Abstract

The warranty of public credibility of public land and mortgage registers makes it possible to acquire ownership of real estate from an unauthorized person, but disclosed in the land and mortgage register – inconsistently with the actual legal state – as the owner. The reason why the content of the land and mortgage register is inconsistent with the actual legal state is mainly the lack of the requirement of a constitutive (law-making) entry of ownership in the land and mortgage register. As a rule, there are declarative entries, which only disclose the right in rem in the real estate, but do not create it – so real estate is usually traded off the books.
The warranty protects the real estate buyer who trusts the content of the land and mortgage register and in good faith purchases the real estate on the basis of a paid legal transaction. However, this mechanism causes that the real owner of the real estate – not entered in the land and mortgage register – will lose his right. Although property is a constitutionally protected right, the Constitution allows for its limitations in the name of other constitutional values. This mechanism is dictated by the need to ensure certainty and security of real estate transactions.