- Details
- Category: Land Law
- Hits: 6961
Overview
We have seen the types of legislations that are widely related to land and buildings in one or another way. In the section to come, an attempt will be made to explain the major issues, problems and matters that are addresses under the wider subject. The major object of Land Law-real property- and appurtenances thereto will be further defined.
Objectives
Having read this part of the chapter, the student can:
Point out and define the central subject of land law-real property.
Mention the main subject matters of Land Law.
Define fixtures in the context of the Civil Code.
Main Questions of Land Law
Land is also being regulated through the Civil Code and firstly evolves round questions regarding private law, i.e. the relationship between private legal subjects. Since the subject is related to an object, a main question is therefore how this object is being defined. As we have just seen, these questions are being answered through Title VI, Chapter 1 of the Civil Code and are therefore very important for the application and understanding of all subjects covered in the course. It is a question of deciding what a property unit is and what fixtures that are attached to this object, the real property.
Another main question consists of the provisions regarding transfer of property which are especially to be found in Title XVIII of the Civil Code. In order to create a valid purchase of a property unit, a few formalities must be acknowledged, i.e. a written contract containing certain minimum information. The rights and the duties of both the seller and buyer are also being regulated. Since a purchase of property often is an economically significant transaction for the parties, disputes often occur, i.e. the seller’s responsibility for defaults in the object. The rules regarding sale of real property are also applicable, with some adjustments, regarding exchange and donation/gift of real property.
Yet another important part of Land Law concerns mortgage and antichrisis and is being regulated in Title XVIII, Chapter 4 of the Civil Code. Property units must be said to be the most important objects of credit, not only in Ethiopia, but also in other countries. The system regarding mortgage enables the property owner to pledge the property while still being able to use it.
Another important area is the grant of rights of user and servitude/easements. The Civil Code contains rules of how to create such rights, as well as what rights and obligations that oblige the parties. The provisions on usufruct and servitude are to be found in Title VIII, Chapters 2 and 3, respectively, of the Civil Code. Maybe the most important right of user is lease of houses/ tenancy, and the provisions are mainly forcing to the lessees/ tenants advantage. These provisions are to be found in Title XVIII, Chapter 2 of the Civil Code. These rules can be said to function as social security for the lessee, and regard what demands the tenant can make regarding the achievement that the landlord is providing and consequently the payment that the lessor/landlord is entitled to.
A wider version of lease is also an important part of Land Law and will be seen in light of rural land lease and urban lease having regard to the provisions of both the Civil Code and special provisions.
Yet another important area of Land Law is the rules regarding the protection against claims from third parties. This protection is in many cases depending on that a registration has been made in the land registration authorities. The Land register is to be kept by a competent body and is an official register containing information on real properties such as who the owner is and the area of the property. These rules also apply regarding the purchasers relation to different right holders. It can also be a question of a protection from other possessions of the property at the same time as a third party is protected from losses due to entering into agreements with some one other than the owner of the property.
The Object of Land Law
Introduction
Land Law evolves round several different questions all dealing with real property, i.e. the subject Land Law concerns this specific object-the real property. A fundamental question whilst studying the subject is therefore to establish the meaning of real property. Real property is divided into property units and belonging to these property units are intrinsic elements and accessories (fixtures). Title VI, Chapter 1 establishes what is to be regarded as real property.
What is to be included in the term real property is also of importance for what objects that are subject to regulation in the Civil Code but also matters for other rules concerning Land Law. However, the importance of the delimitation is greater than that. Since the term personal property is not expressly regulated in the law, but is determined negatively (meaning that what is not real property according to the Civil Code is personal property) the term real property is of significance here too.
The historical starting point concerning the division between real and private property is explained by some objects being movable and others being immovable. One therefore historically spoke of res mobiles and res immobiles. This fundamental difference created a need for a detailed legislation that differed from one another depending on the type of object. A simple example of this consists of the different rules concerning the transfer of goods purchased.
As will be clear in the subsequent sections, this division based on the mobility criterion is the fundamental of the rules, but there are departures to these rules. For example, such things as refrigerators, washing machines and keys are not immovables in that sense but the law treats them as being so. If one were to state a main rule behind the legislation of today, one might say that the rules do divide the objects between movable and immovable, but that the closer division is being made on the basis of whether there is purpose connection or not.
The term real property and its extent govern the solution of a potential dispute in different situations. For example, one situation concerns what is to be a fixture to the real property and therefore should be included in a sale, unless the parties have agreed otherwise or reversely what should not be included and therefore be regulated outside of the rules regarding real estate. This is the same function that the rules on fixtures have when mortgaging real property.
Another situation may concern when two or more owners want to divide the real property amongst them and the problems related to ownership arise. The aim is to separate the land from the fixtures. In this situation, the division that the parties have agreed upon can be failed in a later dispute where claims on the property are being made by a third party or when one of the parties no longer is satisfied with the division.
1. Real Property
Dear student please note that the term “real property” is not used in our Civil Code and as a result not commonly used in Ethiopia. In some countries the term is defined to mean land. For example, Chap 1 Section 1 of the Land Code of Sweden establishes that “real property is land. This is divided into property units….” Further, under the Swedish Land Code, buildings and other similar structures are considered to be part of the land unit.
However, our law provides firstly that “All goods are movables or immovable” (Art. 1126 of the Civil Code) and then provides that “Lands and buildings shall be deemed to be immovables” (Art. 1130 of the Civil Code). Dear student, what do you understand from this definition? It appears that land and buildings are treated as separate objects under our law. In other words, buildings do not seem to be part of the land units (unless, in fact, they are considered as intrinsic elements of the land.) Land and buildings stand on their own and treated legally as such.
Now of the two approaches, i.e. the Swedish approach which defines building as part of the land unit, and the Ethiopian approach which defines building as separate object from a land unit, which one is better in solving potential disputes and for understanding? Do you recall what we said under section 1.2.3? Explain and give examples to show the problems.
What then would real property involve under our Civil Code? Obviously, under our law real property, the object of Land Law, would mean both land and buildings! As we noted earlier, in this material, we are not always going to mention the words “Land” and “Buildings” together for the interest of place; rather what is mentioned of “Land” may, mutatis mutandis, apply to “Buildings”.
2. Fixtures (Intrinsic Elements and Accessories)
The rules concerning fixtures are to be found in Title VI, Chapter 1 of the Civil Code. Our law does not use the word fixture; instead it uses the words “Intrinsic elements” and “Accessories”.
Art. 1131. Intrinsic elements of goods 1. Principle
Unless otherwise provided, rights on, or dealings relating to, goods shall apply to all intrinsic elements thereof.
Art. 1132. 2. Definition
Anything which by custom is regarded as forming part of a thing shall be deemed to be an intrinsic element thereof.
Anything which is materially united to a thing and cannot be detached there from without destroying or damaging such thing shall be deemed to be an intrinsic element thereof.
Art. 1133. 3. Trees and Crops
Trees and crops shall be an intrinsic element of the land until they are separated there from.
They shall be deemed to be distinct corporeal chattels where they are subject to contracts made for their separation from the land or implying such separation.
Art. 1134. 4. Rights of third parties
A thing which becomes an intrinsic element of a movable or immovable shall cease to constitute a distinct thing.
All the rights which third parties previously had on such thing shall be extinguished.
Nothing shall affect the right of such third parties to make claims based on liability for damages or unlawful enrichment.
What can you observe from the reading of the above provisions?
First and foremost, we should understand that the provisions equally apply to both movable goods and immovable goods. Thus, any dealing relating to an immovable property be it land or house applies to the intrinsic element thereof, unless there is agreement to the contrary.
