The rules for the settlement of the joint ownership

The Supreme Court has recently issued a judgement (No. 22 Cdo 3073/2013), in which it expressed its opinion on the settlement of the joint ownership.

In case that the co-owners are not able to reach an agreement on the settlement, the court shall decide about the settlement of the joint ownership on application of one of the co-owners.

The new Civil Code (Act No. 89/2012 Coll.) does not provide any rules that the court should follow when deciding about the settlement of the joint ownership. However the rules set to the § 142 Sec. 1 of the old Civil Code (Act No. 40/1964 Coll.) by the case law can be used.

The court should take into account the size of the shares and the rational use of the thing. The credibility (solvency) of the co-owner to pay out the other co-owner is also very important.