Review article
THE LEGAL REGIME OF LINE INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDINGS
Justina Bajt
; T-HT
Abstract
This paper explores key limitations of the existing legal regime of line infrastructure buildings (LIGs) from the perspective of town and country planning, construction, usage, maintenance and entry into the public registrar. Since there is no specific legal act in the Republic of Croatia that systematically stipulates the main characteristics of LIGs (as of the objects of public interest), their physical planning, construction, usage and maintenance as well as their entry into the public registrar, remains open to different interpretations. The described situation undoubtedly leads to legal uncertainty and does not favour the investments into construction and development of LIGs. Problems that arise from the existing legal regime of LIGs present an obstruction not only to the development of LIGs, but also to the development of regional and local authorities and the entire country. Highly complicated procedures and a number of different documents, which an LIGs investor needs to collect in the process of physical planning and LIGs construction, impact investments in development of existing and new LIGs and at the same time decrease the possibility of drawing means from EU funds.
The author concludes that it is necessary to introduce a new legal act that would systematically regulate physical planning, construction, usage, maintenance and development of LIGs, as well as their entry into the public registrar. The main characteristics of each LIG should be stipulated as of the object of public interest consisting of pipes, cables and other pertaining elements that make unique and undivided functional and technical-technological unit, which facilitate transfer of signal, substance (e.g. electronic communications, electric power, water, waste water, warm water, gas, oil). Such unit is situated in a corridor which takes part of a number of land plots that can belong to the legal regime of public good, owned by RoC, local and regional authorities or by other legal or private persons. Therefore, the author proposes that within a legal act regulating LIGs a special legal regime should be stipulated for corridors in order to stimulate the construction, maintenance and development of LIGs on public real estate under more favourable conditions than on private real estate. Corridors situated on private real estate should be stipulated as limitations to the ownership rights for the purpose of protection of public interest comprised in LIGs construction. In such case the investor, or LIG owner, has to pay compensation for the limitation imposed on the real estate owner. Hence, the corridor should be defined as a special legal entity, stretching through the large number of land plots owned by various owners and regulated under different legal regimes. That should be determined in physical planning documentation and registered in cable registrar. With the view of increasing investments in LIGs, the construction of which represent public interest, it is necessary to decrease the amount of documentation (different approvals as special conditions for construction; standardize projects and projects’ documentation and decrease number of building permits), simplify the procedure for construction documents collection, since such objects are built in corridors, whereas the same legal rules should apply and finally establish a special legal regime of property law regulation and determine right-holders in corridors/routes.
Keywords
line infrastructure buildings (LIGs); corridor; right of way; public real estate; cable registrar
Hrčak ID:
116297
URI
Publication date:
12.4.2013.
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