Conversion of the right of use on construction land into the right of ownership in the positive law of the Republic of Serbia

This paper analyzes the legal situation concerning civil matters related to the conversion of the right of use on construction land into the right of ownership under the positive law of the Republic of Serbia. This is a complex civil law issue that, for many years, was not adequately regulated within Serbia’s legal system, resulting in legal uncertainty and the failure to resolve several tens of thousands of cases. By applying historical, comparative legal, and dogmatic legal methods, as well as content analysis of relevant legal documents, the paper presents an argumentative examination of the provisions of numerous laws that address this matter both directly and indirectly. Specifically, it focuses on the provisions of the Law on Planning and Construction, the Law on Legalization of Buildings, and provisions of other related laws. The paper offers a reasoned legal interpretation of several legal acts, overcoming the imprecision in the regulation of this important civil law matter, and proposes a solution for the accumulated cases involving the conversion of the right of use into the right of ownership for residential buildings constructed without a building permit, as well as the construction land on which these buildings were erected, allocated for use with a fee by the relevant state administrative bodies of local self-government.