Das öffentliche Eigentum an Gewässern nach dem baden-württembergischen Wasserrecht

Public ownership is unique to the Water Law of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Pursuant to the Water Law, waters are in public ownership. Public owned public property is, to ensure its public purpose, not governed by the law applying to private ownership, but by special law regarding public ownership. Therefore public property is legally being treated differently under public ownership than under the ruling theory of modified private ownership. Despite the criticism of public ownership, it was not abolished in the course of the legislative reform of the Water Law of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg beginning in January of 2014. According to the legislator, public ownership has proven its worth. The study shows that public ownership provides a legal mechanism of protection of waters that are of extraordinary importance to man and environment. In practice, the provisions governing public ownership lead to advanced legal certainty superior to the theory of modified private ownership.