Recovering Property from Former Holders Will Not Be Easy: 'Hraparak'

‘Hraparak’ newspaper writes: “Despite the law on ‘Seizure of Illegal Property’ establishing that property acquired after September 21, 1991, is subject to seizure, provided the court proves its illegality, the majority of those involved and potential ‘beneficiaries’ are confident that other definitions in Armenian legislation will prevent the authorities from achieving their desires and seizing their property, even if they cannot prove the legality of its origin.

The matter is that a citizen or legal entity that is not the owner of the immovable property but has possessed it responsibly, openly, and continuously as their own for a decade acquires ownership rights over that property (prescriptive acquisition). This is affirmed in Article 187 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia. The person invoking the prescriptive acquisition may link their possession period to the time during which the person they have succeeded possessed that property.

The 30-year statute of limitations for property seizure contradicts various legal norms that could be challenged in the Constitutional Court.”

For more details, refer to the newspaper's issue today.