Reprivatization
Encyclopedia
Reprivatization refers to the process of restoring to its former owners properties
seized by a government
, or to the process of compensating previously uncompensated former owners. This is often a component of larger privatization
schemes. The term is most often used in the connection with privatization in former Soviet Bloc countries or in reference to settlements concerning the property of murdered or displaced
European Jews.
Reprivatization is often sought by members of the old nobility or their descendants who desire the return of the traditional family home for sentimental and/or financial reasons; by Holocaust survivors, their descendants, or survivors of persons who died in Nazi death camps and whose property was confiscated by the Nazis or by later Communist states and disposed of in various ways; and by corporations or other parties whose property was nationalized. It is very difficult to work out a one-size-fits all regime for property restitution, and it is often pursued on an ad hoc basis in the courts with varying degrees of success in different jurisdictions.
A significant barrier to reprivatization is created by larger political questions, which vary by country. In Eastern Europe, there is frequently a desire to avoid the inflammation of ethnic tensions and the ostensible reversal of Potsdam conference
policies; see Federation of Expellees
.
Outstanding reprivatization issues can sometimes be a barrier to foreign investment, as investors are wary of investing in a property to which the title is disputed or faulty.
Property
Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
seized by a government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, or to the process of compensating previously uncompensated former owners. This is often a component of larger privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
schemes. The term is most often used in the connection with privatization in former Soviet Bloc countries or in reference to settlements concerning the property of murdered or displaced
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
European Jews.
Reprivatization is often sought by members of the old nobility or their descendants who desire the return of the traditional family home for sentimental and/or financial reasons; by Holocaust survivors, their descendants, or survivors of persons who died in Nazi death camps and whose property was confiscated by the Nazis or by later Communist states and disposed of in various ways; and by corporations or other parties whose property was nationalized. It is very difficult to work out a one-size-fits all regime for property restitution, and it is often pursued on an ad hoc basis in the courts with varying degrees of success in different jurisdictions.
A significant barrier to reprivatization is created by larger political questions, which vary by country. In Eastern Europe, there is frequently a desire to avoid the inflammation of ethnic tensions and the ostensible reversal of Potsdam conference
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
policies; see Federation of Expellees
Federation of Expellees
The Federation of Expellees or Bund der Vertriebenen is a non-profit organization formed to represent the interests of Germans who either fled their homes in parts of Central and Eastern Europe, or were expelled following World War II....
.
Outstanding reprivatization issues can sometimes be a barrier to foreign investment, as investors are wary of investing in a property to which the title is disputed or faulty.