“Construction Law – Spatial Property Law” conference

On 20-21 September in Gdańsk, a conference entitled “Construction Law – Spatial Property Law” was held. Within two days, 15 invited speakers presented their papers, several hours of plenary sessions were held, during which the invited guests and listeners had the opportunity to discuss the issues of particular importance for the legal order of the state.

Spatial property rights and the existing legal order

The debate is the more important as it is a part of previous activities and initiatives aimed at the adoption of regulations concerning the right to spatial property. It is worth mentioning the discussions on the shape of this regulation that have been ongoing for years, and the previous unsuccessful attempts to adopt them. The plans to implement spatial property rights into the Polish legal system, although they may be based on the tradition of other Western European countries where similar regulations have been successfully implemented in the past, have to take into account the fact that not all of the models can be easily and directly implemented into Polish law. The adoption of the aforementioned regulation will influence civil and administrative law, and consequently, many basic institutions deeply rooted in Polish legal culture. The legislator, seeking to expand investment opportunities related to the use of frequently valuable real estates, will have to face the problem of the transformation of the existing legal order. –“The implementation of spatial property law will have an impact on civil and administrative law and it will involve numerous changes. Although the investment opportunities would be broadened, however, it is undoubtedly a major transformational challenge, indicated dr. hab. Joanna Smarż during her speech.

Spatial property law, construction law and property law

– “This conference is of significant importance as it covers issues fundamental for the future institution of the spatial property law, such as spatial planning, cadastre of real property or broadly understood building law. It will indicate the assumptions which should be followed by the legislator when drafting legal provisions of the spatial property law”, said during his speech Arkadiusz Goławski, Director of the Office of the President of the Government Legislation Centre (RCL). Dr Przemysław Sobolewski (BAS; member of the Scientific Council of the Institute De Republica) pointed out that although “the right to property is immanently inherent in human nature, however, it is not an unlimited one. It should be perceived from a historical and constitutional point of view, while not overlooking also the economic aspect of property rights as the foundation of property law and the broadly understood system of exchange of goods and services”.

Opening of an important debate

It seems that the topic of spatial property law will permanently gain its place in the Polish public debate. The conference “Construction Law – Spatial Property Law”, organised by the Institute De Republica together with the Stowarzyszenie Edukacji Administracji Publicznej (Association for Education of Public Administration), was a very significant voice which emphasised the most important contexts in which it should be discussed.  

– “The Institute would like to initiate, deepen and stimulate the debate on such an important issue as the spatial property law, which unfortunately has not been implemented in the Polish legal system so far and which has been present, sometimes for a very long time, in legal regulations of other European countries, such as Germany, Great Britain, France or Italy. Obviously, this task will not be easy and it will involve a number of problems concerning the selection of a model for future changes”, stated dr. hab. Bogumił Szmulik, the Director of the Institute De Republica.