Illustration:
A sells a house to B, then the sale contract covers the house and any intrinsic part of it.
X, a farmer, leases a 5 hectare agricultural land to Y, the lease applies both to the land and any intrinsic element of same.
C, a lessor/landlord, gives his 200 sq.m house to D, a tenant for a term of 3 years. The agreement applies to the house and any intrinsic element thereof.
But what is the meaning of an intrinsic element of a good? There are two ways whereby we can identify an intrinsic element of an immovable property. The first determining factor is custom. If a custom of certain people considers a thing as forming part of another thing, then that thing is an intrinsic element of the other. For example, if according to custom of Gojam, a stone is part of the land unit on which it is situated, then the stone is an intrinsic element of the land. A farmer who leases that land will transfer it together with all stones on that land. Secondly, a thing which is materially united to another thing and as a result cannot be separated there from without causing damage to it is said to be an intrinsic element of the thing. This is true irrespective of the custom of the area in which the thing is located.
A thing which was distinct before may by some act become an intrinsic element of another thing. Then the thing shall cease to constitute a distinct thing. At the same time, all the rights which third parties previously had on such thing shall be extinguished although they are still entitled for compensation.
Trees and crops are always intrinsic elements of the land unit on which they stand. But when they are separated from it, they are no more part of the land unit. In that case, they will constitute a distinct corporeal chattel, i.e. personal property. In addition, if a transaction is made with respect to the trees or crops regarding or implying their separation from the land, they shall be deemed to be distinct corporeal chattels.
Are buildings intrinsic elements of the land unit on which the stand according to our law? Why? Why not?
Art. 1135. Accessories 1. Principle
In doubtful cases, rights on, or dealings relating to, things shall apply to the accessories thereof.
Art. 1136. 2. Definition
Anything which the possessor or owner of a thing has permanently destined for the use of such thing shall be deemed to be an accessory thereof.
Art. 1137. 3. Temporary separation from the thing
No accessory shall lose its character of accessory where it is temporarily detached from the thing to which it is destined.
Art. 1138. 4. Rights of third parties
The rights which third parties may have on a thing shall not be affected by such thing being destined to the use of a movable or immovable.
Such rights may not be set up against a third party in good faith unless they are embodied in a written document dated prior to the thing having been so destined.
What can you observe from the reading of the above provisions?
Once again, we should understand that the provisions equally apply to both movable goods and immovable goods. Thus, any dealing relating to an immovable property be it land or house applies to the accessory thereof, unless there is an un doubtful situation having effect to the contrary. We can imagine that such an un doubtful situation excluding the accessory from the application of the dealing relating to an immovable occurs when there is agreement to that effect.
Illustration:
A sells a house to B, then the sale contract covers the house and any accessory thereof.
X, a farmer, leases a 5 hectare agricultural land to Y, the lease applies both to the land and any accessory thereof.
C, a lessor/landlord, gives his 200 sq.m house to D, a tenant for a term of 3 years. The agreement applies to the house and any accessory thereof.
But what is the meaning of an accessory of a real property? An accessory of an immovable property is a thing which the possessor or owner of the property has permanently destined for the use of the property. Therefore, there are two criteria whereby we can determine whether or not a thing is an accessory of a real property. One is that the thing, i.e. the accessory must have been placed or put to the use of the real property by the possessor or owner of the property. This can be referred to as “owner connection”. If any other person other than an owner or possessor places the thing, it cannot be considered as an accessory, but a personal property. The second important criterion is that the thing must have been placed to the immovable for permanent use of the immovable. This can be referred to as “purpose connection”. Hence both the owner connection and the purpose connection must exist together for us to treat a thing as an accessory of an immovable property. Any temporary separation of a thing from the property to which it is destined does not end its nature as accessory. This, however, does not mean that the owner is prevented from putting an end to the character of accessory of such thing. With out affecting the rights of third parties in good faith, the owner can do so with the intention of permanently ending the accessory character of the thing.
The accessory can be physical or legal. For example, a permanent partition, lift, handrail, water pipe, heating, lighting, power plug and other such like instrument, central heating boiler, heating radiators, heater, tiled stove, inner window, awning, fire extinguisher, civil defence material and key are accessories to a building and are physical fixtures. On the other hand, a building or other facility constructed outside the property unit intended for permanent use in the exercise of a servitude/ easement in favour of the property unit but does not belong to the property unit where it is situated is an accessory to the property unit. And this is a legal accessory or legal fixture.
Assume that a previously distinct thing now becomes an accessory to a real property. Assume further that a third party had a right on the thing. What will happen to such right when the thing is converted into an accessory? In such case, the rights of third parties shall not be affected if two conditions are fulfilled. First, the owner must be in good faith whilst putting the thing as accessory. Second, the rights of the third party must have been embodied in a written document dated prior to the thing having become an accessory.
Can you please give one example for each above conditions?
Is there distinction between intrinsic elements and accessories regarding rights of third parties? Compare Art.1134 and Art. 1138 of the Civil Code.
Summary
Recently, Land Law has started to be treated as a separate specific subject of law. It consists of rules regarding real property, i.e. land and buildings. Real property, land, is divided into property units. Real property concerns itself with rights in rem, or relating to land.
In Ethiopia, immovable property, i.e. lands and buildings together constitute real property. This approach under our law is different from the other approach that defines land as real property. An example for the latter approach is the Swedish law. Land Law deals with the rights and restrictions related to immovable property. Specifically, it deals with such matters as transfer of property, land registration and cadastre, lease, and mortgage. Legislations on immovable property cover land administration especially land register and cadastre, planning and building, environment, forestry, and cultural heritage.
- Details
- Category: Land Law
- Hits: 3984
Overview
In the previous section, we have tried to define land and other immovbles both from a wider and local context. We have defined real property. In this section, we are going to see the different types of laws under the regime of ‘Land Law’. Land Law should some how have some understandable, if not watertight legislative limits and should not be conceived as a boundless subject. Hence, we shall see the fundamental laws which we believe are to be addresses by the subject.
Objectives:
After going through this section, one would be able to:
Appreciate the practical importance of a comprehensive legislation on immovable properties.
Describe many of the existing laws in Ethiopia which regulate various aspects of immovable or real property.
Explain the nature and meaning of each of these legislations.
Code on Immovable Property: Land Law in Prospect
Presently Ethiopian general immovable property legislation is found in different titles and parts of the Civil code. For example, the definition for immovable property is found in Title VI, some rights in rem, i.e. real property such as usufruct, servitude, in Title VIII, public domain, expropriation, association of land owners, and town planning in Title IX, register of immovable property in Title X, and contracts relating to immovable properties such as sale, lease and mortgage in XVIII of the Civil Code.
Do you think such arrangement is simple and workable?
Today, legal practitioners in Ethiopia actually find it difficult to apply the legal provisions in the Civil Code. In fact, it is not unusual to find a judge who even is not well aware of the meaning and existence of some provisions such as those on town planning and registration. No doubt, lack of adequate curriculum addressing real property has been one major factor for this. However, the location of those economically significant laws at different parts and contexts in the Civil Code is even more important contributing factor for the problem.
Starting from the careful conceptual analysis, real property or immovable property, on which quite much of our life is dependent especially in our agrarian society, must be dealt with comprehensively, covering all subjects of importance about the subject. Even a slight confusion in this regard means a lot in terms of the implication in the economy and life. Because, in the absence of simple and complete legislation, land administration in Ethiopia at all levels will simply be impossible thus curtailing the effort towards sustainable economic development.
