Can an unused vehicle be declared ownerless?

Only property that has no owner, or whose owner is unknown, or property that the owner has renounced ownership of, can be recognized as ownerless. The specifics of recognizing certain types of property as ownerless are established by legislative acts.

The normative legal acts regulating the consideration of cases on recognizing property as ownerless include, in particular, the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus, the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Belarus, Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 348 of August 9, 2011 "On Measures for Organizing the Collection, Storage of Unused Vehicles and Their Subsequent Disposal", and Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 100 of February 23, 2012 "On Measures to Improve the Accounting and Reduce the Number of Vacant and Dilapidated Houses in Rural Areas".

Only local executive and administrative bodies can apply to the court with a claim for recognizing an unused vehicle as ownerless and transferring it into the ownership of an administrative-territorial unit. Such an application is subject to consideration in the court at the place where the unused vehicle was detected, regardless of the actual location of the guarded parking lot where such vehicle is stored, or the location of the organization that owns the guarded parking lot.

The law does not provide for legal entities that own a guarded parking lot to apply for recognition of an unused vehicle as ownerless.

Vehicles should be classified as unused in strict accordance with the provisions of Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 348 of August 9, 2011. For

for the purposes of considering this category of cases, an unoperated vehicle is understood to be a vehicle that lacks elements provided for by its design (cabin glass, wheels, body elements), has deformation or externally visible damage, which prohibits its participation in road traffic and/or excludes the possibility of its operation, as well as a vehicle that has not been operated for more than six months from the date of expiration of the permit for its participation in road traffic and which is not maintained in proper condition allowing for its participation in road traffic and/or operation. The list of vehicle malfunctions and conditions under which their participation in road traffic is prohibited is determined in Appendix 4 to the Traffic Regulations, approved by Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of November 28, 2005 No. 551 "On Measures to Improve Road Traffic Safety". These circumstances can be confirmed by information from the divisions of the State Automobile Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, a vehicle inspection report, an extract from the register of unoperated vehicles, and other evidence confirming the technical condition of the vehicle.

If a vehicle does not fall under the category of unoperated vehicles, but has been abandoned by the owner (possessor) or otherwise left with the intention of renouncing ownership rights, it may be recognized as ownerless movable property in accordance with the Civil Procedure Code.

Errors are made in judicial practice when considering cases of this category.

For example, by the protest of the regional prosecutor in supervisory review, the decision of the district court was overturned, which concerned an unoperated vehicle – an "Audi A6" car

was recognized as ownerless and transferred to the ownership of the administrative-territorial unit. When considering the case, the citizen, who was the owner of the car and a person legally interested in the outcome of the case, was not involved in the proceedings, and witnesses were not questioned. The court's conclusions that the owner had renounced his ownership rights to the Audi A6 car were not supported by the evidence examined and were premature.

The identification of abandoned vehicles, as well as the establishment of their owners, is carried out by local executive committees in conjunction with the relevant department of the State Automobile Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, within the respective administrative-territorial or territorial unit. Anyone can report such vehicles:

- to the traffic police departments (including leaving a message on the traffic police website of your district);

- to public utility services responsible for the condition of the adjacent territory (housing and maintenance service, housing repair and maintenance association).

If the owner does not comply (or if the owner is not identified), the vehicle will be seized and moved to a guarded parking lot. If the owner wishes to reclaim the vehicle, they will have to apply to the executive committee with a request for return and reimburse the costs associated with the forced movement and storage of this vehicle. If no request is received within the time limits specified by Decree No. 348 of August 9, 2011, it is considered a renunciation of ownership rights to the vehicle. Nevertheless, the costs of storage and transportation are still recovered from the owner.

Deputy

Head of Department A.G. Sashcheko