Actio de in rem verso. An Unwanted Continuity. The Doctrine of versio in rem in the Austrian Civil Code and Interwar Legal Discussion in Czechoslovakia

Abstract

This paper concerns of the doctrine of versio in rem (or actio de in rem verso) in the legal discussion in interwar Czechoslovakia. The paper presents a brief overview of the origin and field of application of actio de in rem verso in classical Roman law and the transformation of the doctrine of versio in rem i n the frame of Corpus Iuris Civilis. The scope of the changes made by the compilers is still uncertain and was a subject of extensive discussion among the legal scholars of the 19th century. The paper describes the nature of versio in rem in the Austrian Civil Code (provision of §1041) and presents legal statements of the prominent exponents of the various legal schools of interwar Czechoslovakia, the legal traditionalists and the supporters of the School of Pure Law Theory. The doctrine of versio in rem is still in the centre of attention of the modern legal scholars in the Czech Republic. The doctrine of versio in rem was adopted in the new Czech Civil Code, but without reflecting the results of the interwar discussion.