Renesans własności rolniczej

Abstract

The discussion on the crisis or a decline of agricultural property has been exaggerated in the same way as is the discussion on the weakening of its foundations, and in particular, the function of ownership under the civil law and the agricultural law. This statement is already contradicted by the ongoing and heated discussion on agricultural property and its new function – the ecological one. Its source can be found in the new formula regarding support of agriculture and rural development based on the principle of sustainable rural development. The concept of ownership of agricultural property proposed by Professor A. Stelmachowski constitutes a supplement to the acquis in the field of civil law. It is understood as a set of rights and obligations establishing a legal position of an owner of a farm. This means that an owner has not only the rights but also certain obligations towards others. These obligations are particularly pronounced in the sphere of the right to use a given property, where the production function of property ownership manifests itself the most. An increase in the importance of environmental protection has resulted in an accelerated development of legislation concerning that matter and allowed adoption of a thesis that the ecological function of ownership of agricultural property has become dominant in relation to the production function. This thesis may be illustrated by EC/EU regulations whose provisions set out activities defined in the Rural Development Programmes (RDP for the years 2000-2006; 2007-2013; 2014-2020). They impose obligations on a farmer conducting an agricultural activity to protect the environment in compliance with the practice of good agricultural practices. Their substantive scope has been step by step extended and generally directed to the increase of competitiveness, including agricultural environmental and climate objectives.