According to the principle of nemini res sua servit easement on one’s own things is not possible. In our legal order, the principle is concretized in the first paragraph of Article 224 of the Real Property Code (SPZ), namely easement ceases with a merger if the same person becomes the owner of the dominant and serving real estate. Such an easement, by the very nature of things, would not benefit anyone. Imagine the owner of two adjacent properties who would intend to establish an easement to walk and drive at the expense of one of these properties (ie the dominant property) at the expense of the other property (ie the serving property). From a legal and economic point of view, such an establishment of easement would be completely unnecessary, because the owner of both properties is allowed to walk and drive on the basis of property rights.
It is different if the ownership of the serving property is shared by several people. The position of co-ownership is typical, which means a precisely defined share in the undivided real estate. Imagine that two co-owners share ownership of a serving property each until ½. The practical consequence of such a situation is that the co-owners in kind share exactly every smallest part of this property until ½. Consequently, none of the co-owners can act as if they were the sole owner of any in kind selected part of the property. However, in the event of disagreement, it may ensure the protection of its rights in non-litigious proceedings.
The significantly different legal regime of co-ownership in comparison with exclusive property also causes different legal consequences regarding the issue of the possibility of the existence of an easement right over things. In the case of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia, Judgment II Ips 109/2019 of 12 June 2020, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia ruled on an important legal issue and unanimously adopted the position that there may be an easement on co-owned property. This decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia ensured legal security for easement beneficiaries, who are also co-owners of serving real estate. At the same time, the decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia is the basis for the safe execution of future such legal transactions.