The right to property, guaranties and protection

?The right to property, Guaranties and Protection?, Doctorate Thesis, Ankara, 2008.The right to property defined as the right to enjoy, to use or to possess certain objects, movable or unmovable properties, has been one of the most discussed subjects during the entire human history. Because, thoughts and ideas on the right to property, on its characteristics and its contents have been deeply different with respect to societies, individuals, periods, philosophical and ideological point of views.The right to property with its broadest meaning constitutes one of the main subjects of public law, law philosophy, legal sociology and private law.From that point of view, the right to property is not only a legal concept, but also a concept covering economical, social, cultural and ideological dimensions.After accepting the right to property as one of the fundamental rights, the discussions have been directed to its content and its framework. Proportional characteristics of the right to property have inflamed the discussions on its content and framework. Different countries have determined the content of the right to property according to their state structure, traditions, their welfare level, their economical situation and the requirements of the international systems that they have adopted.In Turkey, the thought and ideas on the characteristics and the contents of the right to property have been different over centuries. The right to property has been provided in constitutions and thus it has been guarantied by the highest legislative level. On the other hand, it has been accepted that the right to property contains some obligations and it may be limited under certain conditions as other rights.The strict relation between the right to property and structure of state, the economic level of the country and current situation has caused the discussions in public law rather than private law.Finally, guarantying the right to property by Article 1 of the Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights has caused that the right to property gain much more importance on public law area.Analyzing the right to property from the point of public law may not be regarded as sufficient in explaining its importance and the guarantee to be provided for the individual. In that sense, the right to property is one of the most essential subjects in private law. If any right is not guarantied in private law area, providing it as an abstract constitutional right may not be regarded as a meaningful action. From that point of view, it has been understood that the applications on the right to property as a private law concept have a major importance either for the individual or for the whole society.For that reason, the mentioned characteristics of the right to property must be taken into account when carrying out studies on the right to property. The content, the features and the guaranties of the right to property to be ensured for the individual must be determined under such considerations.In this study, the concept of the right to property as a general term, the regulations on guarantying and protection of property have been examined.In the introduction part of the study, the concept of the right to property and the fundamental issues on the subject have been put in and then, the historical development on the right to property has been examined in a comparative way. In the first chapter of the study, the definition, the elements, legal characteristics and the kinds of the right to property have been discussed. The second chapter of the study consists of the meaning of guarantying of right to property, the explanations on the rules and institutions guarantying the right to property, the judgments and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. In the third chapter, the last one, the institutions and practices directed to the protection of the right to property in national and international levels have been analyzed. The study ends with a conclusion part in which the whole explanations throughout the study are evaluated.KEY WORDS1. The right to property2. Guarantying the right to property3. Property protection4. History of property