Vindicatio defense of rights to land plots: modern scientific, theoretical and practical peculiarities

The article is devoted to the analysis of theoretical approaches and judicial practice of vindicatio defense of rights to land plots. Reforming social relations requires periodic rethinking of legal categories and the practice of their application. Therefore, periodic comparison of scientific positions in the field of land rights defense with judicial practice in this field is extremely necessary. The research is focused on highlighting the issues of correlation of vindicatio defense with other remedies of defense: restitution, condictio, recognition of land rights, recognition of acts of public authorities as invalid, negatorio method of defense, etc. A special feature and problem of the defense of rights to land is the correctness of choosing a vindicatio or negatorio defense, since modern judicial practice has made its corrections in this matter. In this vein, the article pays special attention to defense in case of arbitrary occupation of land. The only form of defense in case of arbitrary occupation of land plots, which is directly indicated in the legislation, is a judicial one. At the same time, the remedy of defense is not specified in the law, which created a scientific discussion on this matter outlined in the article. Taking into account the systematic conclusions of judicial practice regarding the cases of choosing vindicatio or negatorio defense, arbitrary occupation of a land plot is an indirect temporary illegal possession. In the case of violations of legal ownership by such a temporary illegal owner of a plot of land, both the owner and the temporary legal user must apply negatorio defense. Summing up, we can conclude that modern judicial practice has mainly determined the ways of defensing land rights. In not all cases, such approaches are supported by legal science. But at the same time, it brings some certainty to the regulation of land relations and creates a relatively stable basis for the defense of land rights.