brotherhood and entitled to fundamental rights, came first, not a person's status based upon class distinctions or so-calledseignorial rights. Legal thinking was transformed, a change prepared by academic scholars and political philosophers. Legal scholars were greatly influenced by the study of Roman law, from which a development towards scholarly, highly abstract and systematic, legal thinking had resulted. without this, codes could not have been The codes were also the expression of the ideals of equality and freedom. Thy orecise manner clearly in the area of contract law(freedom of contract). In the area of property law, this is somewhat different. Of course, property law too applies to all citizens and to all objects, and is thus the expression of the ideal of equality. but the ideal of freedom could not be applied here to the same degree as in contract law. The old order of the feud al system had to be and remain abolished. Property law is, generally speaking, of a mandatory nature, limiting the freedom of parties to create rights against the world abolished the feudal system, but did not replace it with new rules -led to a completely ably This process of change after 1789- the year in which the French National Assembly different system of property law. It was(and still is)unitary in nature: the basic principles of property law apply to all objects(real and personal property ). As already remarked above, property rules are mandatory law, unless certain, albeit limited, freedom is given to the parties. Ownership-the most complete absolute right, in respect to both content and duration that a subject can have in regard to an object- can only exist in the form a non-fragmented unitary right. 0 All other absolute rights are limited real rights. Third parties must be informed about absolute rights, as they are bound by those rights without their consent. As to movables, the publicity which is necessary to justify that third parties have to accept the existence of absolute rights is closely linked with possession. Regard ing immovables, third parties are informed through registration systems. Finally, the number, content, creation, transfer and extinction of absolute rights is regulated by the law. This is what civil lawyers call the numerus clausus of absolute rights This numerus clausus cannot be isolated from the other basic aspects of civil property law that I mentioned Simple nthe area of property law, the ideals of the French Revolution have resulted in a universal scheme, which is aimed at reaching legal certainty, predictability and transparency. In the following pages, I will elaborate on the role and function of the numerus clausus doctrine in civil law systems and defend the idea that standardisation of rights against the world"nI is certainly useful and desirable but should not be as strict as it is in Revolution still is of considerable influence today. Not surprisingly, the new Dutch Civil Code begins with rules regarding the subjects of private law (naturaland legal persons)in Books One and Two, followed by rules that govern the interactions between these subjects and the various rights these persons can have in regard to (physical and non-physical)objects. Of course, exceptions exist. Matrimonial property law can be found in Book one 10 Cf. Article 17 of the Declaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen( Declaration of the French National Assembly of26 August 1789 ): La propriete etant un droit inviolable et sacre, nul ne peut en etre prive, si ce n'est lorsque la necessite publique, regalement constatee, I'exige evidemment, et sous la condition dune juste et prealable indemnite ' (Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one sha ll be deprived thereof except where public necessity, legally determ ined, shall clearly demand it, and then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified. The expression rights aga inst the world can be compared with absolute rights in the civil law sense. It hould be bome in mind, however, that rights aga inst the world(absolute sometimes only apply to most, but not all, or even only a lim ited category of third parties. An example of lim itation is the protection of a bona fide third party acquirer a gainst the original owner who, e.g,, avoided a sales contract with his purchaser, in a situation where the purchaser in his tun had sold and transferred the object Under Dutch law, the causal system of transfer applies, but still-of course under certa in conditions-the bona fide third party will not losebrotherhood and entitled to fundamental rights, came first, not a person’s status based upon class distinctions or so-called ‘seignorial rights’. Legal thinking was transformed, a change prepared by academic scholars and political philosophers. Legal scholars were greatly influenced by the study of Roman law, from which a development towards scholarly, highly abstract and systematic, legal thinking had resulted. Without this, codes could not have been enacted, as the essence of a code is that it lays down rules in a systematic and precise manner. The codes were also the expression of the ideals of equality and freedom. This can be seen clearly in the area of contract law (freedom of contract). In the area of property law, this is somewhat different. Of course, property law too applies to all citizens and to all objects, and is thus the expression of the ideal of equality. But the ideal of freedom could not be applied here to the same degree as in contract law. The old order of the feudal system had to be and remain abolished. Property law is, generally speaking, of a mandatory nature, limiting the freedom of parties to create rights against the world. This process of change after 1789 - the year in which the French National Assembly abolished the feudal system, but did not replace it with new rules - led to a completely different system of property law. It was (and still is) unitary in nature: the basic principles of property law apply to all objects (real and personal property). As already remarked above, property rules are mandatory law, unless certain, albeit limited, freedom is given to the parties. Ownership - the most complete absolute right, in respect to both content and duration, that a subject can have in regard to an object - can only exist in the form a non-fragmented unitary right.10 All other absolute rights are ‘limited’ real rights. Third parties must be informed about absolute rights, as they are bound by those rights without their consent. As to movables, the publicity which is necessary to justify that third parties have to accept the existence of absolute rights is closely linked with possession. Regarding immovables, third parties are informed through registration systems. Finally, the number, content, creation, transfer and extinction of absolute rights is regulated by the law. This is what civil lawyers call the numerus clausus of absolute rights. This numerus clausus cannot be isolated from the other basic aspects of civil property law that I mentioned. In the area of property law, the ideals of the French Revolution have resulted in a simple, universal scheme, which is aimed at reaching legal certainty, predictability and transparency. In the following pages, I will elaborate on the role and function of the numerus clausus doctrine in civil law systems and defend the idea that standardisation of ‘rights against the world’11 is certainly useful and desirable, but should not be as strict as it is in Revolution still is of considerable influence today. Not surprisingly, the new Dutch Civil Code begins with rules regarding the subjects of private law (natural and legal persons) in Books One and Two, followed by rules that govern the interactions between these subjects and the various rights these persons can have in regard to (physical and non-physical) objects. Of course, exceptions exist. Matrimonial property law can be found in Book One. 10 Cf. Article 17 of the Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen (Declaration of the French National Assembly of 26 August 1789): ‘La propriété étant un droit inviolable et sacré, nul ne peut en être privé, si ce n’est lorsque la nécessité publique, légalement constatée, l’exige évidemment, et sous la condition d’une juste et préalable indemnité.’ (Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof except where public necessity, legally determined, shall clearly demand it, and then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified.) 11 The expression ‘rights against the world’ can be compared with absolute rights in the civil law sense. It should be borne in mind, however, that rights against the world (absolute rights) sometimes only apply to most, but not all, or even only a limited category of third parties. An example of such a limitation is the protection of a bona fide third party acquirer against the original owner who, e.g., avoided a sales contract with his purchaser, in a situation where the purchaser in his turn had sold and transferred the object. Under Dutch law, t he causal system of transfer applies, but still - of course under certain conditions - the bona fide third party will not lose