Bodemrecht
Land Law
Soil rights are the rights of the owner of an immovable property to dispose of the soil and subsoil, including any natural resources present therein.
Subsoil rights form part of the right of ownership as governed by the Civil Code. The owner of a parcel of land is in principle also the owner of the subsoil and everything contained therein, unless the law provides otherwise.
This right is relevant to the extraction of minerals, the installation of underground infrastructure and the exploitation of ground-source energy. Limitations may arise under the Mining Act or other public-law regulations, meaning that subsoil rights cannot always be exercised without restriction.
In practice, disputes frequently arise when a third party asserts rights over the subsoil, for instance in geothermal projects or in relation to cables and pipelines. In such cases the court balances the subsoil rights against societal interests and the permits in force.
“The municipality granted a permit for the extraction of soil energy, provided that the operator respected the landowner’s subsurface rights.”
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