PRESUMED DEATH AND THE NEED FOR ITS REGULATION

The rising number of missing persons has once again sparked debate over the need to legislate for appropriate treatment of disappearance and presumed death.

THE IMPRESCRIPTIBILITY OF REGISTERED RIGHTS IN LIGHT OF PRINCIPLE IV OF LAW NO. 108-05

Since the adoption of the Torrens system in the Dominican Republic, registered real estate rights have been characterized as imprescriptible. This means that once a property right or ownership is recorded in the Registry, it can only be affected by the owner’s disposition, a mandate from a state authority, or the opening of a succession. This situation implies that it is impossible to acquire such rights through acquisitive prescription (usucapion) if they have been previously registered. Internationally, however, some countries have handled this issue differently, allowing for the prescription of real rights contained in registry entries.

THE ACTION FOR DAMAGES THROUGH THE PRINCIPAL ROUTE BEFORE THE COURTS OF THE REAL ESTATE JURISDICTION

“A quality of justice is to render it promptly and without delay; making it wait is injustice.”
Jean de La Bruyère

Article 31 of Law No. 108-05 on Real Estate Registry is clear in assigning, in principle[1], only to the defendant, by means of a counterclaim, the possibility of requesting compensation for damages before the Land Courts. This provision has been the subject of numerous doctrinal criticisms, based on the argument that it directly violates various procedural and constitutional principles, such as: the principles of Effectiveness, Procedural Economy, Procedural Expediency, Concentration, Equality, Legal Reasonableness, Due Process, and the Right to Effective Judicial Protection.

THE GUARANTEE FUND FOR REGISTERED PROPERTIES OR THE CIVIL LIABILITY OF THE TITLE REGISTRAR?

Guarantee fund, Land Registry, Torrens system, registration system, effectiveness, insurance fund, title insurance, registry function, qualification.