Axiological and Ideological Justification of the Institution of Ownership of Premises
Ownership of premises is one of the fundamental real rights in contemporary Polish legal system. A thorough query shows that lawyers do not devote much attention to the issue of its axiology, focusing essentially on a dogmatic analysis of legal provisions. In the interwar period, it was primarily pointed out that the ownership of premises was to serve housing cooperatives. In the times of the People’s Republic of Poland, when the possibility of establishing separate ownership of premises was very limited, some authors tried to promote the institution as an additional remedy for housing problems. Finally, with the transformation towards a capitalist economy, the ownership of premises was recognised, often not precisely, as a market mechanism. Only two authors – Zygmunt Fenichel in the 1930s and Zbigniew Radwanski in the 1960s – unequivocally indicated that the purpose of the institution of ownership of premises is to popularise ownership. They linked it with the idea of social solidarity. This view should be considered correct; ownership of premises was meant to be a tool to popularise ownership of real estate among vast social groups and it contradicts a typical, capitalist model of tenement house. However, the current state of affairs, particularly the changing market function of ownership of premises, raise the question whether this axiological goal is still being met.
