Registration and information systems

Registration and Information System : Toward an Empirical Development in Bangladesh

M . Razzak Ph.D

A H Development Publishing House

Publisher Md. Aynul Hossain A H Development Publishing House 143, New Market, Dhaka -1205 Cell: 01715 022927 e-mail: ahdphbd@gmail.com web: www.ahdphbook.com Copyright: Š Author First Published: 2011 Cover Designed: Abdus Salam Distributor in India Paragon Enterprise 1, Meher Ali Road (1st Floor) Kolkata- 700 017 (India) AHDPH Cataloguing-in-Publishing Data Razzak, M Registration and Information Systems Toward an Empirical Development in Bangladesh/by M Razzak Ph.D. Includes bibliographical reference and index.

ISBN: 978 9849004202 google:EBBGMwEACAAJ 1. Registration and Information Systems. 2. License System.

I. Title 352.84/ABR-dc22

All rights reserved by the author. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the author.

Dedication To my beloved parents for their eternal peace in heaven.

CONTENTS Chapter One : Concepts and Philosophy of Systematic Registration Service Chapter Two : Registration Governance Systems: Organizations & Functions Chapter Three : History and Development of Registration Service as a Part of Legal System Chapter Four: Global Challenges and Actions for Land Registration and Sustainable Development Chapter Five : Records and Archives Management in Registration Systems Chapter Six : Land and Land Registration Chapter-Seven : The Legal Framework of Land Registration Chapter Eight : Registration & Public Finance Chapter Nine : Land-Use Planning & Registration Chapter Ten : Institutional Arrangements for Registration Chapter Eleven : Technology in Registration Chapter Twelve: Procedures for Introducing a Land Registration System Chapter Thirteen : E- Conveyancing : The Long Way Ahead Chapter Fourteen: The Experience of Hungary In Modernizing Land Registration Chapter Fifteen: Land Value Taxation (LVT) In Registration : Country Experiences Chapter Sixteen : Comparative Study on Registration Systems in Bangladesh, Kerala and AP Chapter Seventeen :Recommendations and Conclusion

Acknowledgement Offering immense gratitude to the infinite mercy of the Almighty by which I got this opportunity to perform and complete this publication. At this moment I will not miss the chance to remember the requests and encouragements from my respected authority headed by the Honorable Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of Bangladesh Government, high officials, colleagues and friends. I am greatly obliged to Mr. Munshi Nazrul Islam, Inspector General of Registration, for his tremendous role in my favor for such achievement.

I remain most grateful to my respected doctoral supervisor Prof. Dr. Md. Ansar Ali Khan, Department of Law, American World University, USA for his sincere cooperation and proper supervision in preparing the dissertation. I like to acknowledge all fine comments of world prominent scholars on my work especially of Prof. Dr. Ahmad Ullah Mian, Dean , Faculty of Social Sciences , AWU and at the same time I remember Prof. Dr. Salim Bhuian, Chairman of the university and his expert team members for continuous encouragement and outstanding cooperation for my accomplishment.

In this occasion I like to remember my parents, superiors, family members, off springs and relatives who have great contribution on my achievements and very especial honour to my father in law, Mr . A .Y. M. Anowar ul Haque, former IGR of Bangladesh Government.

I wish to express my sincere and honest acknowledgements to all individual,. Institutional, national and international authors and publishers for their valuable cooperation for producing this publication.

I also remain thankful to Mr, Md. Aynul Hossain, publisher, A H Development Publishing House, Dhaka New Market, Dhaka for his serious effort in publishing the book I am extremely grateful to Ms. Sabrina Parvin (Ely), Director & Sharmin Sultana, Computer Instructor (Research & Development) AWU who took the pains to computerize and help to prepare the publication in a beautiful manner. I convey my special thanks to all of them for this hard job.

In fine, it will be a case of ungratefulness if I don’t express my debt of gratitude to my wife , sons and daughter along with my wel-wishers who have always stood by me, reminding the seriousness of the publication.

M. Razzak

Preface The enlightenment from the darkness of ignorance invites and embraces new information for reformation in human minds every moment when they feel any need to fulfill and in such way wants, problems, needs and rights are viewed as the precondition of any change or development, reform or revolution toward achieving peace, justice and progress.

Registration systems are government authorities who are responsible to create, serve and preserve all sorts of public documents, databases and information in their records, registries and archives. It is a very important and influencing part of law discipline which touches public life everyday. Over the centuries registration covers most of human and citizen activities ranging from birth registration to death registration. In this process personal matters like marriage, divorce, organization, education, culture, sports , cooperatives societies, religious activities, clubs, business, industry, property , vehicles, professions and occupations, labor and trade unions or CBAs, patents, designs and copyrights, publications etc. to make information available for personal , judicial and public causes to meet PSI user needs .

Registration is a wider public sector exercise of any civilized country in the modern globalized world for making use of legal sequential, and systematic recorded data for personal, social, business and commercial or any other general needs to ensure evidence based transparency.

The book findings emphasized on strengthening information systems for environmental, economic and social data related to land resources at the global, regional, national and local levels and for land capability and land-use and management patterns ; Coordination between existing sectoral data systems on land and land resources and strengthen national capacity to gather and assess data; Providing the appropriate technical information necessary for informed decision-making on land use and management in an accessible form to all sectors of the population, especially to local communities and women; Supporting low-cost, community-managed systems for the collection of comparable information on the status and processes of change of land resources, including soils, forest cover, wildlife, climate and other elements.

This book is an attempt to review major multidisciplinary topics on registration and information systems that will be useful for policy makers, politicians, economists, development community, government officers, local government representatives, advocates, tax officials and ITPs, NGOs, IGOs, donors, business and stakeholders.

The findings may be used by academics, students and researchers in higher study communities of the universities and related training institutes on information systems viz. GIS, PSI , LIS , land economics, public finance, taxation, political science, business administration, accountancy, public administration, management, governance, standard, accountability and transparency.

We hope it will play an important role in adopting speedy steps for providing public sector information (PSI) to ensure Right to Information for all to make an

enlightened, knowledge based, informed and intelligent citizens, communities, government and the nation as a whole.

M. Razzak

Chapter One : Concepts and Philosophy of Systematic Registration Service 1.1. Introduction Registration as the single entry point to the information super highway of the modern culture of knowledge economy demands a higher level of attention for every nation to achieve development goals faster .Land registration is more important especially for a country like Bangladesh which starves for rapid progress in the last few decades. In recent years some development stakeholders like World Bank , ADB and others insist on land sector reform. International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other global forces advocate for changes to achieve their globalization goals. In this situation the country needs pro-people changes which will bring rapid economic growth and social stability in the long run.

Registration is a wider public sector exercise of any civilized country in the modern globalized world for making use of sequential, legal and systematic recorded data for personal, social, business and commercial or any other general needs to ensure evidence based transparency. It is a very important and influencing part of law discipline which embraces public life everyday. Over the centuries registration covers most of human and citizen activities ranging from birth registration to death registration (Razzak. Dr. M.A 2008).

The formal registration system has evolved for more than three centuries into an approach that is being used to varying degrees in the modern civilized nations. While registration plays a crucial role in ensuring each country’s right to information, public sector information(PSI), property transfer, evidence, transparency and tax system throughout the world.

At present, almost all countries in the world that are making use of some form of registration as it is generally assumed that the main interest in public life is in its use as a permanent system in either urban or rural settings. It is much more of a problem in developing countries like Bangladesh where registration practices with little experiences remain a formidable challenge.

There are ongoing efforts around the globe to provide instruction and support in the development of the "infrastructure" required for proper registration and information systems, information management, information delivery and information security.

It considers the main segments and registration related issues in international comparisons such as public finance factors like valuation, land value taxation (LVT), income tax, inheritance and gift taxes, capital gains tax, value added tax, stamp duty, registration fees, property transfer tax, wealth tax, records and archives, digital information database, records of rights (ROR), LIS, GIS, PSI, ICT, standards and related issues.

Property Registration evolves the central and vital part of the entire system which ensures legal base of ownership with human and judicial support toward making a just, accountable and transparent society. At the same time it contributes a significant revenue share to the public finance and overall

economic, social and national development.

A leading international property consultant, H.D. Soto puts his comment on the issue as “Modern market economies generate growth because widespread formal property rights, registered in a system governed by legal rules, afford indisputable proof of ownership and protection from uncertainty and fraud so permitting massive low cost exchange, fostering specialization and greater productivity. It is law that defines the relationship of rights to people. Civilized living in market economies is not simply due to greater prosperity but to the order that formalized property rights bring.” (Hernando de Soto 1993).

According to statistics, in developed countries, the value of land and real estates together with mortgages on properties is about 60-65 % of the national asset. The land and property related activities, including property developments, generating about the 30-35 % of the GDP. The value of mortgages on properties in developed countries is 30-35 % of the GDP. About fifty per cent of the occupation of expanding cities in developing countries is informal, people have no secure tenure (Bathurst Declaration) In these countries it is absolutely essential to improve the security of tenure providing appropriate tools for registration of informal or customary tenure.

The implementation of sustainable development (economy, society, and environment) is also one of the main topics worlds wide in developed and developing countries as well. There have been many changes related to land and properties during the last decade, resulted new challenges to be solved. These changes very much effected the developed, transition and developing countries (András Osskó).

