LAND LAW 1

WEEK 1 & 2

INTRODUCTION
What is Land law ?
o It is about the relationship which people have with
the land
Eg: everyone needs land to live
( some have title of a land , some have right to use)
The State have the land /ownership of public land

Cont
Land rights are likely to dispute
o Lands are scares of resources
Eg: If it is a dense population with limited supply of Land
creates competing rights over land
o It is common to country to country
o If you have unlimited supply , then dispute may not arise

Peoples relationship to land

It depends on many factors and cultural elements;

oIt can belong to a State or a ruler
osome owns land for cropping
oSome wants for living
oIt can be a financial assets for some
oIt can be for religious purpose

Cont

In many occasions, it involves not just two

parties but three sets of competing interests

A - Seller of the land

B - Buyer of the land
C- Lesser interest party
5

ENGLISH LAND LAW

It is made up of rules in statutes and cases, customs

which became known as the common law and
equity ( chancellors court decisions overriding the
laws in the Kings Court)
this combination makes this subject highly
complicated and technical
6

SUBJECT - LAND LAW

First Semester Land law 1

(The concepts of English land law)
Second Semester Land law II
( The Maldivian land law)
7

THE CONCEPT OF PROPERTY

(Philosophical and Social Foundation of
Property)

INTRODUCTION
What is Property ?
o In common meaning , property is a thing owned by a person or

group of persons
Legal meaning of the property is quite different from the

common meaning
o in law property defines as rights

( those held by one person in relationship to others with respect to

something or other subjects )
9

Philosophical and Social foundation

of the Property

The first possession theory of property:

ownership of something is seen as justified simply by
someone

seizing something before someone's else

does
Natural law theory advanced that rights arise in
nature

as

matter

of

fundamental

independent from Governement.

justice

,
10

The Lobour Theory of Property

when one mixes ones labour with nature , one gain a

relationship with that part of the nature with which
the labour is mixed
though the earth be common to all men , yet every
man has a property in his own person, this nobody
has a right to, but himself
11

 Cont

According to labour theory:

Land in its original state would be considered as un-owned by
anyone , but if an individual applied his labour to the land by
farming it or constructing

something on it , it becomes his

property

Natural law theory:

Merely placing a fense around the land rather than using it would
not come into ownership according to the natural law theorists.
12

 Cont

According to labour theory, property does not only apply to land

itself;
oNatural Rightist Lynsander Spooner: this is the way in which
wealth of nature can be made useful to mankind, thus it can be
made a private property

An apple taken from an un owned tree would become the property

of the person who plucked it, as he has laboured to acquire it.
13

Social Utility Theory

According to the legal positivist Jermey Bentham:

o Property rights exists only if and to the extend of they
are recognized by our legal system
property and law are borned together , and die together.
Before law was made there was no property; take away
laws laws, and property ceases

*Johnson vs. MIntosh case

14

 Cont

o Two American Tribes sold a huge parcel of wilderness land

to a group of buyers. The Federal Governemnt later conveyed
part of this property to one MIntosh and he took possession
of the land
o

representatives of the first buyer group lease the tract to

tenants and the tenants suited in the federal court to eject
MIntosh from the land

o It was held under the laws of the USA, only the Federal
15

Government held title to the land before conveyance to MInt

Socialist view of property rights

o They believe that collective ownership of property

instead

of

private

property

will

assure

the

minimizing of unequal or unjust outcomes

o According to Carl Marx, the development of modern
society is towards large scale of corporative labour.
Ownership of private property does not lead to such
social responsibility .
16

The Economic Analysis of Property

This has a greater influence on modern concept of property
According to Economist Adam Smith: the expectation of
profit from improving ones stock of capital rests of
private property rights.
It is an assumption central to capitalists that property rights
encourage their holders to develop the property, generate
wealth, and efficiently allocate resources based
operation of the markets.

on the
17

Cont

The property right is exclusive authority to

determine how a resource is used whether
it is used by the Government or individuals
All economic goods have a property right
attribute ; these attribute has 4 components
18

Cont
The right to use the good
the right to earn income from the
good
the right to transfer goods to others
the right to enforcement of property
rights

19

Cont
The concept of property rights as used by
economists and legal scholars are related but
distinct
the distinction is largely in the economists
focus ability of an individual or collective to
control the use of the good ( eg: stolen good)
20

???ANY QUESTION

THANK YOU
21