Priority

1. Criteria for setting priority. How is priority established? Is priority guaranteed by the fact of presenting firstly a document against other document that is potentially incompatible?

If the same real estate has been conveyed to two persons, the later conveyance shall take precedence, if registration of title to it is first applied for and the conveyee, at the time of acquisition, did not know nor should have known of the previous conveyance. If registration of title to several acquisitions are applied for on the same day, the earliest conveyance shall take precedence.

The legal effects of the registration of a special right begin on the day when the registration application had become pending. A registration earlier applied for shall take precedence in relations to a registration of mortgage later applied for. A special right shall take precedence to a lien, based on mortgage, applied for on the same day.

The legal effects of a mortgage that has been created begin on the day when the application has become pending. A mortgage earlier applied for shall be senior to one later applied for. Mortgages applied for on the same day shall have equal seniority, unless otherwise declared, on the basis of the application when the mortgages are created.

In case of reservation of priority, a previous reservation of priority will not automatically result in rejecting a later application. However, if there are competing applications pending at the same time, the time of presenting an application is one, and sometimes even decisive fact among those legally relevant facts on which the decision of registration authority will be based in the case.

2. Are there any possibilities of that a document presented later may go ahead or prevail in priority rather than other documents or deeds presented earlier?

See above.

3. Let’s suppose a document presented firstly that consequently holds priority but is affected by defects or lack of legal requirements. How long would it keep priority against other document presented later?

The right represented by the defective document is holding the priority as long as the matter is pending. After, and if, the application is rejected, that right concerned will lose its priority after the decision has become legally binding, that is, after the time for appealing has expired.