Introduction
Dynamic property law encompasses the rules concerning bona fide acquisition and creditor acquisition. The common denominator for these rules is that they allow a third party to displace the rights of others to real estate, movable property, and other types of assets.
The rules on bona fide acquisition concern two scenarios. The first is when a person who has initially been entitled to dispose of an asset promises two or more persons incompatible rights to that asset. An example is when Peder Ås sells his apartment to Marte Kirkerud today, and then sells the same apartment to Lars Holm tomorrow. The rights Peder has promised both Marte and Lars through the two sales—ownership of the apartment—cannot coexist: Marte and Lars cannot both simultaneously have full ownership rights individually. There is a need for legal rules to resolve this conflict of rights: Will Marte receive ownership since her purchase predates Lars's purchase? Or will Lars's later acquisition extinguish Marte's right? The second scenario that the rules of bona fide acquisition apply to is where a person has sold, pledged, or otherwise disposed of an asset even though they have never been entitled to make that disposition. An example of this is when Peder Ås sells a property to Marte Kirkerud even though it belongs to Lars Holm, and Lars has never given Peder the right to sell the property. Does Lars retain ownership, or does Marte extinguish Lars's right through the purchase?
The rules on creditor acquisition relate to the situation where creditors of a person (the debtor) seek to enforce claims against the debtor. Creditor seizures can occur both when an individual creditor seizes one of the debtor's assets and when the debtor is subjected to bankruptcy proceedings, and the bankruptcy estate seizes the debtor's assets altogether. The starting point under the Enforcement Act § 2-2 is that the debtor's creditors do not acquire better rights than those held by the debtor at the time the seizure is established or bankruptcy is opened. The rules on creditor acquisition make exceptions to this starting point, allowing creditors in some cases to gain better rights to certain assets than the debtor had at the time of seizure or bankruptcy opening, thereby extinguishing or otherwise displacing the rights of other persons in these assets.