Comparative Property Rights and Eminent Domain Defenses
Standing
Graduate (Masters)
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Faculty Sponsor
N/A
Proposal
The World Economic Forum conducts a survey asking business executives worldwide about a nation’s property rights where they conduct business. The Frasier Institute, Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, and the Property Rights Alliance rely on those survey findings, alongside other studies, to measure property rights. These institutions rank nations based on their recognition and protection of property, which would benefit farmers, small businesses, and residential landowners.
This research evaluated the eminent domain laws of the top-ranking nations in property rights: Singapore, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The United States is not top-ranking in property rights and serves as the base comparator given its history and jurisprudence on property.
The research results prove the imprecision in measuring property rights without evaluating the substantive legal protections. Switzerland appears to have the strongest quality and quantity of constitutional and statutory safeguards. It disproves the general rule that common law countries have greater property rights than civil code countries. Switzerland is a federation with a longstanding history of subnational governments protecting landowner rights, similar to the United States. Switzerland may serve as the model eminent domain jurisdiction for civil code countries with parliamentary supremacy, and the U.S. may serve as the model jurisdiction for common law countries with constitutional supremacy. Although lacking in unamendable substantive protections, New Zealand and Singapore demonstrate that general property rights are not a prerequisite to legislating a stable, equitable eminent domain process that would mitigate the displacement of landowners. This research also analyzes each studied nation’s crucial eminent domain defenses.
Availability
March 29 (12 pm to 3 pm)
Special Considerations
Presenter: Tom Oriet
Comparative Property Rights and Eminent Domain Defenses
The World Economic Forum conducts a survey asking business executives worldwide about a nation’s property rights where they conduct business. The Frasier Institute, Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, and the Property Rights Alliance rely on those survey findings, alongside other studies, to measure property rights. These institutions rank nations based on their recognition and protection of property, which would benefit farmers, small businesses, and residential landowners.
This research evaluated the eminent domain laws of the top-ranking nations in property rights: Singapore, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The United States is not top-ranking in property rights and serves as the base comparator given its history and jurisprudence on property.
The research results prove the imprecision in measuring property rights without evaluating the substantive legal protections. Switzerland appears to have the strongest quality and quantity of constitutional and statutory safeguards. It disproves the general rule that common law countries have greater property rights than civil code countries. Switzerland is a federation with a longstanding history of subnational governments protecting landowner rights, similar to the United States. Switzerland may serve as the model eminent domain jurisdiction for civil code countries with parliamentary supremacy, and the U.S. may serve as the model jurisdiction for common law countries with constitutional supremacy. Although lacking in unamendable substantive protections, New Zealand and Singapore demonstrate that general property rights are not a prerequisite to legislating a stable, equitable eminent domain process that would mitigate the displacement of landowners. This research also analyzes each studied nation’s crucial eminent domain defenses.