Acquisition of ownership rights under a contract of donation: reception of elements of Roman law in the civil law of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918)

The article examines the process of acquiring ownership through a gift contract in the context of the reception and adaptation of Roman law within the civil legislation of Austria-Hungary during the period from 1867 to 1918. Particular emphasis is placed on analyzing the legal nature of the donation contract in Roman law, tracing its historical evolution, and identifying its impact on the development of legal norms governing gratuitous transfers of property in European civil codes, especially within the framework of the Austrian General Civil Code of 1811 (Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, ABGB). The research outlines how essential Roman legal principles – including the gratuitous character of donations, the necessity of a clearly expressed intention on the part of the donor, the acceptance of the gift by the donee, and the pivotal role of the actual delivery of the object of donation (traditio) – were maintained and reinterpreted in accordance with the Austro-Hungarian legal tradition. The study also explores the significant divergences between classical Roman and Austro-Hungarian approaches to regulating gift contracts. These differences concern, inter alia, the formal requirements for concluding a valid donation agreement, the extent of its enforceability, and the legal framework for the revocation of gifts under specific circumstances. The article further investigates the procedural and substantive conditions under which ownership was transferred via a donation contract, as regulated by the ABGB, and addresses how these mechanisms functioned in practice. Special consideration is given to the concept of indirect acquisition of ownership, the use of clauses and conditions in gift contracts, and the broader socio-economic and legal environment in which such transactions took place. The analysis provides the basis for a number of conclusions. Austro-Hungarian private law, as codified in the ABGB, substantially relied on Roman legal concepts, which were selectively incorporated and adjusted to the needs of a modernizing legal order. The study confirms that key elements of the legal structure of donations – such as the obligatory transfer of ownership and the underlying causa donandi – reflect a Roman legacy adapted to the demands of 19th-century legal and social realities. The integration of Roman legal traditions into the ABGB not only reinforced the internal coherence and predictability of gift contracts but also contributed to the broader development and stabilization of civil law across the Austro-Hungarian Empire.