Therefore, the collection of all titles of the Civil Code dealing with immovable property and restructuring them in a comprehensive, simple, and logical order is a decisive measure which the present condition of the country seeks a lot. Quite many countries in the world are following this trend with many visible fruits of development and prosperity. For example, in Sweden, many matters relating to real property are regulated in a single legislation called “Land code”.
Some of the advantages of having a systematically arranged legislation on immovable are:
Immovable properties will get the degree of attention needed taking into account their importance to the economy.
Practitioners and others involved in the subject will find it easy to apply in any dealing with real properties.
Immovable legislation will start to contribute, as it must, vibrantly to our growth while it will stop to be an “untouchable zone”.
Immovable will be efficiently managed or administered thereby bringing the highly sought sustainable development.
It will create a favourable condition to create other legislation while capitalizing on history and culture.
Nowadays, there are some moves toward a related direction. The Environmental Protection, Land Administration and Use Authority (EPLAUA) in the Amhara National Regional State has recently initiated a single, comprehensive legislation on Rural Land Administration. It is just a matter of time what the result of this initiative will be. Again, the use of such legislation is of an irreplaceable importance.
Real Property Registration Legislation
One critical area of Land Law that requires an active legal regime is registration of real property. Cadastre and land register are two important systems of effective administration of immovable properties. The problem is that in Ethiopia such laws generally do not exist or if they exist, they are rendered inapplicable. As we shall see in great detail, the Civil Code provisions on the registration of real properties are not activated and the recent rural land registration laws are not only inadequate but also have started to be applied only in few parts of the country (Amhara, Tigray and Oromia) in varying degrees. In fact, the start by itself is quite encouraging. In addition, laws on property formation measures such as partition, subdivision, and reallotment which are necessary preconditions to undertake cadastre and registration have not been put in place yet.
Planning and Building Legislation
The Civil Code has one chapter (Chapter 4) under Title IX dealing with town planning areas. Let us see the most basic among these provisions.
Art. 1535. - Creation of area.
( 1) Town-planning areas may be created by Imperial Decree with a view to promoting the development of towns in an economically sound manner.
(2) The Decree shall fix in a precise manner the limits of the area.
Art. 1536. - Plan.
(1) The municipality shall draw up a plan relating to each town-planning area.
(2) The plan and any amendment thereto shall be of no effect unless approved by Imperial Decree and published in the Negarit Gazeta.
Art. 1537. - Contents of plan.
(1) The plan shall, where necessary, divide each area into sub-areas.
(2) It shall fix in a general manner the restrictions and servitudes which it may be necessary to impose on the rights of the owners within each sub-area.
Art. 1538. - Carrying out of plan.
(1) In carrying out the plan, the municipality may impose the necessary restrictions on the rights of the owners within the area.
(2) It may in particular impose servitudes not to build, rights of way or servitudes relating to municipal sewers and pipes.
(3) It may, where necessary, use expropriation proceedings.
Art. 1539. - Compensation.
(1) The owners whose rights are restricted or whose land is expropriated shall be entitled to compensation.
(2) Such compensation shall be fixed by appraisement arbitration committee in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1 of this
Title (Art. 1473.1476).
Art. 1540. - Building permit.
No person may construct a building within a town-planning area unless he has given notice of his intention to build and been granted a building permit in accordance with regulations.
What do we understand from the reading of the above provisions?
The rules envisage the establishment of town planning, town plan, building permit and compensation during expropriation. Almost all of these and other matters in this part/chapter of the Civil Code are regulated in sounder manner under the recent laws which we shall subsequently discuss. Hence it appears that Chapter 4 of the Code is impliedly repealed by the newer legislations.
The present basic law on urban planning is the Urban Planning Proclamation No. 574/2008, adopted at national level and repealing the Preparation and Implementation of Urban Plans Proclamation No. 315/1987. As usual, this law gives the states powers and duties to implement it which is commonly accomplished by adopting a similar legislation.
The reasons compelling the adoption of this law are:
The need to regulate the proliferation of unplanned urban centres by sound and visionary urban plans.
The need to bring about an integrated and balanced national, regional and local development.
The need to take into account the existing federal structure of government and the central role of urban centres in urban plan preparation and implementation, and
The need to create a favourable condition for public and private stakeholders to fully participate in the process of urban plan initiation, preparation and implementation on the basis of national standards.
And the objectives of the law are establishing a legal framework in order to promote planned and well developed urban centres; and regulating and facilitating development activities in urban centres and thereby enhance economic development of the country.
According to this important law, any process of urban plan initiation and preparation shall follow ten principles which are:
Conformity with hierarchy of plans,
Sharing the national vision and standards as well as capable of being implemented,
Consideration of inter-urban and urban linkages,
Delineation of spatial frame for urban centres in view of efficient land utilization,
Ensuring the satisfaction of the needs of society through public participation, transparency and accountability,
Promotion of balanced and mixed population distribution,
Safeguarding the community and environment,
Preservation and restoration of historical and cultural heritages,
Balancing public and private interests, and
Ensuring sustainable development.
Based on the national and regional development strategies and schemes three hierarchy of plans shall be considered. These are national urban development scheme, regional urban development plan, and urban plans. Further, the law recognizes two types of urban plans. They are city wide structure plan and local development plan.
According to Art. 9, a structure plan is defined as a legally binding plan along with its explanatory texts formulated and drawn at the level of an entire urban boundary that sets out the basic requirements regarding physical development the fulfilment of which could produce a coherent urban development in social, economic and spatial spheres. Any structure plan shall indicate at least the following:
the magnitude and direction of growth of the urban centre,
principal land use classes,
housing development,
the layout and organization of major physical and social infrastructure,
urban development intervention areas of the urban centre,
environmental aspects, and
industry zone
According to Art. 11, a local development plan is a legally binding plan depicting medium term, phased and integrated urban upgrading, renewal and expansion activities of an urban area with the view to facilitating the implementation of the structure plan by focusing on strategic areas. Any local development plan shall state, as may be appropriate:
zoning of use type, building height and density,
local streets and layout of basic infrastructure,
organization of transport system,
housing typology and neighbourhood organization,
urban renewal, upgrading and reallocation of intervention areas, and
green areas, open spaces, water bodies and places that might be utilized for common benefits, and
any other locally relevant planning issues.
Other principles include compensation, development permit and the right to land information. According to Art.27, any developer desiring to commence a development activity in an urban centre shall apply for a development permit. As per Art.21, any urban landholder whose land holding is dispossessed as a result of implementation of urban plans shall be paid compensation pursuant to the relevant laws. Lastly, by virtue of Art.35, any interested party is entitled to have information as to the development of a plot of land in the jurisdiction of an urban centre.
The other laws are related to buildings. Specially, condominiums are recent phenomenon in Ethiopia and a law was issued at national level called Condominium Proclamation No. 370/2003. The objectives of this proclamation are:
to implement other alternatives of urban land use in addition to plots basis urban land use.
to narrow the imbalance between demand and supply of housing.
maintain beauty of the urban areas
to improve land use and supply of houses, and
to create favourable conditions to private developers and co-operatives.
The proclamation regulates such matters as registration of condominium, unit ownership, sale and lease of a unit, unit owners association, and amalgamation of association, common elements, and common expenses. It also repeals the Civil Code provisions on ownership of stories and suites of a building under Title VIII, Chapter 1, Section 2, and paragraph 2, Arts. 1281-1308 on a condominium governed under the same law.
Regional states have the power to issue and implement condominium legislations of the same nature. For example, the ANRS has issued in 2006 a law called the Amhara National Regional State Condominium Ownership Determination Proclamation No.141/2006.
