Overdracht onder voorwaarde
The conditional transfer (overdracht onder voorwaarde) is a proprietary legal construct which, although firmly embedded in the system of Dutch property law, remains the subject of ongoing debate – not only within legal scholarship, but also in legal practice.The conditions under which an asset may be transferred can vary considerably. A condition may be suspensive, in which case the asset passes only once the condition has been fulfilled, or resolutive, in which case the transfer is undone by operation of law upon fulfilment of the condition. The parties are, in principle, free to determine the content of the condition, allowing for great diversity. Thus, the condition may consist in the (non-)payment of the purchase price, but it may equally relate to a highly uncertain event – for example, that the Dutch national football team becomes world champion by defeating Germany five–nil in the final. As long as such an uncertain event may still occur, the possibility remains that the asset will, upon fulfilment of the condition, pass by operation of law – sometimes even far into the future and, in principle, irrespective of rights acquired by third parties in the meantime. This renders the conditional transfer a dynamic and legally intriguing construct.This dissertation examines the construction, purpose, and operation of this legal institution in Dutch property law, with particular attention to the position of the expectant party (verwachter) – the intended acquirer upon fulfilment of the condition. The study culminates in the theory of the asset being bound (de leer van de gebondenheid van het goed): a coherent theoretical framework that explains why the fulfilment of the condition produces proprietary effects.