Historical scope of the registration, updating and deletion of the servitude of right of way

Until 1 December 2019, there were certain procedures for registering, updating and deleting a certain type of data on the servitudes of right of way in the Land Register and State Land Service (SLS). Following legislative amendments and the judicial reform, the judges of the Land Register were included in district (city) courts, separating the competence and responsibility of the district (city) court and the SLS in terms of data registration, updating and deletion. Analysing the historical development of the legal framework of the procedures for registering, updating and deleting of the servitudes of right of way, to depict the positive and negative trends and problems in the legal framework and practical implementation thereof, to arrive at conclusions and to provide recommendations for improvements. Used scientific research methods – descriptive, analytical, inductive and deductive and interpretation of legal norms – historical, grammatical, systemic and teleological. Since the restoration of Latvia’s independence, the procedures for registering, updating and deleting the servitudes of right of way have undergone significant changes to simplify this process. The procedures for document circulation were facilitated for service recipients after separating the competence and responsibility of the district (city) court and the SLS. However, this created additional burdens and responsibility for the judges of district (city) courts. Judges need to evaluate the document justifying the establishment of the servitude of right of way and also its graphic attachment. Unfortunately, submission of a graphic attachment drawn up by a certified person and depicting the precise position of the territory of the servitude of right of way has not been prescribed by laws as a mandatory requirement in the process of data registration and updating. Therefore, documents containing imprecise data are submitted and registered quite frequently, resulting in problems when exercising the servitude of right of way in practice.