Environmental, Forestry, and Cultural Heritage Legislations
Environment
Environmental legislations are available both at federal and regional level. At present, at the federal or national level, there are three proclamations dealing with the environment. These are the Environmental Protection Organs Establishment Proclamation No. 295/2002, the Environmental Pollution Control Proclamation No.300/2002, and the Environmental Impact Assessment Proclamation No. 299/2002.
The first proclamation assigns responsibilities to separate organizations for environmental development and management activities with the view to establish a system that fosters coordinated but differentiated responsibilities among environmental protection agencies at federal and regional levels. This proclamation re-establishes the federal environmental protection authority. Article 3 reads as follows:
Establishment
1) The Authority is hereby re-established as an autonomous public institution of the Federal Government.
2) The Authority shall be accountable to the Prime Minister.
By virtue of Art. 5, the authority has the objective of formulating policies, strategies, laws and standards, which foster social and economic development in a manner that enhances the welfare of humans and the safety of the environment sustainable. Toward this end, it shall spearhead in ensuring the effectiveness of the process of their implementation.
This law empowers regional states to establish or designate an independent regional environmental agency that shall be responsible for;
coordinating the formulation, implementation, review and revision of regional conservation strategies,
environmental monitoring, protection and regulation, and
ensuring the implementation of federal environmental standards
The major legislation is the Environmental Pollution Control Proclamation No. 300/2002. This law has been adopted to protect the environment, to safeguard human health and wellbeing, to maintain the biota and the aesthetic value of nature, and to eliminate or mitigate pollution as an undesirable consequence. More specifically, the law addresses control of pollution, management of hazardous waste, chemical and radioactive substance, and management of municipal waste.
The Environmental Impact Assessment Proclamation No. 299/2002 is the third legislation of importance to us. The main objectives of this legislation are:
-to help predict and manage the environmental effects which a developmental activity entails.
-to provide an effective means of harmonizing and integrating environmental, economic, cultural, and social considerations into a decision making process in a manner that promotes sustainable development.
-to foster the implementation of the environmental rights and objectives enshrined in the constitution, and
-to bring about administrative transparency and accountability, and involve the public in planning and decision making.
This law regulates such matters as considerations to determine impact, environmental impact study report, public participation in environmental impact study report, and others.
Forestry
Normally, in the Civil Code, trees are intrinsic elements of the land on which they stand and, as a result, are immovable properties. Historically, there were a number of legislations on forests. These include the State Forest Proclamation No.225/1965, Private Forest Conservation Proc. No.226/1965, and Putative Forest Proclamation No.227/1965. At present, all these laws are repealed. The main legislations which regulate forest conservation, development and utilization are the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1994, to which Ethiopia is a party, the Forestry Conservation, Development and Utilization proclamation No.94/1994 and the Trade of Saw Logs and Veneer Logs Regulation No. 351/1968.
Under the major legislation, Proc. No.94/1994, there are three types of forests, namely, state forests, regional forests, and private forests. As per Art. 2(6) of the proclamation, “state forest” is,
“a forest which is to be demarcated by a regulation to be issued by the Council of Ministers upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Agriculture and that are given special consideration so as to protect the genetic resources, or conserved to keep the ecosystem with a programme that covers more than one region.”
According to Art.2(7), regional forests are “forests designated by the official Gazette of each region as being so which are not either a state or private forest, and found within a specific region or developed by the said region. They are owned by the regional states in the same context as state forests.
Private forests are forests developed by any private person, peasant association or associations organized by private individuals. The owners of private forests are required to develop forests in a sound manner, and replace trees made use of in different ways, just to mention few duties as per Art. 6(2). Related to private ownership of forests are community forests. This is a type of forest ownership by peasant associations or associations organized by private individuals. It includes planting community woodlots, agro-forestry, planting for catchments protection, windbreaks, shelter belts and road side plantation.
Cultural Heritage/Antiquity
According to Art. 2(a) of proclamation No.229/1966 and Export of Antiquities regulation of 1969, Art.3, antiquity includes the totality of cultural objects that are products of human activity originating prior to 1850 E.C. and objects of historical and archaeological interest dating from before 1850 E.C. that bear witness to the history and tradition of the country and is people. Accordingly, the following categories of objects may be considered as antiquities:
-Works of craft-such as tools, poetry, crosses, inscriptions, coins, weapons, jewellery, etc.
-Items of artistic interest-planting and drawings, produced entirely by human hand on any support and in any unilateral original prints and posters , and photographs, original artistic assemble, ages and montages in any material, works of statutory art and sculpture, etc.
-Manuscripts and incunabula-codes, books, documents or publication of special interest.
-Items of numismatic (medals and coins) and philatelic interest.
-Archives including textual records, map and other cartographic materials, sound recordings and machine recordable records,
-Ancient palaces, religious buildings such as ancient churches, monasteries, mosques, castles, obelisks, etc.
-Products of archaeological excavations conducted on land, underground, in the sea bed including the sites of such exploration and excavations.
-Places associated with historical events such as battle fields.
-Items resulting from the dismemberment of historical monuments,
-Materials of anthropological, pathological and ethnological interest, etc.
- Details
- Category: Land Law
- Hits: 11061
The theory that property exists as a natural right has had long and widespread acceptance. Many of the legal philosophers of Germany were expositors of this theory. As they expressed it the personal right of man, as determined by nature, is to possess a sphere of action sufficient to supply him with the means of support. This physical sphere should, therefore, be guaranteed to everyone, conditioned, however, upon his cultivating it by his own labor. Thus all should labor and all should also have wherewith to labor. The right to possession is a direct right, inalienable, antecedent to all law, and instituted for the general good. This theory is one application of the approach that all activity of the human race is the planned product of divine wisdom or of some unavoidable and immutable nature of things.
Laveleye in the twenty-seventh chapter of his book on Primitive Property (1878) gives the following exposition and refutation of four of the theories advanced concerning the origin of property.
Occupation Theory
''Roman jurists and most modern ones have considered occupancy of things without an owner as the principal title conferring property. Quod enim nullius est id, ratione naturali, occupanti conceditur, says the Digest. This theory can be easily maintained, so long as it only has to do with movables which can be actually seized and detained, like game taken in the chase, or goods found; but it encounters insurmountable difficulties when we attempt to apply it to the soil. In the first place, history shows that the earth is never regarded by men as res nullius. The hunting ground of hunting tribes, or the pastures of pastoral nations, are always recognized as the collective domain of the tribe; and this collective possession continues, even after agriculture has begun to fertilize the soil. Unoccupied land has therefore never been regarded as without an owner. Everywhere, in former times as in our own, it was considered as belonging to the commune or the State, so that there was no room, in former times any more than in our own, for acquisition by occupancy.
''Most of the partisans of this theory do allow a sort of primitive community, communion bororum primaeva. But they add, that in order to obtain individual ownership of things which they took possession of, all men tacitly agreed to renounce, each for himself, this undivided right over the common domain. If it is the historic origin of property, that they seek to explain in this way, history knows of no such agreement. If it is meant as a theoretical and logical origin, in this case they lapse into the theory of contract, which we shall examine further on.
''M. Thiers, in his work De la Propriete, borrows the idea of Cicero, who, comparing the world to a theatre, asserts that every one makes the place he occupies his own: Theatrum cum commune sit, recte tamen dici potest ejus eum locum quem quisque occupavit. The example goes against the theory which he is endeavouring to establish; for, in the first place, the spectator is only in possession of his place, and his possession merely gives him a temporary right and not the perpetual ownership; and, secondly, he occupies but one place. Hence no one could at best make his own more than the portion of the soil which he actually retains and can cultivate. M. Renouard, in his excellent work, Du Droit industriel, recognizes this: 'Of strict natural right, the occupation of land present serious difficulty in execution. It only gives a right over the soil actually held in possession.' Without this limit, in fact, a single man might, by some manifest sign of his intention, occupy a whole province.
