Accession of movables to land (II)

The first part of this article, which appeared in the last issue, argued that the rules governing accession of movables to land are based on the dual principles of preservation of value and protection of third parties. Neither principle allows subjective intention or any other criterion unrecognisable to outsiders. The first part showed that Dutch, Scots and English law apply criteria which are purely objective and recognisable to third parties. German law, on the other hand, allows criteria which are objective but not always recognisable. This second part of the article will reveal that French and South African law take a different approach in giving effect to subjective intention. Moreover, it will be seen that the whole picture of accession becomes more complex when the right of severance is taken into consideration.