ABSTRACT
The chapter introduces the COST research action Modelling Real Property Transactions by presenting its societal and scientific context, and developing on the research challenge. The primary societal context is the Commission of the European Union. The scientific context presented includes the research fields of land management, knowledge engineering, and law and economics, respectively.
The research action is described with reference to New Institutional Economics. It aims at the specification of institutional functions within the domain of real property. The specifications draw upon and contribute to research in legal and geographical ontologies, and are assisted by computer tools under development. The institutional functions of the domain of real property are developed from the modelling of national, legal procedures by means of Unified Modelling Language, or similar formalisms, and consequtive comparative analyses of the models across selected European countries. Transaction costs are assessed on the basis of the modelled transactions.
