The principle of the closed list (numerus clausus) of corporeal rights and its implementation in modern legislation and law enforcement activity

Introduction: one of the currently central directions of civil law development is research into sub-branch principles and principles of particular legal institutions. Possible amendments to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation concerning legal regulation of corporeal rights necessitate doctrinal studying and comprehension of this legal institution foundations. Purpose: to study the content of the closed list (numerous clausus) principle of corporeal rights and analyze its implementation in modern legislation and law enforcement activity. Methods: the methodological framework of the research includes general scientific and specific scientific methods. Dogmatic (formal-logical), historical and comparative legal methods are the major ones for the purposes of the article. Such methods as description, analysis, and system method are also used. Results: existence of the principle under study is predetermined by the absolute character of corporeal rights. The author puts forward an opinion that currently the numerus apertus principle, which is opposite to the numerus clausus, is implemented in civil legislation. As a consequence, there arises a problem of corporeal rights “multiplication” in judicial practice. Conclusions: the legislator should implement the numerus clausus principle in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation by establishing an exhaustive list of corporeal rights types and their content. It is necessary to avoid putting on the list the rights that do not actually refer to corporeal ones. In particular, the author considers that the legislator should cast some doubts on the real nature of the right of property renditions and the right to purchase someone’s real things.