Olaf Riss

The retention of title enjoys great popularity as a security instrument for trade credit. Nevertheless, one encounters numerous inconsistencies in its dogmatic analysis. For example, there is no satisfactory answer to the question of how the retention of title is compatible with the principle of the pledge of property. Further questions arise in the case of unilaterally declared retention of title. Such a constellation is located at the interface of several areas of law: the general part of civil law, property law, the law of obligations, insolvency law and, last but not least, corporate law and execution law. The study develops a holistic approach that incorporates the specific principles of all these matters. Central questions are whether the synallagma in buyer insolvency remains secured despite the obligation to advance and whether the unilateral declaration of reservation is a contestable legal act. Olaf Riss is Professor of Private Commercial Law at the Faculty of Economics and Law at the University of Klagenfurt.