Party Autonomy in International Property Law - Peace Palace Library

3. The Numerus Clausus and Party Autonomy in the Law of Property
Both terms raise the question of the scope of this principle of Dutch
property law. Interpreted narrowly, the numerus clausus concerns the
categories and types of iura in re aliena, limited real rights in the property
of another (beperkte rechten, hereinafter “limited property rights”).
Interpreted more widely, the numerus clausus also concerns the content
of full ownership rights in (volledige rechten) both tangible assets (zaken,
or “things”), whether movable or immovable, and intangible assets such
as shares, debts (vorderingen) and intellectual property rights. 9 The term
‘closed system’ may also be taken to refer to other rules and concepts of
property law, such as those pertaining to how a property right (goederenrechtelijk
recht) can be acquired or lost and a power over one’s property can
be conferred on someone else.
3.2. The foundations of the numerus clausus
Several articles in the 1992 Burgerlijk Wetboek enshrine the numerus clausus
principle more or less explicitly, where they refer generally to types of
property rights and types of situations that have a statutory basis. Article
3:81(1) BW, a provision in the part of the code containing general rules
on the acquisition of property rights, implicitly requires a statutory basis
for each type. It states:
‘He who is entitled to an independent and transferable right can,
within the boundaries of that right, create the limited property rights
that are mentioned by statute.’ 10
This article on the types of property rights – sometimes referred to by the
German word Typenzwang – is thought to reflect most clearly the existence
of the numerus clausus in the Dutch law of property. 11 The article
9
Since the 1992 Burgerlijk Wetboek entered into force on 1 January 1992,
the term ownership (eigendom) has, strictly speaking, applied only to tangible
property and not to intangible property, such as debts and intellectual property
rights.
10
Article 3:81(1) BW reads in Dutch: ‘Hij aan wie een zelfstandig en overdraagbaar
recht toekomt, kan binnen de grenzen van dat recht de in de wet
genoemde beperkte rechten vestigen.’
11
Two other articles contain rules bearing some resemblance to the principle of
numerus clausus: Article 3:277(1) BW refers to the equality between creditors
T.H.D. Struycken 61
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