In respect to above it’s obvious, every country needs such a legal and institutional framework, fully operational nation wide infrastructure supporting the land and property related activities. There is general consensus among professionals and world organizations, like UN, World Bank, etc., Registration and especially land registry along with cadastre institutions should be the proper infrastructure for sustainable development in land and property related activities.

In this process personal matters like marriage, divorce , organization, education, culture, sports , cooperatives society, religious activities, clubs, business, industry, property , vehicles, professions and occupations, labor and trade unions or CBAs, patents, designs and copyrights, publications etc. to make information available for personal , judicial and public causes to fulfill user need. This wider field comprises of a good number of laws , institutions, departments and ministries with rich and active working network around the country. A good number of enactments will show the present feature of registration system in the country.

Registration systems fulfill a good variety of human needs such as legal validation of all types of agreed, documented, signed and executed contracts and documents of any transaction, statement, terms and conditions for making basis of evidence , delivery of information like certificates, licenses , searches, inspections, from the original documents , sending reports ; preservation and protection of databases , administration and supervision of records and registries, archival security management, geographic and land information (GIS and LIS), like parcels (khatians), cartographic maps (manual or digital), ICT and public sector information (PSI), collection of public

revenue e.g-, stamp duty, registration fees, gain tax, VAT local government taxes, court fees , fines etc. The system also includes development issues like sustainable development, sustainable land management (SLM), regulatory reform, land value taxation (LVT), valuation techniques and approaches, assessment, accounts, and determination mechanisms with a set of technological, procedural and technical arrangements to provide appropriate services in practice.

The conceptual framework of land registration includes a set of complex terms, components, and situations such as laws, systems , institutions and activities; such as land revenue, land tenancy, land rights, land valuation ,land transfer, land tax, land litigation and land reform etc. To explore such components, their interrelationships and impacts on public finance, a closure look into the definitive structure seems to be more important .

Land registration is the “process of determining, recording and disseminating information about the ownership, value and use of land when implementing land management policies” (UNECE Land Administration Guidelines) “ Ownership” should be seen as a broad concept of land tenure within various jurisdictions (statutory, customary, informal, etc.), “land” includes constructions at subsurface level, ground level and above land level (e.g. buildings ).

Land management is the implementation of land policy by a wide range of land policy instruments e.g. land reform, land consolidation, land markets, land taxation, marine resource management, etc.( FIG Commission 7 Work plan 2002-2006) Land registration provides the machinery that enables a society that recognizes private rights in land to function. Where title to land is guaranteed mortgage registration provides the security, which enables banks and other institutions to lend money for house purchase or investment. A public land register enables citizens and business to invest and improve in their homes and their enterprises.

“Modern market economies generate growth because widespread formal property rights, registered in a system governed by legal rules, afford indisputable proof of ownership and protection from uncertainty and fraud so permitting massive low cost exchange, fostering specialization and greater productivity. It is law that defines the relationship of rights to people. Civilized living in market economies is not simply due to greater prosperity but to the order that formalized property rights bring.” (Hernando de Soto 1993).

The three systems for recording property rights are: (a) Private Conveyancing ; (b) The Registration of Deeds; and (c) The Registration of Title.

In private conveyancing, documents agreeing to the transfer of ownership are passed between the seller (vendor) and purchaser (vendee), usually with the guidance of a lawyer. The State merely provides legal framework within which this process takes place. Private conveyancing is generally regarded as inefficient and potentially dangerous since it can be subject to fraud as there is no easy proof that the vendor is the true owner.

Under a system of registration of deeds, a copy of the transfer document is deposited in a deeds registry (Record or Archival System). An entry in the registry then provides evidence of the vendor’s right to sell.

In parts of the United States of America, private registers are operated by insurance companies that underwrite any losses that may arise through defects in the title. This is known as title insurance.

Under title insurance, the purchaser pays a premium to obtain the necessary guarantee. If fraud takes place and a purchaser of land finds that the title is invalid, the insurance company will pay compensation.

The system does not however support general land management.

In countries where there is a national deeds registration system, the registry is under the control of the State. A copy of all agreements that affect the ownership and possession of the land must be registered at the registry offices and one copy of all documents is retained. Each document will normally have been checked by a notary or authorized lawyer and its validity ascertained. As a result, by searching the registry for the most recent document of transfer, any purchaser should feel confident that the vendor has the right to sell. Inspection of the register will show how the vendor obtained the property and the conditions under which it was acquired. This of course provides no proof that the previous transaction was legitimate, hence the transaction before that should be inspected, and so on through a sequence of inspections until the purchaser is confident that there is a clear chain of title.

In many countries conveyancing and deeds registration system covers freehold, mortgage and leasehold properties to meet user needs in the land market. Rural and urban practices are apparently different.

Agricultural productivity is the prime concern of rural registration system where as industrial growth, housing rights and transport needs are main influencing factors for urban and real estate registration.

An ideal system would reflect perfectly the legal position on the ground (the mirror principle), draw a curtain over all previous dealings so that only the present entries on the register need be consulted (the curtain principle), and guarantee the accuracy of what is shown on the registers (the insurance principle). It is difficult for a deeds registration system to conform with all these principles.

On its own, the system gives no guarantee of title; it merely provides access to the history of transfers, some of which may in practice be missing depending on the history of the system; possible disasters may have occurred, for instance, during the Second World War when many records were destroyed.

A further objection to deeds registration is that it leads to the storage of vast quantities of ancient documents, creating what has been referred to as a “mausoleum of parchment�. Not only is this costly but the retrieval of data can also be difficult and time consuming, depending on the volumes of documents stored.

With computers it is of course possible to store and retrieve rapidly large amounts of data and although the conversion of old documents into digital form is potentially expensive, the costs are much less than in the past. By applying modern technology, such as the scanning and micro-filming of documents, and by adopting appropriate administrative routines, deeds registry systems can now offer an efficient and reliable service.

In some deeds registries, the management of the records is extremely efficient and as a result there is great confidence in the system. While such registries do not actually guarantee title, they provide the most important evidence of ownership that can be

assumed to be correct unless proved otherwise in the courts.

In many countries around the world, the deeds registries are not in this category and the systems owe more to the nineteenth century than to today. Documents are in poor physical state, difficult to retrieve and even more difficult to link into a chain of titles tracing the pattern of ownership over time.

An alternative to the registration of documents is the registration of title to land. In this system each land parcel is identified on a map and the rights that are recorded on the register. In addition, the name of the owner is recorded.

When the whole of the land is subject to transfer, only the name of the owner need to be changed. When part of the land is transferred, the plans must be amended and new documents issued. Although a copy of the certificate of title for each land parcel is held by the landowner or by the mortgagee in the case of’ land that has been used as collateral, the definitive record is that held by the titles registry.

Under such a system the ownership of land can be guaranteed.

Anyone who is dispossessed of land through the functioning of the registers will be compensated even though the mistake was not made by the registry but rather was a case of fraud.

In Australia, registration of title to land is known as the Torrens system. Many other countries operate very similar and equally effective ways of registering title to land. The Torrens system is essentially simple and relatively cheap to operate. Transfers of whole land parcels can take place without any lawyers being involved, although in practice many people choose to take professional advice when dealing in land.

Both systems of registration of title and registration of deeds evolved to meet the needs for improved conveyancing. Both were devised to provide greater security to the land market and both grew from a legal rather than a land management perspective.

A compromise between the two systems is possible, drawing on the strengths of each approach. A number of countries, for example, combine land ownership and mortgage data in one register, while other information such as that relating to property boundaries is recorded in separate documents. In some countries the data on mortgages or hypothecs are maintained in separate registers that have to be checked independently when transactions are taking place.

A system for recording land ownership should: 1. Contain a legal definition of real property units that accurately reflects conditions on the ground; 2. Facilitate land transfer through a system that is simple, secure, and cheap to operate; 3. Eliminate the need for extensive searching for a chain of titles; 4. Be supported by legislation that requires it to be kept up to date at all times, for example when mutations occur; 5. Meet local needs; 6. Record specific real property rights, ownership and restrictions on ownership that are not otherwise transparent; 7. Cover all land, including that held by the State as well as by individual private citizens or institutions.

Neither deeds registration nor are title registration systems concerned directly with land use, though some indication of this may appear in the property description. Furthermore, neither system addresses all of the land rights.

Rights restricted by municipalities under development control regulations are rarely incorporated. Similarly, the systems do not necessarily provide information about land values. In many cases, the price paid for properties as declared in transfer documents is used as a basis for charging for the service, and for government imposed levies such as a land transfer tax or capital gains tax. The declared price may differ from the real price so that the vendors or purchasers can reduce or evade paying what may be seen as too high tax.

In order to begin the compilation of a land register, whether it is under a deeds registration or a titles registration system, there needs to be some mechanism to bring land onto the registers. In both systems one trigger mechanism is dealing in the land, for instance a sale or when a mortgage is taken out. For deeds registration that is all that is technically required, since the system merely records documents.

It is a prerequisite in either system that landowners and the general public understand the process sufficiently to have confidence in it. There is often a fear that a Government introducing a system may seek to take land away from people rather than confirm the rights that they have.

