RESTITUTION, COMPENSATION OR INVESTMENT? – THE REPRIVATIZATION OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC ASSETS
The article illustrates a process of property`s restitution within the boundaries of the former GDR. It presents the initial arrangements in this regard between the two German states, concluded in Joint Declaration and Unification Treaty, which provided an obligation to return assets expropriated by the state to its rightful owners or their heirs. This principle of restitution was subsequently developed in the Property Law of 1990. In order to stimulate investment further legislation, however, introduced exceptions to this rule, giving finally priority to investors over former owners rights. The aim of this article is to draw a conclusion from German experiences and to find clues for the regulation of still unresolved restitution issues in Poland.
Restitution or compensation: The open property question
German unification brought in train the principle of restitution, that property in the east should be restored to its former owners where that property had changed hands after 1945, or between 1933 and 1945, other than through ordinary commercial transaction or gift. This essentially backwards‐looking measure was bound to come into conflict with the need to promote investment in east Germany in the present and future, as well as to overcome the profound gulf which the years of division brought. The article examines property restitution in the general context of unification, and draws comparisons with revaluation legislation in the 1920s and the equalisation of burdens in the 1950s.
Evangelical Law Firms and the Translation of Arguments: A study of the Evangelical Movement s Influence through National and International Courts
................................................................................................VII Acknowledgements......................................................................................IX Abbreviations............................................................................................XI Central Legal Terms .................................................................................XII