Easement of Necessity in Austrian and Georgian Law
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60131/jlaw.2.2026.11919Keywords:
Easement of necessity, Civil Code of Georgia, Civil Code of Austria, Notwegegesetz, Austrian property law, landlocked land, servitudes, neighbour law, comparative private law, property access, compensation.Abstract
This article examines the law of easement of necessity in Georgian and Austrian law. In Austrian law, the institution is governed primarily not by the Austrian Civil Code itself, but by the Notwegegesetz of 1896. The Austrian model is characterised by three central features. First, it treats the necessary way as a subsidiary and judicially shaped exception to the exclusivity of ownership. Secondly, it subjects the claim to a structured proportionality assessment centred on the absence or inadequacy of access, the needs of the dominant land, the least burdensome route and the exclusion of claims caused by the applicant’s striking carelessness. Thirdly, Austrian law integrates compensation, land-register effects and the later modification or extinction of the granted easement into the statutory regime.
The article analyses Austrian Supreme Court case law on ordinary use, zoning and building purposes, the impact of motorisation on adequate access and the requirement that the burden on the neighbouring land remain limited. On that basis, it argues that Austrian law offers a comparatively differentiated framework for balancing access needs and property protection. The Austrian solution may therefore serve as a useful point of reference for the doctrinal clarification and procedural refinement of Georgian law.
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