Once data are on the registers, the records must at all times be kept up to date. In some countries the system of inheritance makes this difficult, especially where ownership is shared between heirs. The relatives of a deceased landowner may In developed countries the cadastre and legal registry are working well, thanks for the technical development and modern technology.

The situation is very different in the developing countries ( Asia, Africa, Latin- South America ) and the majority of Central Eastern European Countries in transition. Which is common in these countries, there are not too many well functioning land administration ( cadastre, legal record ) no secure land tenure and there is a very strong need to establish or modernizing cadastre and land registry systems.

Land registration and cadastral surveying in much of the developing world has reached a crossroads. It is not possible to continue with business as usual in the face of massive informality within the world's cities, and new more relevant approaches have to be developed. A critical review of land registration has started both inside and outside the professions.

(Conferences held by the United Nations and the Federation of International Surveyors produced Declarations --Bogor 1996, Bathurst 1999 , Clarissa Fourie, 2000) Establishing and sustaining an effective land registration system is one of the most important tasks of any government. Creating an enduring and trusted system of secure land tenure fosters certainty and encourages investment and improvement. Systems for recording and transferring land rights have been established in all developed countries worldwide.

A guaranteed land register is recognized as the basis of a stable society and the foundation of a confident economy based on private land rights. Such confidence depends on a framework of land laws which make clear both the duties and the rights of citizens.

An effective system of land registration ensures that ownership and Other land rights can be created, and existing rights extinguished or transferred accurately and at minimum cost. All those participating in the property transfer market, and those with

other interests in land, can obtain guaranteed information, make decisions, and carry through their intentions promptly, with confidence and under the law.

A flourishing and responsive lending industry is the engine of a market economy. Land registration makes it possible for lenders to undertake their important role in the private and commercial life of the community. It is the guaranteed title and mortgage registration system that makes it possible for lenders to function promptly and with confidence.

Land Registry has more than 300 years experience in developing and delivering land registration services. It serves citizens and facilitates one of the most active property and mortgage markets in the world.

It is maintaining such an essential system depends on in depth experience of land registration law and practice, surveying and mapping, computing, financial, personnel and operational management.

With its accumulated wealth of practical and professional experience, Land Registry is well placed to provide ,advice and support to those seeking to introduce or develop their land registration services. ( John Manthorpe , 2006 ).

A common characteristic of land registration is the influence of colonial history. With the notable exception of India, colonial administration has commonly resulted in a duality of systems, one to accommodate western occupation (usually urban and commercial agriculture areas) and the other covering customary tenure arrangements.

The need to rationalize the sheer volume of uncoordinated and disintegrated land related legislation is a critical issue in many countries. The level of law enforcement is low and the prevailing culture of consensus makes it very difficult to reach agreement on the need to amend existing legislation. A common characteristic of the region is the predominance of title registration over deeds systems however, with the exception of the Philippines which has some limited and ineffective rights to compensation by the State, these systems are not backed by any form of State guarantee.

There is a high incidence of land tenure related conflict with attendant social disruption in some countries. Dispute resolution is usually subject to court litigation with the time delays and costs involved effectively removing most citizens from the process.

The critical technical issue is the relatively low level of technology and the low skill levels of staff coupled with the perception that the lack of access to technology is at the heart of most land registration problems. In reality, incorrectly conceived and applied technology is likely to be a much more serious problem. Underestimating the need for appropriate human resource training and development programs and the expansion of programs across the private sector or industry development is a critical technical issue.

The existence of a hierarchy of rights over private land complicates the tenure system in many countries because many of the rights are for specific and temporary use, so the need for renewal, or conversion to a higher right, adds to the bureaucratic chain. For example, Indonesia registers separate rights for ownership, cultivation, building, use and management.

When added to an already complex regulatory system this creates a concentration of power in numerous points of the process which

increases the potential for “informal fees”, discourages participation and leads to distrust of the formal tenure system. A parallel issue is the failure to delegate responsibility to an appropriate lower level of competence. The convoluted chain of officials whose signature is required in many jurisdictions to approve many routine functions in the land administration process adds to transaction time and expense, increases backlogs, and discourages participation in the formal system.

With the commitment to systematic registration of rights to land in Asia where there is a growing mass of registered land parcels. In most countries however, the security of title and sustainability of the land administration system relies on maintenance of the records. So a critical issue emerging in many countries is the relatively low level of registration of subsequent transactions.

This reflects low levels of community understanding of the benefits of formal registration and highlights the need to simplify procedures and processes, review fee structures and extend community education and awareness programs beyond project public relations campaigns.

1.2. The Guidelines In 1993 a seminar on reform of real property, land registration and cadastre took place in Copenhagen (Denmark). To follow up the seminar, workshops were organized in Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, the Netherlands and Romania to formulate proper guidelines for unified registration system.

These Guidelines define land legislation as the process whereby land and the information about land may be effectively managed. They are mainly written for senior governmental staff and politicians engaged in land administration issues. The aim is to out-line the benefit of having a relevant and reliable land information system in place.

The guidelines are based on the assumptions that: (i). Access to food and shelter are fundamental human needs; (ii). Security of tenure is essential for an effective housing policy; (iii). Certainty in the legal status of land is essential for efficient agricultural production; (iv). Investors in a market economy require a formal structure of land and property rights; (v). Sustainable development is dependent on the State having overall responsibility for managing information about the ownership, value and use of land, even though the private sector may be extensively involved; and (vi). Both land and information about land are resources that must be husbanded in order to achieve economic growth.

The Guidelines are in accord with article I of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights signed in Rome on 4 November 1950. That article states: “Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions.

No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law.”

The Guidelines identify the factors that should be taken into account in developing the legislation, organization, databases and maps, as well as the funding mechanisms, required to

implement and maintain a solid land administration system, frequently referred to either as ; cadastre or a land registration system.

The initial investment in a new land registration system may involve spending millions of dollars and the processes may take between 5 and 10 years. Such an investment and time-scale are however essential if economic development is to be sustainable.

The Guidelines draw primarily on experiences in eastern and Western Europe. All western systems of cadastre and land registration have been established for a long time but many have been built on traditional skills that have in the past not necessarily focused on all the needs of users. They were based on manual, not digital methods although most are now in the process of introducing computerization. Like their eastern European counterparts they are changing to meet the needs of a modern society.

Bangladesh has a population of 130 million in an area of 144000 sq. km. giving a population density of at average 900 persons per sq.km. rural population consists of 80% of the total population.

Again 80%of the people depend on agriculture which accounts for 52%of the GDP. The total farm area comprises about 62% of the total geographical area, forest area accounts for 15%, Perennial water 11% and urban area only 01%.The physical landscape is characterized by small arable fields.

There are over 11 million farm holdings with more than 65 million fragments. The pattern of land ownership is highly skewed. 5% for the families having land above 7.2 acres own 26% of the land and 70% of the families having land below 2.5 acres own only 29% of the land. The per capita availability of crop land is at present only 0.24 acre.

Land utilization statistics indicate that 54% of the net cropped area is single cropped and area under double and triple cropping account for 72% of the gross cropped area. 20% of the total cropped area have irrigation facilities . Yield is low i.e. rice -0.703 metric ton per acre.

Annual food deficit ranges between 1.5 2.0 million metric tons. Frequent natural calamities like cyclone, flood, drought, tidal bore etc. add to the shortfall of crops and livestock.

Land Registry in Bangladesh is the responsibility of the Ministry of Law & Justice, There are offices of Sub-Registrar in each upazilla where Sub- Registrars will register the written deed of agreement and the terms and condition of sale and purchased between the vendor and the purchaser of the land. The deed containing the agreed price of the land, it’s schedule description in terms of parcel numbers and other identifiers contains in the record of rights, its boundary and other conditions as may form apart of agreement.

This registered deed in the primary proof of ownership of a property. This deed is written down on stamps. The price of the stamps is the duty of the transfer tax that the government receives as transfer tax which may amount to 20% of the declared sales price. The entry is made through the names and addresses of the buyers and sellers. It is difficult and almost impossible to retrieve a systematic list of properties and their owners from this office. No updating is done here. Simply a new document is added when the same property changes hand again. The Sub-Registrar however sends a land transfer notice to the local revenue authority that who maintains and updated the record of rights after necessary verification.

1.3. Rights, Registration and Information secured by constitution

Equality before law, non- discrimination on grounds of religion, equal rights of women , free access for all citizens, employment rights, right to justice, right to security and safety, rights to freedom and liberty of religion, profession or occupation, assembly and association, thoughts and reputation, right to protection of law for life, home and privacy and all fundamental rights are ensured in the constitution. Some sort of registration, record archives, evidence or information service are essential to administer such arrangements to secure all rights in public and citizens’ life (Article 27 -47).

1.4. Registration under Hindu Personal Laws Hindu Law, unlike Roman Law, is more religious than secular in character. It is not a codified law but extracted from various' religious texts, commentaries, usages and customs, and judicial decisions.

1.5. Nature of Hindu Personal Law The Hindus believe that their law is of divine origin and to them this is positive law emanated from the Deity. The Hindu Kings were bound by the divine laws contained in the 'Smritis' and these were applicable to Kings and subjects alike. By original theory of its origin the law was independent of the state or rather the state was dependent on law. The King used to administer justice as the representative of God and royal edicts, though had the force of divine laws in some matters, these were also considered void if found repugnant to revealed laws. Hence, the theory 'King can do no wrong' or 'The King is the fountain of justice' does not always apply to Hindu law.

