The Role of the Social Function in Restricting the Right to Private Land Ownership

Abstract

Abstract:

The social function of the right to private land ownership is a theory born with the emergence of social thought developed by jurists of the modern era, until it became a fully-fledged legal idea. This theory calls for the restriction of the right to private land property by linking it to the exercise of a social function entrusted to it. The said theory is based on two principles: the principle of social solidarity and the principle which stipulates that the owner owes to society what he owns. Furthermore, the idea of ​​constraining the right of private property to fulfill a social function is due to the desire to realize the public interest on the one hand, and to preserve the particular interest of individuals, on the other hand. In general, the subordination of the right to private land ownership to a social function deprives it of the status of absolute right and restricts all of its elements: use, enjoyment and disposal. This expands the State’s area of ​​intervention in this right and holds the owner responsible if his property right does not exercise a social function.