverse possession systems create legal uncertainty, especially in light of the divergent practices of the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the Constitutional Court. According to our conclusion, this legal uncertainty will not cease without the restoration of the registration principle of the real estate registry.