1.6. Sources of Hindu Personal Laws The main sources of Hindu law are : Customs, by which the divine will or law is evidenced.

1. Sruti : The Sruti comprises the four Vedas, the six Vedangas and the Upanishadas. The 'Sruti' is believed to contain the very words of the Deity. The root Sru means to hear and Sruti literally means what was heard. To the Hindus the 'Sruti' is of paramount authority but it contains very little of lawyer's law. The four Vedas are known as (i) the Rik-Veda (ii) the Yajur-Veda (iii) the Sama-Veda and (iv) the atharva-Veda.

The Vedangas are appendages to Vedas and are six in number.

The Upanishadas are known as Vedantas or concluding portions of the Vedas and embody the highest principles of Hindu religion.

1.7 . Difference between Sruti & Smriti 2. Smriti: The 'Smriti' literally means, that which was remembered, and is believed to contain the precepts of God. The 'Sruti' contains the very words of God whereas in 'Smriti' the language is of human origin but the rules are divine. The Smritis are the principal sources of lawyer's law but they also contain matters other than positive law. The three principal Smritis are:(i) . The Code of 'Manu' (200 B. C.-200 A. D.) (ii). The Code of Yajnavalkya (4th Century A. D.) The 'Mitakshara' is the leading commentary upon this Code. (iii). The Code of 'Narada' written in the 5th pr 6th century, A.D.

(Authority of Smritis.) The Smritis are believed to be founded on lost or forgotten 'Sruti' inasmuch as they are compiled from memory and are declared as embodying binding rules of conduct, by the sages who admitted the 'Sruti' alone to be the foundation of law. The 'Smritis' have all along been followed in practice by the sages and the persons learned in Vedas. Human memory is short. Hence, the precepts have been remembered while the exact words in which they had originally been expressed might be forgotten. The inference given above, forms the foundation of authority of Smritis. If a ‘Smriti’ is in conflict with ‘Sruti’ it must be rejected.

1.8. Customs Custom is a rule, which in a particular family or in a particular district, has from long usage obtained the force of law. It must be ancient, certain and reasonable, and being in derogation of the general rules of law, must be construed strictly. Customs are supposed by some writers to be based on lost or forgotten 'Sruti' and by others on lost or forgotten 'Smriti'.

According to some commentators usages are inferior to Smritis and must not be followed when in conflict with them. But others maintain that Smritis and Usages are of equal authority and in case of conflict between them the Usages, which are actually observed in practice, must prevail.

Division of Customs Customs may be divided into three classes (i) Local : Which are binding on the inhabitants of a particular locality, (ii) Class :Which are binding on a particular caste, etc. (iii) Family Which are confined to a particular family, maths or religious institutions.

Essentials of a Valid Custom Antiquity, certainty, reasonableness and continuity are the essentials of a valid custom. A custom, in order to have the force of law, must be ancient or immemorial. The Hindu lawyers have laid down a reasonable rule on this question. One hundred years is the limit propounded by them. Whatever is beyond a century is immemorial.

If a custom is discontinued it has the effect of destroying the custom. It is however, different in the case of a local custom which is the binding on all persons within the local limits in which it prevails.

Where the members of a family governed by Hindu law set up a custom derogatory to that law, the burden lies on them to prove it. In case of a tribe who were originally not Hindus, plead that they have adopted a particular usage or custom the burden of proof lies on them.

(Difference between customs and Usages) Customs and Usages are often used as convertible terms, still a distinction is drawn between them. Antiquity is an essential for a valid custom but the usages may be of recent origin. A mercantile usage may be still in growth. The same principles apply to an agricultural usage which may be of recent origin.

Other Sources of Hindu Law Besides three, mentioned above, there are other sources of

Hindu law also. These are :

Commentaries or Nibandhas : Since the Hindu law is believed to be of divine origin perfect harmony amongst the different Codes must necessarily be expected. But the conflict between the Smritisi seeming or real, has given rise to the commentaries that are called 'Nibandhas'. Though the commentators professed to interpret the laws laid down in the Smritis, in fact, they recited the customs and usages which they found in vogue around them and on this ground their interpretations have been accepted as authoritative.

Factum Valet : The so called doctrine of factum valet meaning, "What should not be done, yet being done, shall be valid", was enunciated first by the author of the 'Dayabhaga'. It was laid down on the principle, meaning, "A thing or the nature of a thing, cannot be altered by a hundred texts". The above passage was rendered by Cole brooke into:- "For a fact cannot be altered by a hundred text".Though the doctrine of 'factum valet" was enunciated by the author of Dayabhaga, it was accepted by the Mitakshara school to a great extent.

Puranas : The puranas, eighteen in number, (excluding upa-puranas) are not considered authoritative, so as to override the 'Smritis.' These illustrate the law by the instances and are looked upon as precedents. Prof. Wilson observes, 'The puranas are not authorities in law; they may be received in explanation or illustration, but not in proof.'

Acts of Legislatures : The Hindu law has been modified and supplemented in certain respects by the Acts of Legislatures. (i). Freedom of Religion Act-1850 (ii). The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act-1856 (iii) The Hindu Women's Right to Property Act-193 7 are instances on the point.

Judicial decisions: Judicial decisions, to some extent, have become a source of Hindu law. Decisions of the Privy Council and of High Courts are binding on the subordinate courts. Rules enunciated in the cases of The collector of Madura V. Mootoo, Sri Balasu V. Sri Balasu are instances on the point.

Minor texts and commentaries not regarded as authoritative : The Upa-Puranas or the minor or subsidiary puranas, though regarded generally as spurious, compositions, some rules enunciated by the authors of those have found favor with the courts. The authors called these rules as or rules of conduct. Raghunandana's prohibition of intermarriage between different tribes, though contrary to 'shastras', is based on 'Aditya-Purana' and it was accepted by the court in Malaram V. Thanooram. (9.W.R.552)(8)

Equity, justice and good conscience : The court has the inherent power of applying equity, justice, and good conscience. Mahmood, J. of Allahabad High Court in the case of Ganga V. Lekhrj observed : "To such matters which do not affect the essence of the adoption, the doctrine of factum valet would undoubtedly apply upon general grounds of justice, equity and good conscience, and irrespective of the authority of any text in the Hindu law itself."

But such application must be consistent with the basic provisions and principles of Hindu law and not offending the same. (Ramchandra V. Vinayak 41.1.A. 290, 310).(9)

1.9. Application, Enactments And Schools 1. Application The Hindu law applies not only to Hindus by birth, but also to Hindus by faith that is converts to Hinduism.

2. To illegitimate children where both parents are Hindus.

3. To illegitimate children where the father is a Christian and the mother a Hindu and the children are brought up as Hindus.

4. To Jains, Sikha, Arya Samajists, Dayanandis and Nambudri Brahmanas except so far as such law is valid by custom.

5. To a Hindu by birth who renounced Hinduism but reverted to it afterwards by performing the religious rites.

6. To sons of Hindu dancing girls of Naik caste converted to Islam, where the sons are taken into family of the Hindu grandparents and are brought up as Hindus.

If a Hindu by birth, departs from the standard of orthodoxy in matters of diet and ceremonial observances or if he becomes a member of the 'Brahmo Samaj' or accepts 'Granth Sahib' or becomes 'Jati Vaishnava' he does not cease to be a Hindu.

But the Hindu law does not apply to the following persons : (1). To the illegitimate children of a Hindu father by a Christian mother who are brought up as Christians or to illegitimate children of a Hindu father by a Muslim mother.

(2). To a Hindu converted to Christianity. A person ceasing to be a Hindu in religion cannot elect to continue to be bound by the Hindu law in the matter of succession after passing of the, Succession Act, 1925.

(3). To the descendants of Hindus who have formed themselves into a separate community with peculiar religion and usages different from the Hindu shastras. The 'Kalais' of Burma constitute such a community.

(4). To converts from Hindu to Islam. The Khojas, Cutchi Memons etc., who were converts from Hinduism to Islam, and succession would be governed by the Muslim personal law except where the questions relate to agricultural land after passing of shariat Act-1937 and Cutchi Memon Act- 1938.

1.10.Enactments of Hindu Laws Affecting Registration System In certain respects Hindu law has been modified and supplemented by the Acts. Some of these have been given in the appendix for ready reference. The principal Acts, which modified the Hindu law are given below: (i). The Freedom of Religion Act or the Caste Disabilities Removal Act-1850. By virtue of this Act a Hindu who is out casted or who has become a convert to another faith, docs not lose his right to property by the mere fact of such conversion. (ii). The Hindu Widows' Re-marriage Act-1856, legalizes the re-marriage of Hindu widows. (iii) .The Native Converts Marriage Dissolution Act-1866, enables a Hindu, converted to Christianity to dissolve his marriage. (iv). The Special Marriage Act-1872/1923 allows inter-caste marriage before a Registrar. (v) .The Succession Act-1925. (vi). The Transfer of Property Act-1882/1929 modifies Hindu Law to a great extent regarding transfer of property and transfer and bequest to an unborn person. (vii) .The Majority Act-1875 is applicable to Hindus except in cases of marriage, divorce and adoption. (viii). The Guardians and Wards Act-1890 applies to Hindus where guardian has been or is to be appointed by the court. (ix). The Hindu Inheritance (Removal of Disabilities) Act-

1928 limits the exclusion from inheritance on account of disabilities as per Hindu Law. (x). The Hindu law of Inheritance (Amendment) Act-1929 admits some relations before father's brother in the matter of succession. (xi). The Hindu Gains of Learning Act-1930 states that all acquisitions by means of learning are the separate property of the acquirer. (xii). The Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act 1937, strikes at the root of Mitakshara and gives right of inheritance to Widows. (xiii). The Contract Act-1872, supersedes the Hindu Law of contract except 'Damdupat.' The law of 'Damdupat' is not applicable in Bangladesh. (xiv). The Evidence Act-1872, supersedes all rules of Hindu Law on evidence. (xv). The penal Code-1860; supersedes the whole of the Hindu Law of crimes.

