Regulation of Protection of Agricultural Land and Limitation of Ownership Rights to Real Estate

Abstract

Regulations of the Act on Protection of Agricultural and Forest Land are treated as a limitation of the right of ownership of the real estate. Unlike civil law regulations, in this Act the legislator defines agricultural land as the subject of obligations specified in the Act, treating them in separation from the issue of ownership relationships. Unlike in civil law regulations, apart from the owner, a number of obligations associated with the protection of agricultural land is also imposed on other entities, which make economic use of the real estate property. According to the Act, the owner of real estate property has a number of obligations, such as prohibition to use land for non-agricultural purposes without having obtained a decision to designate the land for non-agricultural purposes and consent for exclusion of land from production. The owner also has other positive duties, such as the duty to prevent land degradation and devastation. These obligations, however, do not shape the subjective right of ownership, but are external to it, although they should be treated as a limitation to this right.