A Comparative Analysis of the Legal Mechanisms for Determining the Registration Status of Lands and Buildings Lacking Official Title Deeds in Iranian and German Law, with Emphasis on the Institutional Efficiency of the Land Registration System

Purpose- The registration status of lands and buildings lacking official title deeds constitutes a significant challenge for land governance, ownership security, and the efficiency of registration systems. This study aims to examine the legal mechanisms for determining the registration status of undocumented properties through a comparative analysis of Iranian and German legal systems, with particular emphasis on the institutional efficiency of land registration mechanisms and the assurance of tenure security.Design/methodology/approach- This research employs a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative legal approach. Data were collected through library-based research, including the analysis of statutory provisions, jurisprudential principles, legal doctrines, and institutional structures governing land registration in Iran and Germany. The study focuses on the mechanisms adopted by each legal system for formalizing ownership, correcting registration deficiencies, and balancing legal certainty with the need to resolve undocumented property situations.Findings- Iran adopts a facilitative, corrective approach influenced by Imami jurisprudence, recognizing possessory evidence and enabling integration of informal properties into formal registration systems. Germany emphasizes registration conclusiveness, public reliance on the Grundbuch, and preventive legal certainty, applying restrictive mechanisms for registration corrections while ensuring stronger transactional predictability. The comparative analysis reveals that institutional efficiency requires balancing ownership formalization flexibility with registration reliability. Iran demonstrates greater adaptive capacity for historically accumulated informal ownership, while Germany provides superior informational coherence and third-party protection.Research limitations/implications- This study is limited to a comparative doctrinal analysis of the legal frameworks of Iran and Germany and does not include empirical assessments of administrative performance or quantitative evaluation of registration outcomes. Future research may incorporate field studies and comparative institutional assessments to examine the practical effectiveness of registration reforms.Originality/value- This research contributes to comparative property law by analyzing the relationship between mechanisms for formalizing undocumented properties and institutional efficiency. It demonstrates that effective registration systems require balanced approaches combining procedural flexibility with registration certainty, providing insights for improving registration governance while maintaining compatibility with jurisprudential foundations.

کلیدواژه ها:

Properties without official title deeds ، Land registration system ، Ownership formalization ، Imami jurisprudence ، Tenure Security