Origin Conflict of law is opposed to the theory of its divine origin. The 'shastras' which were universally or very generally received became the subject of subsequent commentaries and the different commentaries had given rise to the several schools of Hindu law.

1.11. Major Schools in Hindu Personal Law The schools are ordinarily said to be five in number. But there are only two principal schools namely, the Mitakshara school and the Dayabhaga school. The Dayabhaga prevails in Bangladesh and in the province of West Bengal in India ; the Mitakshara prevails in the whole of India (except the province of West Bengal,) and in Pakistan.

The Mitakshara is anterior to Dayabhaga and is a running commentary on the Code of Yajnabalkya written by Vijnaneswara.

The 'Dayabhaga' is not a commentary on any particular Code but a digest of all the Codes. It gives first preference to the Code of 'Manu'. It was observed that. the Dayabhaga was an enactment amending the Mitakshara law in Bengal. Justice Dwarkanath Mitter observed, "The authority of Mitakshara, it should be remembered, was at one time supreme even in Bengal, and as the author of the Dayabhaga d''d not intend to dispute the correctness of all the propositions laid down in that treatise, we need not be at all surprised at his silence in regard to some of them. It is for this reason that the Mitakshara is still regarded as a very high authority on all questions in respect of which there is no express conflict between it and the works prevalent in the school".

The Mitakshara school is regarded as the orthodox school and the Dayabhaga, the reformed one and the two mainly differ on the following matters : (i) . The law of inheritance and (ii). Joint family system.

The Mitakshara is sub-divided into four or five minor schools.

These differ between themselves in some matters of detail relating mainly to adoption and inheritance.

The schools along with the commentaries, respected as authorities, are given below: 1).Dayabhaga school : (i).Dayabhaga of Jimutabahana. (ii). Mitakshara of Vijnanes-wara. (iii).Dayatattwa of Raghunan-dana. (iv). Daya-Karma-Sangraha of Srikrishna. (v) .ViramitrodayaofMitraMisra.

2. Mitakshara School : (a). Benares School: (i). Mitakshara (ii) .Viramitrodaya (iii). Nimayasmdhu. (b). Mithila School: (i) .Mitakshara. (ii). Vivada-Chintamani of Vachaspati Misra. (iii).Vivada Ratnakara of Chandeswara. (c). Maharashtra or Bombay School: (i). Mitakshara. (ii) .Vyavahara Mayukha of Nilkants. (iii) .Viramitrodaya. (iv). Nirnayasindhu. (d). Dravida or Madras School: (i). Mitakshara. (ii). Smriti Chandrika of Deva-nanda Bhatta. (iii).Parasara-Madhava of Madhavacharya. (e). Punjab School: (i). Mitakshara. (ii) .Viramitrodaya (iiii). The Punjab customs.

1.12 . Adoption Two treatises on adoption Dattaka Chandrika and Dattaka Mimansa are equally respected throughout Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. In case of conflict Dattaka Chandrika is prefered in Bangladesh and in the province of West Bengal in India; and the Dattaka Mimansa is prefered in India (except the province of West Bengal) and in Pakistan. A Hindu family residing in a particular place is presumed to be governed by the law of the locality where he is domiciled.

1.13. Migration and Schools A Hindu family, migrating from one place to another, is presumed to carry with it its personal law. But this presumption may be rebutted by showing that the family has adopted the law and usages of the province to which it has migrated (Proof of change of school) Whether a family adheres to the law of the former place or has adopted the doctrines of its new domicile, may be proved by the mode in which it performs the religious ceremonies. The most direct evidence is the instances of succession in the family and next, ceremonies at marriages, births (Annaprasan etc.) and shaddhas.

1.14. Difference between Mitakshara and Dayabhaga Schools It has already been discussed that Mitakshara is anterior to Dayabhaga and it is a running commentary on the code of Yajnabalkya written by Vijnaneswara, the Dayabhaga is the digest of all the Codes while giving preference to the Code of 'Manu. The Mitakshara is still regarded as a very high authority even in Bangladesh and in the province of West Bengal in India, When Dayabhaga is silent on any point, Mitakshara may be referred to. Similarly the Dayabhaga may also be referred to in a Mitakshara case, on points on which the latter treatise is silent.

The two schools mainly differ on the following points. Mitakshara School and Dayabhaga School.

Inheritance The right of inheritance arises from propin-quity. Exception is the daughter's son. The right of inheritance depends on spiritual efficacy.

There are three classes of heirs : (i).Sapindas (ii) .Samanodakas (iii). Bandhus.

There are also three classes of heirs : (1).Sapindas (ii). Sakulyas (iii). Samanodakas.

The sakulyas of Dayabhaga school are the Sapindas of Mitakshara school from 5th to the 7th degree. So long there are gotraja sapindas or samanodakas no bandhu or, bhinna-gotra sapinda can generally inherit.

Both agnates and cognates come in the list of sapindas and inherit before sakulyas or samanodakas. A larger number of cognatic heirs are recognized in Mitakshara than Dayabhaga.

Some cognates are included in the sapindas and they enter into succession straightway. But number of such cognatesare less in Dayabhaga than Mitakshara.

All spainds are agnates with the exception of daughter’s son. Sapindas are those who can confer spiritual benefit on the deceased by offering pindas and include and include both agnates and cognates.

Devolution of Property Under Mitakshara school property devolves in two ways (i). Survivorship and (ii) .Succession.

Under Dayabhaga no living Hindu has got any heir; succession opens after his death. Survivor-ship is not recognized.

Joint family property A son, born to one of the coparceners, acquires an interest in the property from the moment of his birth and he cannot be ousted from such interest while he is alive.

In Dayabhaga succession opens to a son only after the death of the father.

A Dayabhaga father is competent to make a testamentary disposition of the whole of property. A son has got no right to object to it. A son cannot claim partition during the lifetime of his father.

The Karta or manager has got a restricted right of transfer.

Succession once opens, share of each heir becomes fixed, and every member (including karta) can alienate his share in any way he likes.

Property devolves on the male survivors only.

Property passes by inheritance only and may go to female heirs like widows, daughters etc.

1.15. Marriage It is a sacrament, not contract Hindu marriage is not a contract.

According to the 'shastras' it is more a religious than a secular institution. It is the last of the ten sacraments or purifying ceremonies.

All men are enjoined to marry for pro-creating a son necessary for the continuation of the line of paternal ancestors and for offering ‘pindas.'

In ancient times, the daughter was regarded as an item of property and the marriage involved the idea of the transfer of dominion over the damsel from the father to the husband. It appears to have owed its origin to the patria potestas of the Roman law.

Forms of Marriage The Hindu sages divided marriage into eight kinds, of which four are called approved forms, and four disapproved forms. .

Approved forms:

(i). Brahma : When the father or other guardian of the bride makes a 'gift' of the damsel, adorned with dress and ornaments to a bachelor, versed in the 'Brahma' or the Veda, it is cabled the 'Brahma' form. In this form the bridegroom is to be sought' out and invited by the guardian to accept the bride offered to him. (ii). Daiva : In this kind of marriage the damsel is given to a person who works as a priest in a sacrifice performed by the father, in lieu of the dakshina or fee. It is inferior to the 'Brahma' form as the father derives a benefit in such a marriage. (iii). Arsha : When the bridegroom makes a present of a pair of kine to the bride's father it is known as 'arsha' form. If the present is accepted for a non-religious purpose it becomes 'asura' marriage. (iv). Prajapatya : This form does not materially differ from 'brahma.' Here, the bridegroom may not be a bachelor and he appears to be the suitor for the marriage. In this kind of marriage the gift is made with the condition, "You two be parents for performing secular and religious duties."

The male issue of these four kinds of marriages confers special spiritual benefit on the ancestors.

Disapproved forms: (i). Gandharva : The gandharva marriage appears to be the union of a man and a woman by their mutual desire and consent. (ii). Asura : The 'sulka' or bride's price is the prime consideration for the gift of the daughter by the father in such a marriage. It amounts to a sale of the daughter. (iii). Rakshasa : When the marriage is done by forcible, capture it is know as 'rakshasa' form. It is allowed to kshatriyas or military class only. (iv). Paisacha : It is most detestible as being marriage of a girl by a man, who ravished her when asleep or drunk.