''Occupation is a fact resulting from chance or force. There are three of us on an island large enough to support us all, if we have each an equal part; if, by superior activity, I occupy two-thirds of it, is one of the others to die of hunger, or else become my slave? In this case the instinct of justice has always commanded an equal partition. Hence we do conceive of a right of acquisition, anterior and superior to the simple fact of apprehension, which it is called upon to limit and regulate ...
Labour Theory
''The second theory of property would make labour its basis, This is the one adopted by economists, because, since Adam Smith, they have attributed to labour the production of wealth. Locke was the first to expound this system clearly, in his Second Treatise on Civil Government, Briefly, this is a summary of what he says on the subject:-
''God gave the soil to mankind at large, but as no one enjoys either the soil or that which it produces unless he be owner, individuals must be allowed the use, to the exclusion of all others.
''Everyone has an exclusive right over his own person. The labour of his body and the work of his hands therefore are likewise his property. No one can have a greater right than he to that which he has acquired, especially if there remains a sufficiency of similar objects for others. My labour, withdrawing objects from the state of community makes them mine. But the right of acquisition must be limited by reason and equity. 'If one exceeds the bounds of moderation and takes more than he has need of, he undoubtedly takes what belongs to others.'
''The limit indicated by Locke is, for moveable things, the amount which we may take without allowing them to spoil. For land, the limit is the amount which we can cultivate ourselves, and the condition that there be left as much for others as they require. 'The measure of property,' he says, 'nature has well set by the extent of man's labour and the conveniences of life; no man's labour could subdue, or appropriate all; nor could his enjoyment consume more than a small part; so that it was impossible for any man, this way, to encroach upon the right of another, or acquire to himself a property, to the prejudice of his neighbor, who would still have room for as good and as large a possession. This measure, we see, confines every man's possession to a very moderate proportion, and such as he might appropriate to himself, without injury to anybody.'
''So according to Locke the great principle is this: 'Every one ought to have as much property as is necessary for his support.'
''The necessity of private property results 'from the conditions of human life, which require labour and some material on which it may be exercised.'
''As Locke admits, on the one hand an equality of right in all men, and on the other hand the necessity for every man to have a certain portion of material, on which to live by his labour, it follows that he recognizes a natural right of property in every one.
''This theory is certainly more plausible than that of occupation. As M. Roder very justly remarks in his work, Die Grundzuge des Naturrechts, § 79, labour establishes between man and the objects which he has transformed a far closer connexion than mere occupation, whether symbolical or even actual. Labour creates value; accordingly it seems just that he who has given birth to it, should also enjoy it. Moreover, as no one can legitimately retain more than that which he can cultivate, there is a limit which prevents usurpation. But no legislation ever allowed that labour or specification was alone a sufficient title to establish property. He who is not already owner of the land or the material transformed, acquires nothing by his labour but a right to compensation or to remove the buildings and plantations set upon another man's land. Kant had already remarked that the cultivation of the soil was not sufficient to confer the ownership. 'If labour alone,' says M. Renouard (Du Droit industriel, p. 269), 'conferred a legitimate ownership, logic would demand that so much of the material produced, as exceeds the remuneration of such labour, should be regarded as not duly acquired.'
''Nay more: according to this theory the owner would manifestly have no right to full value of land let to a tenant. The tenant would become co-proprietor in proportion as the land was improved by his labour; and, at the end of a certain number of years, the proprietor would entirely lose all right of ownership. In any case, he could never raise the rent; for to do so, would be to appropriate the profits of another's labour, which would obviously be robbery.
''If labour were the only legitimate source of property, it would follow that a society, in which so many labourers live in poverty and so many idlers in opulence, is contrary to all right and a violation of the true foundation of property.
''The theory so impudently adopted by most economists, and even by M. Thiers in his book, De la Proprie'te', would therefore be a condemnation of all our modern organization. Jurists have violently opposed the theory. The summary of their objections may be found in M. Warnkoenig's work, Doctrina juris philosophica, p. 121, and in the Naturrecht of Ahrens. If labour is the source of property, why should the Institutes and the Code civil have said nothing of it? It may be said that labour ought to be the source of all property, but this principle would be condemnatory of the existing organization of society.
Social Contract
''In order to explain why men abandoned the primitive community, it has been asserted to have been in consequence of a convention, and thus property would be the product of a contract. This theory has even less to sustain it than the preceding.
''In the first place, when we seek to derive a right from a fact, we are bound to establish the reality of that fact, otherwise the right has no foundation. Now, if we go back to the historic origin of property, we find no trace of such a contract. Moreover, this convention, which we should to seek in the night of past ages, cannot bind existing generations, and consequently cannot serve as the basis of property at the present time. Convention cannot create a general right, for it itself has no value, except so far as it is conformable to justice. If property is legitimate and necessary, it must be maintained; but a decision taken by our remote ancestors will not entitle it to respect.
''Kant holds that specification creates a provisional ownership, which only becomes final by the consent of all the members of the society. Kant does not maintain that this consent was a historic fact: he speaks of it as a juristic necessity, or a fact the justice of which commands respect. But the moment we introduce the idea of justice, we are demanding of the general principles of law the sanction of human institutions, and to what purpose is it then to invoke a convention which has never occurred? It is enough to show that property is conformable to right.
''Without having recourse to abstract notions of justice or to the obscurities of historic origins, many writers of very different shades have maintained that property is the creature of law.
'' 'Banish governments,' says Bossuet, 'and the earth and all its fruits are as much the common property of all mankind as the air and the light. According to this primitive natural right, no one has an exclusive right to anything, but everything is a prey for all. In a regulated government, no individual may occupy anything. ... Hence arises the right of property, and, generally speaking, every right must spring from public authority.'
''Montesquieu uses nearly the same language as Bossuet: 'As men have renounced their natural independence to live under political laws, they have also renounced the natural community of goods to live under civil laws. The former laws give them liberty, the latter property.'
''Mirabeau said, in the tribune of the Constituent Assembly, 'Private property is goods acquired by virtue of the law. The law alone constitutes property, because the public will alone can effect the renunciation of all and give a common title, a guarantee for individual enjoyment.' Tronchet, one of the jurists who contributed most to the formation of the Code civil, also said: 'It is only the establishment of society and conventional laws that are the true source of the right of property.' Touillier, in his commentary on the Droit civil francais, admits the same principle. 'Property,' according, to Robespierre, 'is the right of every citizen to enjoy the portion of goods guaranteed to him by law.' In his Treatise on Legislation, Bentham says: 'For the enjoyment of that which I regard as mine, I can only count on the promises of the law which guarantees it to me. Property and the law were born together, and will perish together. Before law, there was no property; banish law, and all property ceases.' Destutt de Tracy expresses the same opinion; and more recently, M. Laboulaye in his Histoire de la propri'et'e en Occident, formulates it with great exactness: 'Detention of the soil is a fact for which force alone can compel respect, until society takes up the cause of the holder. The laws not only protect property, they give birth to it. ... The right of property is not natural but social.' It is certain, in fact, as M. Maynz remarks, that 'the three legislations (Roman, German and Slavonic) which now divide Europe, derive from the State exclusively the absolute power over goods which we designate by the word property or ownership.'
''If Mr. Laboulaye and other authors of his opinion only intended to speak of a state of fact, they are right. If I have gathered fruits or occupied a spot of land, my right hand at first, and subsequently the power of the state, guarantee me the enjoyment thereof. But what is it that my strong hand or the power of the state ought to guarantee to me? What are the proper limits of mine and thine? is the question we have to determine. The law creates property, we are told; but what is this law, and who establishes it? The right of property has assumed the most diverse forms: which one must the legislator sanction in the cause of justice and the general interest?
