Facts
The dispute opposes X. and Y. regarding the registration in the land register of the transfer of ownership of a property. Y. had granted X. a purchase option on this property by a contract dated 16 March 1987. The property was encumbered with various land charges, some of which constituted a collective pledge within the meaning of Art. 798 CC. When X. exercised the purchase option on 5 June 1987, the latter requested the registration of the transfer of ownership and the opening of the procedure for the new allocation of the pledge according to Art. 833 CC, as no agreement could be reached with the pledgee creditors for the repayment of the charges. The land registrar rejected this request, on the grounds that the allocation of the pledge provided for in the contract could pose difficulties. X. then appealed against this decision.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considers that the land registrar does not have the power to examine whether the execution of the sales contract could raise difficulties, particularly with regard to the allocation of the pledges. Its role is limited to verifying whether the formal conditions for proceeding with the registration are met. Therefore, the registrar was wrong to refuse the registration of the transfer of ownership requested by X.
Furthermore, the Federal Tribunal considers that the land registrar is obliged to proceed with the new…