International conference 'New perspectives on acquisitive prescription'

Dr Björn Hoops (Groningen) and Dr Ernst Marais (Johannesburg) are organising an international conference, entitled 'New perspectives on acquisitive prescription'. The University of Groningen, in collaboration with the University of Johannesburg, will host the event at Het Kasteel, Melkweg 1, in Groningen, The Netherlands, from 10-11 May 2018.

The aim of the conference, which is funded by the Gratama Foundation, is to reconsider various aspects of the rule that non-owners may acquire land through long-term possession. The main justifications for such an acquisition are that it serves legal certainty because it adjusts the legal situation to a long-existing factual situation, and that it encourages the owner to look after his/her land.

In recent times these justifications as well as the conditions for an acquisition have increasingly come under scrutiny. Objections range from why a possessor should be 'rewarded' with ownership if s/he possessed in bad faith to whether acquisition of ownership in this manner should still be allowed in view of modern improvements in title registration and land surveying practices.

For more information, see the Landportal website.