The Dawn of Modern Property -- Legal institutions of the land’s airspace/subsurface in urban areas of Germany, the US, and China Dissertation Zur Erlangung der Würde des Doktors der Rechtswissenschaft der Fakultät Rechtswissenschaft der Universität Hamburg vorgelegt von Ruyi, DU aus Heilongjiang, VR China Hamburg 2020 Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Hinrich Julius Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Peter Manskowski Datum des Kolloquiums: 26.06.2019 . a TABLE OF CONTENTS The Dawn of Modern Property List of References _________________________________________________________________ I Introduction _____________________________________________________________________ 1 Chapter 1 The subsurface and airspace right in a historical context of property law _____________________________________________________________________________ 12 1.1 The definition of airspace and subsurface right ___________________________________________ 12 1.2 Historical overview and the two conditions _______________________________________________ 13 1.3 Airspace and subsurface in ancient Roman law: tradition and reception __________________ 17 1.3.1 Condition I: the ideas on airspace/subsurface by Roman lawyers ____________________ 17 1.3.2 Condition II: Airspace/subsurface as “property” in Roman law? ______________________ 22 1.3.3 Reflections on the legal position of airspace/subsurface in Roman law _______________ 25 1.3.4 Short summary _______________________________________________________________________ 26 1.4 The reception of Roman law in continental Europe _______________________________________ 26 1.4.1 Reception of Roman law in France, Netherland and some other countries ___________ 26 1.4.2 The German “invention of Property (Eigentum)” and its strictness ___________________ 28 1.4.3 Short summary _______________________________________________________________________ 31 1.5 The common law perspective: prequel and sequel of the Latin proverb. __________________ 31 1.5.1 The uniqueness of the British land law: prequel of the Latin proverb _________________ 31 1.5.2 Condition I: The US reception as the sequel of the Latin proverb _____________________ 32 1.5.3 Condition II: The bundle of rights as an open system _________________________________ 34 1.5.4 Short Summary _______________________________________________________________________ 35 1.6 Property and airspace under the Chinese legal perspective: from ancient to contemporary ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 35 1.6.1 The real estate law and airspace/subsurface in ancient China ________________________ 35 1.6.2 The last Chinese Empire and the three civil codes in pre-socialist China _____________ 40 1.6.3 Airspace/subsurface and property law in socialist China ______________________________ 44 1.6.4 Short summary _______________________________________________________________________ 49 1.7 Summary of this Chapter __________________________________________________________________ 50 1.7.1 Unfulfillment of the two conditions: why are there always obstacles? ________________ 50 1.7.2 Industrial revolution as a basis for airspace/subsurface right: a modern phenomenon _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 52 1.7.3 The definition of Airspace/subsurface right revisited _________________________________ 55 Chapter 2 Subsurface and airspace right in general ________________________________ 57 2.1 The basic structure: airspace/subsurface law in three layers ______________________________ 57 2.2 The general vertical legal order of airspace/subsurface ___________________________________ 59 2.2.1 The general vertical legal order of airspace/subsurface in Germany __________________ 59 2.2.2 The US situation ______________________________________________________________________ 72 2.2.3 The Chinese situation _________________________________________________________________ 81 2.2.4 Short summary _______________________________________________________________________ 85 2.3 The general property rights on airspace/subsurface ______________________________________ 86 2.3.1 The absence of general property rights in Germany: law, theory, and judgments ____ 87 2.3.2 The US: general airspace right and its future trend ___________________________________ 96 2.3.3 The Chinese situation: special airspace/subsurface right with the general theory ___103 2.3.4 Short Summary ______________________________________________________________________112 2.4 Summary of this chapter _________________________________________________________________112 a Chapter 3 Who owns the sky? The airspace between landowners and aircraft _______________________________________________________________________________ 116 3.1 Short introduction ________________________________________________________________________117 3.1.1 The use of airspace by aircraft in Germany __________________________________________117 3.1.2 The US: legislative endeavor and the Causby case ___________________________________120 3.1.3 The Chinese: lack of “cause of action”? ______________________________________________123 3.1.4 Short summary ______________________________________________________________________124 3.2 Who owns the sky: A clearer line between the landowner and the airport?_____________125 3.2.1 The boundaries in German law ______________________________________________________125 3.2.2 US: The Causby Case and its sequel _________________________________________________130 3.2.3 The Chinese “Causby” case __________________________________________________________133 3.2.4 Short summary ______________________________________________________________________135 3.3 The height limitation around the airport _________________________________________________135 3.3.1 The German situation: a representative case_________________________________________136 3.3.2 The US _______________________________________________________________________________138 3.3.3 The Chinese representative case _____________________________________________________143 3.3.4 Short summary ______________________________________________________________________145 3.4 The reshaping of a landowner-airport relationship through the environmental suit _____145 3.4.1 Noise suit and the matter of night flight _____________________________________________146 3.4.2 The change of flight route and flight procedure _____________________________________153 3.4.3 The protection of birds and forest and other types of cases _________________________156 3.4.4 The German strategy from a comparative perspective ______________________________159 3.4.5 Short summary ______________________________________________________________________162 3.5 The unsolved problem: reflections on airspace in the era of drones _____________________164 3.5.1 From airplanes to the era of drones _________________________________________________164 3.5.2 Regulating the civil drones: problems and dilemmas ________________________________165 3.5.3 Current legal framework on drones and some leading cases ________________________166 3.5.4 Short summary ______________________________________________________________________171 3.6 Summary of this chapter _________________________________________________________________172 Chapter 4 Airspace and subsurface right in Condominium law _____________ 177 4.1 Short introduction ________________________________________________________________________177 4.2 A different history: condominium as a consequence of modern living style in the cities _179 4.2.1 the German situation: from “Stockwerkeigentum” to “Wohnungseigentum” _______180 4.2.2 Common law: The traditional case, the upper Chamber. ____________________________181 4.2.3 Condominium in China: a modern phenomenon ____________________________________185 4.2.4 Short summary ______________________________________________________________________187 4.3 The nature of condominium: a typical way of using the airspace ________________________189 4.3.1 Seeking the nature of condominium in German law _________________________________189 4.3.2 The US perception by the courts_____________________________________________________194 4.3.3 The Chinese situation ________________________________________________________________195 4.3.4 Short summary ______________________________________________________________________198 4.4 The problem of exterior wall _____________________________________________________________200 4.4.1 The German perspective _____________________________________________________________200 4.4.2 The US case of the exterior wall and the use of its space ____________________________208 4.4.3 The Chinese situation ________________________________________________________________217 4.4.4 Short summary ______________________________________________________________________223 4.5 The problem of underground garage ____________________________________________________226 4.5.1 The German cases ___________________________________________________________________227 4.5.2 The US cases: a glimpse _____________________________________________________________233 4.5.3 The Chinese case ____________________________________________________________________234 b 4.5.4 Short summary ______________________________________________________________________239 4.6 Summary of this chapter _________________________________________________________________240 Conclusion ___________________________________________________________________ 244 I. Understanding