What does property law govern in private law?
Relationships between persons and things they own or use.
According to Demolombe, what defines a property?
A thing useful for satisfying human needs or enjoyment with exclusive utility.
Which author defined property as a thing useful for needs and exclusive utility?
Demolombe
What is a personal right in law?
The right to demand another person give, do, or refrain from something.
What defines a real right over a thing?
A direct right allowing use of the thing's utilities without another's intervention.
What distinguishes a principal real right?
It concerns the utility of a thing.
What does an accessory real right concern?
Its value and guarantees payment of a debt.
What does patrimony comprise as its active side?
A person's monetary rights and assets.
What does patrimony comprise as its passive side?
Financially assessable charges and obligations.
Can a patrimony exist without a natural or legal person?
No patrimony exists without a natural or legal person.
Does every person have a patrimony even if it is empty or only debts?
Yes, every person has a patrimony regardless of its content.
What distinguishes patrimonial rights from extra-patrimonial rights?
Patrimonial rights have economic value and can be assessed in money.
What is the nature of extra-patrimonial rights?
They protect personality or the human body and cannot be sold or abandoned.
What fundamental distinction does French law make between persons and things?
A human person is not a thing and persons take priority over things.
What does French law affirm about the human body since the 1994 bioethics laws?
The human body is not a thing and must be protected.
Which principle in Article 16 of the Civil Code protects the human body?
The dignity principle
What is a natural person in French law?
A human being.
What defines a legal person in French law?
An entity created by law that can hold rights, obligations, and possess patrimony.
What is the difference between a legal and a factual relationship with a thing?
A legal relationship is a right over it; a factual relationship is possession without legal ownership.
What did dominium designate in Roman law?
The owner's power over a thing.
How was legal protection organized in Roman law?
Around actions before a judge.
What did double ownership divide under the medieval feudal system?
Rights over land between lord's eminent domain and vassal's useful domain.
What does Article 34 of the 1958 Constitution determine about property?
It determines the fundamental principles concerning property and real rights.
Which document recognizes and protects the right of property in Articles 2 and 17?
The 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
What is the difference between a thing and a claim in law?
A thing exists outside law; a claim exists only by legal recognition.
How does the Civil Code classify things?
As movable or immovable based on their characteristics.
When does a real right disappear?
When its object disappears.
What remedy can a real right lead to?
A remedy in kind restoring the situation directly.
What can a bank do with a mortgage if the borrower defaults?
Seize and sell the house.
Can a bank use the house under a mortgage?
No, the bank cannot use the house.
How many patrimonies can one person traditionally have?
Only one patrimony.
Why has the principle of one patrimony per person weakened?
Because separate patrimonies may exist, like a company's distinct patrimony.
In which year did the Code Noir treat enslaved people as persons and property?
1685
Why was the ban on dwarf-throwing upheld in Commune de Morsang-sur-Orge (1995)?
Because the practice violated human dignity.
What status described non-citizens protected like owners by Roman magistrates?
Quasi-ownership.
What happened to the vassal's useful domain over time?
It became transmissible to heirs.
Who increasingly appeared as the true owner of the land over time?
The person who used and benefited from the land.
What does the preamble of the 1946 Constitution allow regarding property rights?
It allows certain limitations on property rights when required by the general interest.
Which charter may affect the use and protection of property?
The Environmental Charter.
Which 1948 document recognizes protection of property?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
How do international courts use property-law concepts?
To settle territorial disputes between states.
Answer 16 questions on Civil Law of Property.
1. What does property law primarily regulate?
2. According to Demolombe, what distinguishes a property from a mere thing?
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