Possession: historical and legal study in light of RF civil code improvement

Abstract

The article studies the most important civil law concept existing in the legal system of each state: the concept of possession. The article describes the concept of possession in the Roman law. The complexity of Roman possession structure has been highlighted. F.C. von Savigny's subjective theory of possession has been examined along with its criticism by R. Jhering. Modern foreign codes of civil law have been described: Netherlands Civil Code of 1992, Quebec Civil Code (Canada) of 1992, Brazil Civil Code of 2003, Vietnam Civil Code of 2005, Catalonia Civil Code (Spain) of 2006, Argentina Civil Code of 2016. Possession in pre-revolution and modern civil law of Russia has been described. Relation issues of possession right, right of use and right of disposal are analyzed. The paper's scientific novelty lies in the fact that the authors have endeavored to define general trends of development of the possession concept based on studying its history in modern foreign codes, and to reveal the most important provisions that can be used to improve the concept of possession in Russia. A conclusion has been made on the need to improve the concept of possession in the Russia's civil law, and primary criteria are recommended for the possession model in the Russian Civil Code, concept of possession improvement