INTERNATIONAL LAW AND COMPARATIVE LAW

The institution of acquisitive prescription in the legal orders of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan: issues of legal qualification and pathways to unification

Abstract

This article, based on a comparative legal analysis, examines the conditions for the legal qualification of prescriptive possession and the conflict-of-law aspects of calculating the periods of acquisitive prescription in the legal systems of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Kazakhstan. The author identifies normative ambiguities inherent in Article 265 of the Civil Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, particularly concerning the linkage of the commencement of the acquisitive prescription period to the subjective moment of the owner’s awareness of the violation of their right. Using formal-legal and systemic methods, the study critically evaluates the criteria of good faith, openness, and continuity of possession, which lack statutory definitions in Kyrgyz legislation. Particular attention is paid to procedural guarantees for the rights of interested parties in disputes concerning the recognition of ownership by virtue of acquisitive prescription.

Drawing on the Kazakhstani experience (Regulatory Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 3), the author proposes pathways for the unification of law enforcement practice, including clarification of the substantive elements of prescriptive possession, determination of the objective moment for the commencement of the limitation period, and improvement of procedural mechanisms for involving all interested parties. The article concludes that the adoption of certain elements of the Kazakhstani model is necessary to enhance the effectiveness of the institution of acquisitive prescription in the Kyrgyz Republic.