LÍNEAS GENERALES DEL DERECHO REGISTRAL PORTUGUÉS.

Abstract

This paper is a succinct overview of the general lines along which the Portuguese registration system is drawn. The starting point is a descriptive exposition of the requirements of form applied to registrable titles, which generically are public documents, although this rule is sometimes bent to facilitate transactions inasmuch as public deeds present greater exigencies in terms of time and costs. Once a title has been filed for registration, it undergoes examination for due form as a step prior to registration as requested. The scope of this examination is determined pursuant to the provisions of article 68 of the Praedial Registry Code in connection with other rules, a joint analysis of which renders a precise definition of the terms in which the registrar's examining action is centred. The last point of this study falls within the framework of the effects of registration. This issue is rather a thorny one, because there is no unanimity as to the existence of true conclusive title; rather, what there is may be more in the nature of third-party enforceability which endeavours to resemble conclusive title without actually realizing that ideal. These fuzzy contours are a reflection of the current situation of the Portuguese registration system, which is involved in a transition from French schemes to other guidelines more like those of the Spanish model of registration.