The different existing definitions of cadastre make a common understanding of the cadastral domain difficult and are a major barrier to effective information interchange and standardisation. A legal approach focussing on the classification of real property rights and restrictions in a legal cadastre model centred on the right of ownership might be a way to improve the common understanding of the cadastral domain and a step towards an improved standardisation of the domain. This article is intended to serve as an introduction to the construction of a model describing a legal cadastral domain.