The Legal Meaning of a Detailed Spatial Plan in the Context of the Fundamental Right of Ownership

Abstract

The article represents an effort to determine what the legal meaning of a detailed plan is within the context of the fundamental right of ownership. A detailed plan could be understood under Estonian law as a restriction of the fundamental right of ownership or, alternatively, could come under the legal concept of ‘designing the fundamental right of ownership’. The distinction between these two legal concepts is important because they fall under two separate schemes of legal regulation in light of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, which differ from each other considerably. If a detailed plan and the conditions laid down therein fall under the ‘restriction of the fundamental right of ownership’ legal concept, the detailed plan and its conditions must be compliant with the requirements foreseen by the Constitution for any establishment of a restriction to a fundamental right. This question is still unresolved in Estonian law. To aid in finding a solution that addresses the main research question, the article presents answers for the following sub-questions: i) what the legal effect and meaning of a detailed plan is, ii) how to understand the legal concept of ‘restriction of the fundamental right of ownership’ and how to distinguish between that legal concept and the other one, and iii) what the scope of the protection of the fundamental right of ownership is in light of public construction law.