This paper aims to suggest a new direction and review problem on form and effect of the Legal Superficies in Customary Law and investigate the legislation which is currently discussed and present a improvement program.
Our civil law has two kind of superficies. The one is superficies by an agreement ; the other is superficies by customary law. Our civil law defines the land as real estate and superficies by customary law. Our civil law defines the land as real estate and building as independent and separate real estate. It is different from the European legislature in that the latter recognizes the land and buildings as real estate.
Buildings should be involved in the land use in nature. They should have an inevitable relation with the right to use the land to assure the value as independent real estate.
Our civil law defines a right of using of real estate as the superficies by customary law that is caused by the system of dualistic-register book on real estate that divides land and buildings different from that of united-register book on that of other countries originate from real estate system of Rome.
It prevent removal of buildings that owners have no right of using of real estate by helping owners of buildings to use the land legally. The intent of law is that this system preserve social and economic effective value. It has several aspects of goodness.
However, this system is recognized as customary law by a judical precedents not legislation and the superficies by customary law has a poor theoretical ambiguity.
Unclear factors of establishment and imperfect public system, which cause an obstruction in safe transection.
Recent critical debates about the superficies by customary law have tended to center around the question of the conviction of customary law. Therefore this paper address issues the acceptance or rejection of customary law and looking for alternatives.
We will study Japanese civil law legislative process on how to treat land and building legally.
In this study, preface presents a problem followed by meaning of the legal superficies by customary law, factors of establishment, contents, transfer and problems.
Some opinion insisted that we must put in effort to make land and building into one entity for legalization. But it run up expenses of amendment and can cause confusion to legal stability.
Another insisted that it resolve to minimize a period time of superficies by customary law. But the superficies by customary law has a poor theoretical ambiguity and unclear factors of establishment.
In 2004, through civil law amendment, creating a revised civil law 279-2, an attempt was made to legalize the superficies by customary law through judicial precedents. This attempt is right and reasonable. Finally I agree that amendment 279-2 becomes a law.