The Content of the Concept of “Possession” in German, French and Russian Law

Abstract

The article examines the problem of the content of the concept of “possession”, the development and path of this term in the legal systems of three countries: Russia, Germany and France. The author presents the points of view of scientists and lawyers, which allow us to draw conclusions about the main concepts regarding the meaning and implementation of the right of ownership. The article analyzes the presented positions based on the features of the reception of the concept of “possession” from Roman private law, as well as on official and unofficial interpretations of this term. When considering ownership under German law, quotations are given from the Civil Code of the German Empire from 1900, through which a connection is established with the terms developed by Roman law regarding ownership. Analyzing the French concept of ownership, the author refers to the French Civil Code (the Napoleonic Code) and the doctrinal interpretation of ownership by lawyers. The state of the ownership category in Russia is also assessed in two aspects: theoretical and practical. In theory, the author considers three points of view about the essence of ownership, and in practice — refers to the legislative act, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The author comes to the following conclusion: in the Russian Federation there is no single concept of ownership both in scientific jurisprudence and in practice. This is shown by contrast with the almost complete regulation of ownership in Germany and France. The proposal to solve the problem presented by the author at the end of the article seems justified due to the possibility of its implementation at the official (legislative) level.