This book discusses fundamental questions of the law governing security rights in movable
assets (pledge, transfer of ownership for security purposes, reservation of title, assignment of
claims by way of security) in a historical and comparative perspective, in a critical analysis of
the current Austrian law which is particularly in need of reform and, above all, as a question
of future development perspectives. Starting with the comparatively liberal Roman law and ius
commune, the essential decisions of the codification era in Germany and Austria, which still
have an impact today, and the lines of development in other important European legal systems
(the Netherlands, France, Belgium, England and Wales) are reviewed. In particular, the
registration systems established in these countries are examined with a focus on their potential
suitability as a model for reform. Finally, the book discusses whether and to what extent the
Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR), published by a group of European experts in 2009,
is able to offer solutions that take prevalent value-judgements seriously, sensibly continue lines
of development already started in the past and possibly open up for new ways of compromise
in relation to concerns that have arisen in other recent reform discussions. In doing so, the work
basically chooses a macro perspective, which, however, switches to an analytical close-up at
those points where basic choices, major problems and potential solutions emerge.
The book thus provides fundamental and in-depth groundwork for possible reforms at national
or European level. As a starting and reference point for the discussion of the various problems,
it also provides a detailed analysis of the current Austrian law regarding proprietary security
rights in movable assets.