Closest equivalent rights and adaptation

1. What are the main rights in rem arising from successions in your system?

All rights in rem can arise from successions in Portugal. The main or the most common are ownership, usufruct, right to build, easement or condominium regime.

2. What would the role of your Land Register or registrars be in order to put in practice the principle of adaptation? What contributions could the Land Register make?

The Portuguese Land Registrar is the competent authority to apply the rules on conflict of laws to the registry requests.

Therefore, the adaptation of rights is necessarily included in the regular legal assessment of all the registry requests, which is a condition for its inscription in the LR.

• Imagine you receive a request for the registration of a foreign European Certificate of Succession. It follows from this Certificate that one of the heirs is entitled to a right that is not part of your national numerus clausus. How do you approach this problem?

  The Portuguese Land Registrar is the competent authority to apply the rules on conflict of laws to the registry requests. Therefore, the adaptation of rights is necessary included in the regular legal assessment of all the registry requests, which is a condition for its inscription in the LR. As there is no territorial jurisdiction, any registrar can perform the registry and consequently the adaptation. The registrar would try to find the most similar right at the national system and perform the registry, making clear at the inscription the particulars of the foreign right.