Reform of the civil law of the Kingdom of Belgium – the Act introducing Book III “Property Law” of the Civil Code

Abstract

The article outlines the Belgian legislation in the context of the reform of the civil law system undertaken in 2018, in particular in connection with the announcement on 17 March 2020 of the Act of 4 February 2020 introducing Book III “Property Law” of the Civil Code (C-2020/20374). As an introduction, the article recalls the history of legislation binding on the territory of the modern Belgian state since its founding, explains its relationships with the French civil law system in the context of historical events of the 19th century and describes the most important reasons for undertaking the recent reform of the civil law. The article presents the most important solutions adopted in the new Belgian property law, in particular it focuses on the presentation of the new structure of its provisions and on the analysis of principles included in the introduction to the property law, constituting a novelty in the Belgian civil law in relation to Napoleonic solutions, which were in force on the territories of this country for more than 210 years.