''To frame a law regulating property, we must necessarily know what this right of property should be. Hence the notion of property must precede the law which regulates it.
''Formerly the master was recognized as owner of his slave; was this legitimate property, and did the law, which sanctioned it, create a true right? No: things are just or unjust, institutions are good or bad, before a law declares them as such, exactly as two and two make four even before the fact be formulated. The relations of things do not depend on human will. Men may make good laws and bad laws, sanction right or violate it, right exists none the less. Unless every law is maintained to be just, we must allow that law does not create right. On the contrary, it is because we have an idea of justice superior to laws and conventions, that we can assert these laws or conventions to be just or unjust.''
Utilitarian
''A relatively modern theory takes the position that property arose because of its utility. 'Who would care to save and renounce immediate enjoyment, if he could not reckon on further enjoyment? 'Landed property,' said Mill, 'if legitimate, must rest on some other justification than the right of the labourer to what he has created by his labour. The land is not of man's creation; and for a person to appropriate to himself a mere gift of nature not made to him in particular, but which belonged as much to all others until he took possession of it, is prima facie an injustice to all the rest. ... The private appropriation of land has been deemed to be beneficial to those who do not, as well as to those who do, obtain a share. And in what manner beneficial? Let us take particular note of this. Beneficial, because the strongest interest which the community and the human race have in the land is that it should yield the largest amount of food, and other necessary or useful things required by the community. Now though the land itself is not the work of human beings, its produce is; and to obtain enough of that produce somebody must exert much labour, and in order that this labour may be supported, must expend a considerable amount of the savings of previous labours. Now we have been taught by experience that the great majority of mankind will work much harder, and make much greater pecuniary sacrifices, for themselves and their immediate descendants than for the public. In order, therefore to give the greatest encouragement to production, it has been thought right that individuals should have an exclusive property in land, so that they may have the most possible to gain by making the land as productive as they can, and may be in no danger of being hindered from doing so by the interference of any one else. This is the reason usually assigned for allowing the land to be private property, and it is the best reason that can be given.' ''
If property originated in considerations of general utility, it is quite understandable that its incidents from time to time should deserve constant reexamination as to their continued conformity to new wants and the new circumstances of a changing society.
Whether this pragmatic theory of the origin of property is true or untrue is not too important for our purposes. It is important, however, to believe, and to act as if we believed, that private property must find its justification solely in its social contribution.
Anti Property Argument
Marx is not the only one to have warned of problems in private property rights (at least as defined and awarded in western societies). Henry Gorge, Plato, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and many early Christian philosophers also cautioned of property. Private property, it has been argued, inevitably creates a growing inequality of wealth which is morally unjustifiable and leads to social instability. Private property, it also has been urged, undermines good moral character. Recent scholars have argued that what some see as the advantages of private property can be disadvantages to others. In response to the argument that private property increases “the psychic good of certainty,” for example some argue that “to enhance certainty for one person is to impair certainty for another.” These arguments have led some to reject private property entirely and others to urge limitations on property rights.
Land: Significance and Ownership
1.4.1 General concept
As we mentioned earlier, land is a surface of the earth that includes the fixtures on it such as buildings, fence, tree plants, and improvement to the land etc. Land provides the foundation for the social and economic activities of people. It is both a tangible physical commodity and a source of wealth. Because land is essential to life and society, it is important to many disciplines, including law, economics, sociology, and geography. Each of these disciplines may employ some what different concept of real property.
Within the vast domain of law, issues such as the ownership and the use of land are considered. In economics, land is regarded as one of the four agents of production, along with labour, capital, and entrepreneurial coordination. Land provides many of the natural elements that contribute to a nation’s wealth. Sociology focuses in the dual nature of land as resource to be shared by all people; and as a commodity that can be owned, traded, and used by individuals. Geography focuses on describing the physical elements of land and the activities of the people who use it.
Lawyers, economists, sociologists, and geographers have a common understanding of the attributes of land:
Each parcel of land is unique in its location and composition
Land is physically immobile
Land is durable
The supply of land is finite
Land is useful to people
The scope of right to land
Cujus est solum, ejus est usque ad coelum
He who is proprietor of land is proprietor also of every thing on it. All buildings, all natural fruits, and everything above as well as below the surface, belong to the owner of the land. This Latin maxim was also reaffirmed by the English judge Lord Coke when he said cujus est solum ejus est usque ad coelum ad inferno, the owner of the surface of the real estate has property rights in the air above the surface and in soil below. Hence using this medieval time concept of land some writers give definitions such as the following:
Land…includes not only the ground, or soil, but everything that is attached to the earth, whether by course of nature, as are trees and herbage, or by the hands of man, as are houses and other buildings. It includes not only the surface of the earth but every thing under it and over it. Thus in legal theory, the surface of the earth is just a part of an inverted pyramid having its tip, at the center of the earth, extending outward through the surface at the boundary lines of the tract, and continuing on upward to the heavens.
The ancient dictum of Lord Coke, which gave the owner of the surface the rights ad coelum (literally, to heavens), was utterly long before the development of air travel. Change in technology and travel have raised a number of legal questions concerning the scope of real estate ownership, rendering the ancient concept of unrestricted ownership to the heavens depths unduly simplistic. Modern society limited this right for different reasons that not only in relation to aviations but also for the reason that the state wants to control natural resources below the ground.
Different Forms Ownership of Land
Conventionally speaking, the ownership of land may be classified generally in to three major and two minor categories: private, communal and public on the one hand, and joint and community ownership on the other. In the following a brief discussion is made about the nature of such ownership rights.
Private Ownership
This is the kind of land totally owned by private individuals. It belongs absolutely to an individual and as such the law provides an absolute protection against any intervention on such right by any other party. In principle individuals have an absolute right of use, exclusion, and disposition of their property. However, in reality private ownership right is not an absolute one for the state and the public using the law may limit such right. Private ownership of land is well known and developed concept and system in most countries. The Ethiopian Civil Code under article 1205 describes private ownership as the widest right man can exercise over his property. Today only few countries, most of which were part of the former USSR socialist republic and other former socialist and communist countries, including Ethiopia, prohibited private ownership of land. The present Ethiopian constitution basically prohibits the private ownership of land. According to the FDRE constitution Article 40(3) the right to ownership of rural and urban land as well as of all natural resources is exclusively vested in the state and the people.
Communal Ownership
Communal ownership of land refers to such property of land commonly owned by a community of a certain village or locality. In most cases common grazing lands, water wells, irrigation lands or river systems, common use forestry and mountains, fishing lakes etc are categorized under this system. There are many such kinds of arrangements in many part of the world. The village or the community need to have some regulation to control the use of the common property. In some systems the state intervenes to make laws and regulations for the community. In Ethiopia, although such kind of system is envisaged in more general way in the constitution, Federal and regional land laws provide specific rules for the protection of community land such as grazing and irrigation lands. In reality there are many cases of irrigation and grazing lands commonly owned by villagers or particular people of the village.
Proclamation 456/2006, a proclamation that is provided for the Rural Land Administration and Land Use, defines “communal holding” under article 2(12) as "communal holding" means rural land which is given by the government to local residents for common grazing, forestry and other social services.
