Admissibility of road real property usucaption

Abstract

In Polish legal system, the concept of „road real property” is not defined. It has been assumed in the jurisprudence that road real properties include public roads, internal roads, real properties designated in local zoning plans for road purposes, real properties marked as roads in land register, as well as real properties actually used as roads. It should be underlined that public roads as res publicae extra commercium, which means public properties excluded from civil law transactions, cannot be the subject of usucaption. Considering the discrepancy in the interpretation of the concept of a public road, the matter of dispute constitutes the scope of exclusion from civil law transactions, and therefore the subject of usucaption’s exclusion.The article marks that there is lack of legal definition of the concept of road real property, further it presents the distinction of roads proposed under the Act of 21 March 1985 on the Public Roads (Journal of Laws of 2007, No. 19, item 115, as amended), underlines the principle of the exclusion of public roads from civil law transactions. The article also refers to the rulings that indicate the possibility of road real property’s usucaption, as well as the rulings that underline contrary views.