Johan Van de Voorde unpaid senior researcher

Research Johan Van de Voorde

Research team

Expertise

- Private patrimonial law, especially property law (e.g. possession, neighbours' law, co-ownership) and prescription law; overlap of property law with other branches of law (e.g. environmental law, spatial planning law, company law) - Protection of subjective rights, with special attention to its application in environmental law - Legal history, specifically private law during the 19th century - Legal status of animals, especially in civil law

Analysing and optimalising the decision tree and the process for administrative fines in animal welfare law. 21/01/2019 - 20/01/2020

Abstract

The research is meant to analyse legally and empirically the possibilities to optimize the decision tree which is used to decide about administrative fines given to persons who violated Flemish animal welfare law.

Researcher(s)

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

  • Research Project

Acquisitive prescription. 01/10/2013 - 30/09/2017

Abstract

Acquisitive prescription ("verkrijgende verjaring") is a manner of property acquisition: somebody who has had the possession during a certain period of time of a proprietary right (right of ownership or an in rem right like usufruct), receives that right. The current Belgian legal framework concerning acquisitive prescription is rather complex and illogical. Moreover, recent case law of the European Court of Human Rights gave an important impulse to critical reflection on acquisitive prescription. The subject has an important practical relevance (e.g. sale of a good (e.g. a stolen vehicle) from a vendor, who afterwards appears not to be the owner; cohabitants or heirs become posessers of valuable goods (e.g. bonds) and discussions in reference to the action for revindication in seizure procedures). This research proposal aims to supply a coherent, clear and well-founded comparative law theory with the necessary (policy) recommendations via an in-depth analysis of acquisitive prescription with a thorough and critical analysis of its two constitutive conditions: possession and term. On the one hand, the research will critically analyze the current system of the acquisitive prescription, with a special focus on its justification, and on the other hand it will test its conformity with the national and international sources (principle of equality and protection of ownership) and its value of topicality ("actualiteitswaarde"). The central research question is: To what extent is the current legal framework concerning acquisitive prescription tenable (in the light of national and international evolutions) and which adjustments can be proposed?

Researcher(s)

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

  • Research Project