The principle is this that the ravisher should marry the deflowered damsel. Both. the 'gandharva' and 'paisacha' forms are preceded and caused by sexual intercourse, in the first case with the consent of the girl and in the second by fraud. The 'asura' and 'gandharva' forms resemble co-emption, and 'usus' respectively in Roman law.

These eight kinds of marriages are not really eight different forms. The form appears to be the same in all cases except perhaps in' gandharva' and ' rakshasa'.

1.16 . Presumptions It is, however, held that the law will presume the marriage to have been according to the approved form. It has also been held that, whatever may be the caste to which the parties belong, it should be presumed to have been made in the 'brahma' form.

Where it is proved that a marriage was performed in fact, the court will presume that it is valid in law Marriage between a male of lower caste and a female of higher caste is known as prathiloma marriage.

1.17. Prathiloma and Anuloma Marriage Marriage between a male of higher caste and a female of lower caste is known as anuloma marriage. Such marriages are permitted and recognized by the texts.

1.18. Essentials or Prerequisites of a Valid Marriage:

Sages and commentators differed on the subject so widely that it is difficult to say what the essentials of a valid Hindu marriage are. However these may be enumerated as follows: 1. Only one husband at a time: A woman cannot marry another man while her husband is alive, except where her marriage has been dissolved by divorce.

2 .The bride should be virgin: Shastras do not allow the marriage of a Hindu widow except in some special cases, but the re-marriage of Hindu widows is now legalized by the Hindu widow’s' Re-marriage Act-1856.

Guardianship and consent: Hindu law does not contemplate the marriage of males in their infancy hence, there is no rule regarding guardianship in their marriage. Minority terminates as per Mitakshara School on completion of sixteenth year and as per Dayabhaga School on completion of fifteenth year. The Majority Act does not apply to the Hindus in matters of marriage, divorce and adoption. So a young man of that age is 'sui juris' and may act for himself as regards to his marriage.

The shastras, however, enjoin early marriage of girls and rules are laid down relating to guardianship in their marriage.

The following persons are qualified in the order mentioned below to give a girl in marriage: Mitakshara School Dayabhaga School 1. The father 1. The father 2. The paternal grand father 2. The paternal grand father 3. The brother 3. The brother 4. A ‘Sakulya’- same family member 4. A ‘Salulya’- same family member 5. The mother 5. The maternal grand-father 6. The maternal uncle 7. The mother.

1.19. Roman Twelve Tables Affecting Personal Laws According to traditional, semi-legendary historical accounts preserved in Livy, during the earliest period of the Republic the laws were kept secret by the pontifices and other representatives of the patrician class, and were enforced with untoward severity, especially against the plebeian class. A plebeian named Terentilius proposed in 462 BC that an official legal code should be published, so that plebeians could not be surprised and would know the law.

Patricians long opposed this request, but in ca. 450 BC, a Decemvirate, or board of ten men, was appointed to draw up a code. They allegedly sent an embassy to Greece to study the legislative system of Athens, known as the Solonian constitution, but also find about the legislation of other Greek cities. Modern scholars believe that a Roman assembly most likely visited the Greek cities of Southern Italy, and did not travel all the way to Greece.

The first Decemvirate completed the first ten codes in 450 BC. Here is how Livy describes their creation, "every citizen should quietly consider each point, then talk it over with his friends, and, finally, bring forward for public discussion any additions or subtractions which seemed desirable." In 449 BC, the second Decemvirate completed the last two codes, and after a secession plebis to force the Senate to consider them, the Law of the Twelve Tables was formally promulgated. The Twelve Tables were literally drawn up on twelve ivory tablets (Livy says

bronze) which were posted in the Roman Forum so that all Romans could read and know them.

The laws of the Twelve Tables were not a comprehensive statement of all law; they are a sequence of definitions of various private rights and procedures, similar to a bill of rights. They generally took for granted such things as the institutions of the family and various rituals for formal transactions.

For such an important document, it is somewhat surprising that the original text has been lost. The original tablets were destroyed when the Gauls under Brennus burnt Rome in 390 BC. There was no other official promulgation of them to survive, only unofficial editions. What we have of them today is brief excerpts and quotations from these laws in other authors. They are written in a strange, archaic, laconic, and somewhat childish and sing-song version of Latin (described as Saturnian verse). As such, though we cannot tell whether the quoted fragments accurately preserve the original form, what we have gives us some insight into the grammar of early Latin. The belief is that the text was written as such in order that plebians could more easily memorize the laws as literacy was not commonplace during early Rome.

Like most other early codes of law, they combine strict and rigorous penalties with equally strict and rigorous procedural forms. In most of the surviving quotations from these texts, the original table that held them is not given. Scholars have guessed at where surviving fragments belong by comparing them with the few known attributions and records; many of which do not include the original lines, but paraphrases. It cannot be known with any certainty from what survives that the originals ever were organized this way, or even if they ever were organized by subject at all.

1.20. Moral Law & Rights This world is the creation of God. The men brought into it for the brief period of their earthly lives are the equal creatures of His bounty, the equal subjects of His provident care. By his constitution man is beset by physical wants, on the satisfaction of which depend not only the maintenance of his physical life but also the development of his intellectual and spiritual life.

God has made the satisfaction of these wants dependent on man's own exertions, giving him the power and laying on him the injunction to labor--a power that of itself raises him far above the brute, since we may reverently say that it enables him to become, as it were, a helper in the creative work (Henry George).

God has not put on man the task of making bricks without straw.

With the need for labor and the power to labor He has also given to man the material for labor. This material is land-man physically being a land animal, who can live only on and from land, and can use other elements such as air, sunshine, and water only by the use of land. Being the equal creatures of the Creator, equally entitled under His providence to live their lives and satisfy their needs, men are equally entitled to the use of land, and any adjustment that denies this equal use of land is morally wrong.

1.21 . The True Right of Property Being created individuals, with individual wants and powers, men are individually entitled (subject, of course, to the moral

obligations that arise from such relations as that of the family) to the use of their own powers and the enjoyment of the results.

There thus arises, anterior to human law, and deriving its validity from the law of God, a right of private ownership in things produced by labor-a right that the possessor may transfer, but of which to deprive him without his will is theft.

This right of property, originating in the right of the individual to himself, is the only full and complete right of property. It attaches to things produced by labor, but cannot attach to things created by God. Thus, if a man take a fish from the ocean he acquires a right of property in that fish, which exclusive right he may transfer by sale or gift. But he cannot obtain a similar right of property in the ocean, so that he may sell it or give it or forbid others to use it or, if he set up a windmill he acquires a right of property in the things such use of wind enables him to. produce. But he cannot claim a right of property in the wind itself, so that he may sell or forbid others to use it. or, if he cultivate grain he acquires a right of property in the grain his labor brings forth. But he cannot obtain a similar right of property in the sun which ripened it or the soil on which it grew. For these things are of the continuing gifts of God to generations of men, which all may use but none may claim as his alone. To attach to things created by God the same right of private ownership that justly attaches to things produced by labor is to Impair and deny the true rights of property. For a man who out of the proceeds of his labor is obliged to a another man f o r ocean or air or sunshine or Fare to men involved in the single term land-is in this deprived of his rightful property and thus robbed.

1.22. Private Possession of Land different from Private Ownership While the right of ownership that justly attaches to thin produced by labor cannot attach to land, there may attach to land a right of possession. God has not granted the earth to mankind in general in the sense that all without distinction can deal with it as they please, and regulations necessary for its best use may be fixed by human laws. But such regulations must confront to the moral law to secure to all equal participation In the advantages of God s general bounty.

The principle is the same as where a human father leaves property equally to a number of children. Some of the things thus left may be incapable of common use or of specific division. Such things may properly be assigned to some of the children, but only under condition that the equality of benefit among them all be preserved. In the rudest social state, while industry consists in hunting, fishing and gathering the spontaneous fruits of the earth, private possession of land is not necessary. But as men begin to cultivate the ground and expend their labor .

In permanent works, private possession of the land on which labor is thus expended is needed secure the right of property in the products of labor. For who would sow if not assured of the exclusive possession needed to enable him to reap? Who would attach costly works to the soil without such exclusive possession of the soil as would enable him to secure the benefit ?

This right of private possession in things created by God is, however, very different from the right of private ownership in things produced by labor. The one is limited, the other unlimited, save in cases when the dictate of self-preservation

terminates all other rights. The purpose of the one, the exclusive possession of land, is merely to secure the other, the exclusive ownership of the products of labor; and it can never rightfully be carried so far as to impair or deny this. While anyone may hold exclusive possession of land so far as it does not interfere with the equal rights of others, he can rightfully hold it no further. Thus Cain and Abel, were there only two men on earth, might by agreement divide the earth between them.

Under this compact each might claim exclusive right to his share as against the other. But neither could rightfully continue such claim against the next man born. For since no one comes into the world without God's permission, his presence attests his equal right to the use of God's bounty. For them to refuse him any use of the earth which they had divided between them would therefore be for them to commit murder. And for them to refuse him any use of the earth, unless by laboring for them or by giving them part of the products of his labor he bought it off them, would be for them to commit theft.