State/Public Ownership
This type of property constitutes all lands which are not owned by individual person/s or the community. In most countries, mountains, public highways, public halls, parks, trans-boundary Rivers and forest lands, lakes etc are owned and administered by the state. It must be noted that in western countries lakes, mountains and forestland can be owned by private people. The common similarity all countries show on the other hand is that public highways and trans-boundary Rivers are owned by the state. In Ethiopia, as stated above the state and the people together own these properties, and it seems the public in general or the state itself are also prohibited the absolute power of disposition of land in Ethiopia, sale.
The Federal Land Administration and Land Use Proclamation identifies under article 2(13) “forestlands, wild life protected areas, state farms, mining lands, lakes, rivers and other rural lands,” as state holding lands.
The civil code under articles 1444 and following tries to identity the kinds of real properties classified as state or public domain or properties. Although it is no more relevant for the current system of law, it may help students to understand the kind of real properties which can be owned by the state elsewhere.
Art. 1445. - Public domain. - 1. Principle.
Property belonging to the State or other administrative bodies shall be deemed to form part of the public domain where:
(a) it is directly placed or left at the disposal of the public; or
(b) it is destined to a public service and is, by its nature or by reason of adjustments, principally or exclusively adapted to the particular purpose of the public service concerned.
Art. 1446. - 2. Immovables.
The following property, if owned by the State or other administrative bodies, shall be deemed to form part of the public domain:
(a) roads and streets, canals and railways; and
(b) seashores, port installations and lighthouse; and
(c) buildings specially adapted for public services such as fortifications and churches.
Joint Ownership
In some systems it is a type of ownership of land by two or more persons in which each owns undivided interest in the whole. This kind of system, based on the kind of rules adopted by each and every country, may include starting from simple joint ownership of plot of land by two people up to ownership rights of hundreds of people in condominiums. In Ethiopia, the principle of joint ownership right is governed by the civil code or other land related recent laws as the case may be. Under the civil code (articles 1257 ff.) it is stated that joint ownership right may be determined by agreement of the parties. In the absence of such agreement the law presumes equal right to the thing. The right can also be freely exchanged, subject to the limitation of pre-emption, however. As a special case, a joint wall of two real properties is considered as a joint property in the code. In condominium or other such related buildings, common walls, roofs, parking lots, stairs and corridors are jointly owned and administered by the users of the building or their association.
Common Ownership
Property owned in common by husband and wife each having an undivided one-half interest by reason of their marital status. Common property in the FDRE Family law is the category of property within the marriage other than private property of one of the spouses. The nature of common property is that it can not be divisible and each of the spouses has equal right to the whole property. Hence the law demands joint consent and agreement for the sale, exchange, mortgage or donation of common property. In today’s Ethiopia husband and wife commonly possesses urban and rural land. Especially in rural areas, during divorce the farm land is being equally divided between the man and the woman.
Additional Reading
The concept of ownership is basically understood in the continental system as an absolute one while in the USA it is conceived as bundle of rights. In the following additional reading attached to elaborate more. Students are advised to read the whole article.
John Henry Merryman
Ownership and Estate (variations on Theme by Lawson)
48 Tul. L. Rev. 916, 918, 924-25, 927-28 (1974)
…Productive comparative study of the land law in civil and common law jurisdictions is difficult-perhaps impossible-without some understanding of a fundamental difference that can be summarized by saying that the former is a law of ownership and the latter is one of estate. While it is probably true that a few lawyers in either system know that there is a difference and that it is important, few have gone much beyond this general impression. In this essay, I attempt to provide something more substantial by discussing the differences between ownership and estate in the two systems and, more specifically, in the land law of Italy and that of a more or less typical common law jurisdiction in the United States. Italian property law is not exactly like that of any other civil law nation, but it probably comes as close to a "typical" civil law property system as any other and closer than most. Much of what is said here is accordingly applicable to the land law in other West European nations and throughout Latin America.
…Ownership is, as concepts go, a very powerful one, and those who employ it pay its price. The land law of Italy and other civil law nations, based firmly on Roman law, is a law of individual ownership. It is part of the tyranny of the concept of ownership that it strongly resists fragmentation. To say that I own a thing is to imply that you do not, for if it is yours how can it be mine?' Such thinking thus tends to eliminate all intermediate possibilities between ownership and non-ownership. Consequently, when it becomes desirable to equate power over land with more than one person it seems preferable to do so by a device which, at least apparently, avoids dividing ownership. In every transaction ownership must be transferred in toto or not at all.
This, although simplified, gives some of the flavor of ownership in the Italian land law. Although its non-legal composition may vary from time to time with social and economic change, legal ownership remains exclusive, single, and indivisible. Only one person can own the same thing at the same time. But, since the requirements of society are such that power over land must frequently be divided between individuals, it becomes necessary to rationalize the dictates of theory and the requirements of practice.
The inconsistency between ownership and fragmentation can, of course, be exaggerated. Even in the civil law, land can be "owned" simultaneously by two or more persons in comune, a form of co-ownership much like our tenancy in common. But a functional division between beneficial and security title, or between legal and equitable title, or a temporal division into present and future estates, simply does not exist. Ownership is, in theory, indivisible in function and time.
The contrast with English theory is remarkable. In England, ownership resided in the king, and the distribution and retention of lands throughout the kingdom was carried out according to the theory of tenure. Those who actually occupied and used the great mass of English land were not owners of it but holders of derivative rights from the king or from the king’s tenants, and hence English land was concerned not with ownership and the rights and duties of owners but with tenure and the rights and duties of tenants. The concept of ownership simply did not come to into play.
This basic difference between Romanic ownership and the Anglo-American "estate" or "interest" in land can be illustrated by a simple metaphor. Romanic ownership can be thought of as a box, with the word "ownership" written on it. Whoever has the box is the "owner." In the case of complete, unencumbered ownership, the box contains certain rights, including that of use and occupancy, that to the fruits or income, and the power of alienation. The owner can, however, open the box and remove one or more such rights and transfer them to others. But, as long as he keeps the box, he still has the ownership, even if the box is empty. The contrast with the Anglo-American law of property is simple. There is no box. There are merely various sets of legal interests. One who has the fee simple absolute has the largest possible bundle of such sets of legal interests. When he conveys one or more of them to another person, a part of his bundle is gone.
This basic difference has several possible theoretical consequences. First, tenure seems to be a more flexible concept than ownership. Consequently, it might be expected that the number and variety of institutionalized interests in land will be greater in tenure than in an ownership property system. In short, improvisation is likely to be inhibited by the theory of ownership and encouraged by that of tenure.
The much greater variety of permissible future interests (vested and contingent remainders, executor interests, powers of appointment, reversions, rights of entry, possibilities of reverter) in the common law than in the civil law (where they really do not exist) supports this prediction. It is further supported by the existence of the trust and the concept of separate legal and equitable interests and by the distinction between security interests and beneficial interests in and, both found in the common law but not in the civil law.
- Details
- Category: Land Law
- Hits: 6025
Overview
The word ‘property’ has many dimensions and people are not usually capable of defining it without difficulty. As it is an underlying word for ‘Land Law’ we shall under this section attempt to define it and other affiliate terms such as real property, real estate and immovable property.
Objectives:
Having read this section, the readers would be able to:
- Define property.
- Identify the meaning and nature of several related but at times confusing words (property, real property, real estate), and
- Define these terms in the context of Ethiopian ‘Land Law’.
1.2.1 The Concept of Property
The meaning of the term property varies, depending upon the context in which the word is used. In one sense, property means things-real or personal/movable, corporeal/immovable or incorporeal, and visible or invisible. But the word is also used to describe characteristics; a desk, for example, has unique properties of color, shape, and surface. In legal sense, property describes the relationship between people and things- that is, the right of a person to possess, use, or own things.
