Summary

Compulsory sale (generally compulsory public auction) is the realisation of the property of an obligor to cover the debt, whereby the consent of the obligor for the sale, or his presence during the sale, is not mandatory.

Article 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia stipulates that the property of every person is inviolable and equally protected, and that everyone has the right to freely possess, use and dispose of his or her property (basic property right). From the standpoint of the obligor, a compulsory public auction occurring within the enforcement proceedings can be seen as an affront to the inviolability of private property as a basic right, as provided for in § 32 of the Constitution. From the standpoint of the claimant, however, compulsory auction is a guarantee by the state for the exercise of the inviolability of private property as a basic right. If the court has recognised the right of a claimant to something, the claimant has the right to demand the decision of the court be carried out, even if it is through the transfer of the property of the obligor.

The article examines the collision between the basic property rights of the claimant and obligor in the course of compulsory sale (and in the course of enforcement proceedings generally) and seeks opportunities for resolution, and also looks at other constitutional provisions that justify compulsory sale. It is the author’s opinion that compulsory sale is one of the more vivid examples of how, in the interest of the rights and freedoms of other people, and in the interest of legal peace, the power of public authority is obligated, under certain circumstances, to quite radically intervene in private legal relationships.