1.23.The Application of First Principles God's laws do not change. Though their applications may alter with altering conditions, the same principles of right and wrong that hold when men are few and industry is rude also hold amid teeming populations and complex industries. In our cities of millions, and our States of scores of millions, in a civilization where the division of labor has gone so far that large numbers are hardly conscious that they are land users, it still remains true that we are all land animals and can live only on land, and that land is God's bounty to all, of which no one can be deprived without being murdered, and for which no one can be compelled to pay another without being robbed. But even In a state of society where the elaboration of industry and the increase of permanent improvements have made the need for private.

Possession of land widespread, there is no difficulty in conforming individual possession, with the equal right to land.

1.24. Land Values For as soon as any piece of land will yield to the possessor a larger return than is had by similar labor on land, a value attaches to it which is shown when it is sold or rented. Thus, the value of the land itself, irrespective of the value of any improvements in or on it, always indicates the precise value of the benefit to which all are entitled in its use, as distinguished from the value which as producer or successor of a producer belongs to the possessor in individual right.

To combine the advantages of private possession with the justice of common ownership it is only necessary, therefore, to take for common uses what value attaches to land irrespective of any exertion of labor on it . The principle is the same as in the case referred to, where a human father enjoys equally to his children things not susceptible of specific division or common use. In that case, such things would be sold or rented and the value equally applied. It is on this common-sense principle that we who term ourselves single tax men would have the community act.

We do not propose to assert equal rights to land by keeping land common, letting any one-use any part of it at any time. We do not propose the task, impossible in the present state of society, of dividing land in equal shares ; still less the yet more impossible task of keeping it so divided. We propose leaving land in the private

possession of individuals, with full liberty on their part to give, sell, or bequeath it ; simply to levy on it for public uses a tax that shall equal the annual value of the land itself, irrespective of the use made .of it or the improvements on it. And since this would provide amply for the need of public revenues, we would accompany this tax on land values with the repeal of all taxes now levied on the products and processes of industry-which taxes: since they take from the earnings of labor, we hold to be of the right of property. This we propose not as a cunning device of human ingenuity, but as a conforming of human regulations to the will of God.

1.25. State Revenue and the Moral Law No sooner does the state arise than, as we all know, it needs revenues. This need for revenues is small at first, while population is sparse, industry, trade and the functions of the state few and simple. But with growth of population and advance of civilization the functions of the state increase and larger and larger revenues are needed. Now, the realizing of public revenues must accord with the moral law.

Hence, it must not take from individuals what rightfully belongs to individuals. It must not give some an advantage over others, as by increasing the prices of what some have to sell and others must buy.

It must not lead men into temptation by requiring trivial oaths, by making it profitable to lie, to swear falsely, to bribe or to take bribes. It must not confuse the distinctions of right and wrong, and weaken the sanctions of religion and the State by creating crimes that are not sins and punishing men for doing what itself they have an undoubted right to do. It must not repress industry. It must not check commerce. It must not punish thrift. It must offer no impediment to the largest production and the fairest division of wealth.

1.26. Land Value Taxation Conforms to Moral Law But to consider what we propose the raising of public revenues by a single tax on the value of land Irrespective of improvements is to see that In all respects this does conform to the moral law.

The value we propose to tax, the value of land irrespective of improvements, does not come from any exertion of labor or investment of capital on or in the values produced in this way being values of improvement, which we would exempt.

1.27 . Land Values due to Social Progress The value of land irrespective of improvement is the value that attaches to land by reason of increasing population and social progress. This is a value that always goes to the owner as owner, and never does and never can go to the user ; for if the user be a different person he must always pay the owner for it as rent or purchase money ; while if the user be also the owner,. it is as owner, not as user, that he receives it , and by selling or renting the land he can, as owner, continue to receive it after he ceases to be a user. Thus, taxes on land irrespective of improvement cannot lessen the rewards in industry, nor add to prices nor in any way take from the individual what belongs to the individual.

They can only take the value that attaches to land by growth of the community, and which therefore belongs to the community as a whole.

1.28. Taxation of Land Values Taxation of land values would relieve labor

to take land values for the state, abolishing all taxes on the products of labor, would therefore leave to the laborer the all produce of labor; to the individual all that rightfully belongs to the individual. It would impose no burden on industry, no check on commerce, no punishment on thrift; it would secure the largest. Production and the fairest distribution of wealth, by leaving men free to produce and to exchange as they pleas:, without any artificial enhancement of prices ; and by taking for public purposes a value that cannot be carried off, that cannot be hidden, that of all values s most easily ascertained and most certainly and cheaply collected, it would enormously lessen the number of officials, up away with temptations to bribery and evasion, and abolish man-made crimes in themselves innocent.

1.29. Growth of Population In that primitive condition, when the need for the state arises, there are no land values. The products of labor have value, but in the sparsity of population no value as yet attaches to land itself. But as increasing density of population and increasing elaboration of industry necessitate the organization of the State, with its need for revenues, value begins to attach to land. As population still increases and industry grows more elaborate, so the needs for public revenues increase. And at the same time, and from the same causes, land values increase.

The connection is invariable. The value of things produced by labor tends to decline with social development, since the, larger scale of production and the improvement of processes tend steadily to reduce their cost. But the value of land on which population centres goes up and up. Take Rome, or Paris, or London, or New York, or Melbourne.

Consider the enormous value of land in such cities as compared with the value of land in sparsely settled parts of the same countries. To what is this due is it not due to the density and activity of the populations of those cities to the very causes that require great public expenditure for streets, drains, public buildings, and all the many things needed for the health, convenience, and safety of such great cities .See how with the growth of such cities the one thing which steadily increases in value is land ; how the opening of roads, the building of railways, the making of any public improvement, adds to the value of land.

1.30. Taxation of Land Values makes for Social Equality Here is a natural law by which, as society advances, the one thing that increases In value is land-a natural law by virtue of which all growth of population, all advance of the arts, all general improvements of whatever kind, add to a fund that both the commands of justice and the dictates of expediency prompt us to take for the common uses of society.

Now, since increase in the fund available for the common uses of society is increase in the gain that goes equally to each member of society, is it not clear that the law by which land values increase with social advance while the value of the products of labor do not increase.

The advance of civilization to make the share that goes equally to each member of society more and more important as compared with what goes to him from his individual earnings, and thus to make the advance of civilization lessen relatively the differences that in a ruder social state must exist between the strong and the weak, the fortunate and the unfortunate .That the value attaching to land with social growth is intended for social needs is shown by the final proof.

1.31. Other Alternatives to make for Injustice

For refusal to take for public purposes .the increasing values that attach to land with social growth is to necessitate the getting of public revenues by taxes that lessen production distort distribute and corrupt society is to leave some to take what justly belongs to all; it is to forego the only means by which it is possible in an advanced civilization to combine the security of possession that is necessary to improvement with the equality of natural opportunity that is the most important of all natural rights.

It is thus at the basis of all social life to set up an unjust inequality between man and man, compelling some to pay others or the privilege of living, for the chance of working, for the advantages of civilization, for the gifts of God. But it is even more than this.

The very robbery that the masses of men thus suffer, gives in advancing communities to-a new robbery.

1.32. The Simple Rule of Right The darkness in light, the weakness in strength, the poverty amid wealth, the seething discontent foreboding civil strife that characterize our civilization of to-day, are the natural. the inevitable results of our rejection of God's beneficence, of our ignoring of His intent. Were we, on the other hand, to follow His clear, simple rule of right, leaving scrupulously to the individual all that individual labor produces, and taking for the community the value that attaches to land by the growth of the community itself, not merely could evil modes of raising public revenues be dispensed with, but all men would be placed on an equal level of opportunity with regard to the bounty of their Creator, on an equal level of opportunity to exert their labor and to enjoy its fruits. And then, without drastic or restrictive measures, the forestalling of land would cease.

For then the possession of land would mean only security for the permanence of its use, and there would be no object for anyone to get land or to keep land except for use ; nor would his possession of better land than others had confer any unjust advantage on him, or unjust deprivation on them, since the equivalent of the advantage would be taken by the State for the benefit of all. We see thus that the law of justice, the law of the Golden Rule, is not a mere counsel of perfection, but indeed the law of social life. We see that if we were only to observe it there would be work for all, leisure for all, abundance for all ; and that civilization would tend to give to the poorest not only necessaries, but all comforts and reasonable luxuries as well.

There are many who, feeling bitterly the monstrous wrongs of the present distribution of wealth, are animated only by a blind hatred of the rich and a fierce desire to destroy existing social adjustments.

This class is indeed only less dangerous than those who proclaim that no social improvement is needed or is possible. But it is not fair to confound with them those who, however mistakenly, propose definite schemes of remedy.

The Socialists, as the term has come to apply to anything like a definite theory and not to be vaguely and improperly used to include all who desire social improvement, do not seek the abolition of all private property. Those who do this are properly called Communists. What the Socialists seek is the state assumption of capital (in which they vaguely and erroneously include land), or, more properly speaking, of large capitals, and state management and direction of at least the large operations of industry . In this way they hope to abolish interest, which they regard as wrong and an evil ; to do away with the gains of exchangers, speculators, contractors, and men, which they

regard as waste ; to do away with the wage system and secure general co-operation ; and to prevent competition, which they dam the fundamental cause of the impoverishment of labor.

The more moderate of them, without going so far, go in the same direction, and seek some remedy or palliation of the worst forms of poverty by government regulation. The essential character of Socialism is that it looks to the extension of the functions of the state for the remedy of social evils ; ,that it would substitute regulation and direction for competition ; and intelligent control by organized society for the free play of individual desire.