A wider definition of property as conceived in modern and even in medieval society, is fairly described by Hallowelln as a ''complex system of recognized rights and duties with reference to the control of valuable objects ... linked with basic economic processes ... validated by traditional beliefs, attitudes and values and sanctioned in custom and law.'' Four factors in this definition are variables. The persons who have property can differ in their social roles and status. The relationships which are the constituent rights, powers, privileges, and immunities of property can vary almost indefinitely. The objects as to which property is recognized can differ from the songs and magical formulas of a primitive people, to the land, corporate shares, or copyrights of today. The sanctions can vary from the belief that disease will lay low an offender to the highly complex machinery of law courts and sheriffs.
More specific definition of the legal meaning of property was given by the English jurist Sir William Blackstone as “the free use, enjoyment, and disposal of all his acquisition, without any control or diminution, save only by the laws of the land.” Black’s law dictionary added an important element to the above definition: an exchange value, or the ability to sell property is a critical factor for a thing to be a property. Concerning the importance of property in human life, Blackstone also observes: “there is nothing which so generally strikes the imagination, and engages the affection of mankind, as the right of property; or the sole and despotic dominion which one man claims and exercises over the external things of the world in total exclusion of the right of any other individual in the universe.”
In Blackstone’s definition, the concept of general property under the common law does not differ substantially from its meaning under Roman law: “property in its nature is an unrestricted and exclusive right. Hence, it comprises in itself the right to dispose of substance of the thing in every legal way, to possess it, to use it, and to exclude every other person from interfering with it.” To be specific in Roman law, property was defined as follows: ius utendi et abutendi re sua, quatenus iuris ratio patitur, 'the right to use and abuse a thing, within the limits of the law' (Justinian, Code 4, 35, 21). The French Code Napoleon of 1804 in a similar manner defines ownership of property under article 544 as: the right to enjoy and dispose of property in the most absolute manner, provided that one does no use it in a manner prohibited by law or regulation.” Similarly, the 1960 Ethiopian civil code defines ownership right as follows:
Art. 1204.- Definition.
(1) Ownership is the widest right that may be had on a corporeal thing.
(2) Such right may neither be divided nor restricted except in accordance with the law.
Art. 1205. - Scope of right.
(1) Without prejudice to such restrictions as are prescribed by law, the owner may use his property and exploit it as he thinks fit.
(2) He may dispose of his property for consideration or gratuitously, inter vivos or mortis causa
In all cases whether during ancient times or in its modern conception, except for those personal chattels, the use and ownership of property (especially land) is limited by law for different land use purposes such as environmental, health, public good, town plan etc. See the details in the next chapters.
1.2.2 Property, Ownership, and the metaphor of Bundle of rights
One can see the definition given for property as confused with ownership. But what is ownership? Bryn Perrins in his book, Introduction to Land Law, defines property simply as “ownership.” The word is derived from the Latin proprius, meaning one’s own. My property is that which is my own, that which belongs to me. In its archaic means property signifies the corpus itself. But in the modern understanding of the concept property is law of ownership of the corpus and associated rights.
Hence ownership is a concept, an idea or the figment of the imagination. Leaving the jurisprudential hunt for final definition of the word it suffices at this point to define it as “right to assert that something is one’s own, and that it is a right which, in principle, may be asserted against all comers.” It is however important to explore briefly the content of the concept of ownership. In former times ownership was regarded as trinity of rights, described by Latin as utendi, fruendi, abutendi- a right of using, which implies exclusive use and excluding others from using it; enjoying the fruits, such as collecting fruits, rents, bank interests etc; and thirdly abusing, which signifies the destruction or in its constructive sense transferring the thing by way of sale, donation or inheritance.
Modern common law western treatises on property defined ownership as bundle of rights. This concept compares land ownership to bundle of sticks. Each stick in the bundle represents a separate right or interest inherent in the ownership. These individual rights can be separated from the bundle by sale, lease, mortgage, donation, or another means of transfer. The complete bundle of rights includes the following:
- The right to sell an interest
- The right to lease an interest and to occupy the property
- The right to mortgage an interest
- The right to give an interest away
- The right to do none or all of these things
The Anglo-American concept of ownership, fee simple ownership, is equivalent to the ownership of the complete bundle of sticks. Each right has its own value and the owner can separately use or apply one right while leaving the others as they are.
1.2.3 Major Concepts: Real Property, Real Estate, and Immovable
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, Real estate means land and anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, fences, and those things attached to the buildings, such as light fixtures, plumbing and heating fixtures, or other such terms which would be personal property if not attached. The term is generally synonymous with real property.
Under the same dictionary, the term real property is defined as land, and generally whatever is erected or growing upon or affixed to the land. Also rights issuing out of, annexed to, and exercisable within or about land.
Property law, in systems derived from English common law, is divided into personal and real property. Real property concerns itself with rights in rem, or relating to land. Personal property concerns itself with rights in personam, or relating to chattels. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property. Movable property roughly corresponds to personal property, while immovable property corresponds to real estate or real property, and the associated rights and obligations thereon. Hence, the difference in terminology has no basic difference in the types of property. In Ethiopia, the properties of land and any fixture to land are termed as immovable which are otherwise understood in England or the United States as real estate or real property. The writers may use these terms in this material to describe land interchangeably whenever necessary.
Land: in the law of real property, the term land is including the surface of the earth, the land beneath the surface to the center of the earth, and the air above. The term also includes property permanently affixed to the soil, such as water collected in wells, houses, and fences. The ownership of land may be classified according to the various types of interests raised from each and respective legal system.
What constitutes real property in Ethiopia?
Please read the following provisions carefully:
Art.: 1126. Various kinds of goods
All goods are movable or immovable.
Art. 1l30. Immovables
Lands and buildings shall be deemed to be immovables.
Please also read the following provision from the Swedish Land Code.
Chapter 1,Section 1.Real property is land. This is divided into property units…..
Chapter 2, section 1. A property unit includes a building, conduit, fence and other facility constructed in or above ground for permanent use, standing trees and other vegetation, natural manure….
What do you understand from the reading of the above provisions?
In Ethiopia, lands and buildings together constitute an immovable property. In other words, lands and buildings are what immovables are in our law. We have already mentioned that in the Civil Law from which much of our civil law is said to have been derived, immovable property, i.e. land is real property. This is true of the Swedish law. It follows that contextually, in Ethiopia immovable property is real property, and as immovable is land and buildings, it follows that land and buildings are real property. In short, in Ethiopia, real property is both land and buildings, and not only land.
Therefore, in Civil Law and Sweden, real property is only land; building is simply part of the real property, i.e. land. Whereas in Ethiopia real property is land and buildings, as can be derived from Art.1130 of the Civil Code, building is not defined through land, i.e. building does not seem to be part of land unit.
This kind of approach under our law seems to bear problems of interpretation and application. For example, what constitutes a real property unit in Ethiopia? Does building include the land on which it is constructed? If so to what extent-only the part on which the building stands or some more part? On what basis do we decide this? Assume Kinde constructs a house on the land owned/possessed by Degu, is the house a real property/immovable in this case? Further assume Degu disposes of this plot of land to Semahegn, to whom does the building belong now-Kinde, Degu, or Semahegn?
It is not easy to solve such issues under our law given the definition for immovable/ real property as constituting both land and buildings independently. But such and other questions are easily solved under the definition given for real property/immovable in Civil Law countries such as Sweden.
Be that as it may, for the sake of consistency to our law, throughout this teaching material, when the term real property or real estate or immovable is used, it refers to land, or buildings, separately or both land and buildings. In other words, the term is not used to refer only to land and then buildings indirectly as it is the case, for example, in Sweden.