Original scientific paper
THE PARTICULARITIES OF THE ACQUISITION AND FORFEITURE OF OWNERSHIP OVER WRECKS AND SUNKEN OBJECTS
Vesna Skorupan Wolff
orcid.org/0000-0002-1591-7247
; Jadranski zavod HAZU, Zagreb
Adriana Vincenca Padovan
orcid.org/0000-0003-0013-1820
; Jadranski zavod HAZU, Zagreb
Abstract
Wrecks and sunken objects that are abandoned, or lost, or whose owner is unknown, or the
owner does not intend to recover them, are subject to a special regime of property law. The
Croatian Maritime Code serves as a legal basis for acquiring ownership over wrecks and
sunken objects in cases not provided for by general property law. These are: the law of finds
applying to wrecks and sunken objects, and the acquisition of ownership by the Republic of
Croatia over wrecks and sunken objects that were not recovered by their owners within a
period of two years from the time of their sinking or stranding.
There are additional particularities in respect of wrecks and sunken objects of cultural importance.
These are subject to special protection under the legislation on the protection of
cultural goods.
The authors analyse the special regime of property law applying to the acquisition and forfeiture
of ownership over wrecks and sunken objects, including the relationship between the
special rules applying to wrecks and sunken objects contained in the Croatian Maritime Code
and the general rules of property law.
This paper provides for an extensive commentary of the respective legal provisions introduced
by the amended version of the Croatian Maritime Code of 2013, giving guidelines for
their interpretation in practice.
The new regime of property law for wrecks and sunken objects is assessed as a very useful
and important innovation in Croatian maritime law.
Keywords
wreck; sunken object; maritime law; property law; ownership, Croatian Maritime Code; the law of finds
Hrčak ID:
144392
URI
Publication date:
8.9.2015.
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