1.33. Trade Unionists and Protectionists Though not usually classed as Socialists, both the Trades Unionists and the Protectionists have the same essential character. The Trades Unionists seek the increase of wages, the reduction of working hours, and the general improvement in the condition of wage-workers, by organizing them into guilds or associations which shall fix the rates at which they will sell their labor; shall deal as one body with employers in case of dispute ; shall use on occasion their necessary weapon, the strike; and shall accumulate funds for such purposes and for the purpose of assisting members when on strike, or (sometimes) when out of employment.

The Protectionists seek by governmental prohibitions or taxes on imports to regulate the industry and control the exchanges of each country, so, as they imagine, to diversify home industries and prevent the competition of people of other countries.

1.34 . Anarchists At the opposite extreme are the Anarchists, a term which, though frequently applied to mere violent destructionists, refers also to those who, seem the many evils of too much government, regard government itself as evil, and believe that in the absence of coercive power the mutual interests of men would secure voluntarily what co-operation is needed.

Differing from all of those and believing that the rights of true property are sacred, we would regard forcible communism as robbery that would bring destruction. But we would not be disposed to deny that voluntary communism might be the highest possible state of which men can coercive. Nor do we say that it cannot be possible for mankind to attain. it, since among the early Christians and among the religious orders of the Catholic Church we have examples of Communistic Societies on a small scale. Knowing these things, we cannot take it on ourselves to say that a social condition may not be possible in which an all-embracing love shall have taken the place of all other motives. But we see that Communism is only possible where there exists a general and intense religious faith, and we see that such a state can be reached only through a state of justice. For before a man can be a saint he must first be an honest man.

1.35. The Social and Individual Nature of Human Being With both Anarchists and Socialists we, who for want of a better term have come to call ourselves single tax men fundamentally differ in regard to them as erring in opposite directions on the one in ignoring the social nature of man, the other on ignoring his individual nature. While we see that man is primarily an individual, and that nothing but evil has come or can come from the interference by the state with things that belong to individual action, we also see that he is a social being, or, as Aristotle ailed him, a political animal, and that the state requisite to social advance. having an indispensable place in the natural order.

Looking on the bodily organism as the analogue of the social organism, and on the proper functions of the State as akin to those that in the human organism are discharged by the conscious intelligence, while the play of individual impulse and interest performs functions akin to. those discharged in the bodily organism by the unconscious instincts and involuntary motions, the Anarchists seem to us like men' who would try to get along without heads, and the Socialists like men who would try to rule the wonderfully complex and delicate internal relations of their frames by conscious will.

The philosophical Anarchists are few in number, and of 1ittle practical importance. It is with Socialism, in its various phases, that we have to do battle. With the Socialists we have some points of agreement, for we recognize fully the social nature of man, and believe that all monopolies should be held and governed by the State. In these, and in directions where the general health, knowledge, comfort, and convenience might be improved, we, too, would extend the functions of the state.

We see in these social and industrial laws so close a relation to the moral law as must spring from the same authorship, and that proves the moral law to be the sure guide of man where his intelligence would wander and go astray. Thus, to us, all that is needed to remedy the evils of our time is to do justice and give freedom.

1.36. The Vice of Socialism Rut it seems to us the vice of Socialism in all its degrees is its want of Radicalism, of going to the root. It takes its theories from those who have sought to justify the impoverishment of the masses, and it advocates generally teach the preposterous and degrading doctrine that slavery was the first condition of labor.

It assumes that the tendency of wages to a minimum is the natural law, and seeks to abolish wages; Workers seek to abolish competition by restriction:, prohibitions and extensions of governing power. Thus, mistaking effects for causes, and childishly blaming the stone for hitting it, it wastes strength in striving for remedies that when not worse are futile.

Associated though it is in many places with democratic aspiration, yet its essence is the same delusion to which the Children of Israel yielded when, against the protest of their prophet, they insisted on a king; the delusion that has everywhere corrupted democracies and enthroned tyrants-that power over the people can be used for the benefit of the people; that there may be devised machinery that through human agencies will secure for the management of individual affairs more wisdom and more virtue than the people themselves possess. This superficiality and this tendency may be seen in all phases of Socialism.(Henry George)

1.37. Protectionism Take, for instance, Protectionism. What support it has, beyond the mere selfish desire of sellers to compel buyers to pay them more than their goods are worth, springs from such superficial ideas as that production, not consumption, is the end of effort; that money is more valuable than money's worth, and to sell more profitable than to buy; and above all, from a desire to limit competition, springing from an un analyzing recognition of the phenomena that necessarily follow when men who have the need to labor are deprived by monopoly of access to the natural

and indispensable element of all labor. Its methods involve the idea that governments can more wisely direct the expenditure of labor and the investment of capital than can laborers and capitalists, and that the men who control governments will use this power for the general good and not in their own interests.

They tend to multiply officials, restrict liberty invent crimes.

They promote perjury, fraud and corruption. And they would, were the theory carried to, its logical conclusion, destroy civilization and reduce mankind for savagery.

1.38. Trades Unionism While within narrow lines trades unionism promotes the idea of the mutuality of interests, and often helps to raise courage and further political education, and while it has enabled limited bodies of working men to improve somewhat their condition, and gain, as it were, breathing space, yet it takes no note of the general causes that determine the conditions of labor, and strives for the elevation of only a small part of the great body by means that cannot help the rest. Aiming at the restriction of competition the limitation of the right to labor-its methods are like those of an army which, even in a righteous cause, are subversive of liberty and liable to abuse ; while its weapon, the strike, is destructive in its nature, both to combatants and non combatants, being a form of passive war. To apply the principle of trades unions to a industry, as some dream of doing, would be to enthral men in a caste system or take even such moderate measures as the limitation of working hours and of the labor of women and children. They are superficial in looking no further than to the eagerness of men and women and little children to work unduly, and in proposing forcibly to restrain overwork while utterly ignoring its cause, the sting of poverty that forces human beings to it. And the methods by which these restraints must be enforced multiply officials, interfere with personal liberty, tend to corruption.

1.39. The Iron Law of Wages It is because that in what we propose-the securing to all men of equal natural opportunities for the exercise of their powers and the removal of all legal restriction on the legitimate exercise of those powers-we see the conformation of human law to the moral law, that we hold with confidence not merely that this is a sufficient remedy for the present condition of labor, but that it is the only possible remedy.

Since man can live only on land and from land, since land is the reservoir of matter and force from which man’s body itself is taken, and on which he must draw for all that he can produce, does it not irresistibly follow that to give the land in ownership to some men and to deny to others all right to it is to divide mankind into the rich and the poor, the privileged and the helpless.

For having no power to employ themselves, they must, either as labor sellers or land renters, compete with the another for permission to labor. This competition with one another shut out from God's inexhaustible storehouse has no limit but starvation, and must ultimately force wages to their lowest point, the point at which life can just be maintained This is not to say that all wages must fall to this point, but that the wages of that necessarily largest stratum of laborers who have only ordinary knowledge, skill and aptitude must so fall.

The wages of special classes, who are fenced off from the pressure of

competition by peculiar knowledge, skill, or other causes, may remain above that ordinary level. Thus, where the ability to read and write is rare, its possession enables a man to obtain higher wages than the ordinary laborer. But as the diffusion of education makes the ability to read and write general, this advantage is lost. So when a vocation requires special training or skill, or is made difficult of access by artificial restrictions, the checking of competition tends to keep wages in it at a higher level.

But as the progress of invention dispenses with peculiar skill, or artificial restrictions are broken down, these higher wages sink to the ordinary level. And so, it is only so long as they are special that such qualities as industry, prudence and thrift can enable the ordinary laborer to maintain a condition above that which gives a mere living. Where they become general, the law of competition must reduce the earnings or savings of such qualities to the general level which, land being monopolized and labor helpless, can be only that at which the next lowest point is the cessation of life.

Land being necessary to life and labor, its owners will be able, in return for permission to use it to obtain from mere laborers all that labor, can produce, save enough to enable such of them to maintain life as are wanted by the landowners and their dependents. Thus, where private property in land has divided society into a land-owning class and a landless class, there is no possible invention or improvement, whether it be industrial, social, or moral, which, so long as it does not affect the ownership of land, can prevent poverty or relieve the general conditions of mere laborers.

For whether the effect of any invention or improvement be to increase what labor can produce or to decrease what is required to support the laborer, it can, so soon as it becomes general, result only in Increasing the income of the owners of land, without at all benefiting the mere laborers. In no event can those possessed of the mere ordinary power to labor, a power utterly useless without the means necessary to labor, keep more of them earnings than enough to enable them to live.

How true this. is we may see in the facts of to day. In our own time invention and discovery have enormously increased the productive power of labor, and at the same time greatly reduced the cost of many things necessary to the support of the laborer. Have these improvements anywhere raised the earnings of the mere laborer.

Have not their benefits mainly gone to the owners of land enormously increased land values, mainly, for some part of the benefit has gone to the cost of monstrous standing armless and warlike preparations ; to the payment of interest on great public debts ; and, largely disguised as interest on fictitious capital, to the owners of monopolies other than that of land.

But improvements that would do away with these wastes would not benefit labor ; they would simply increase the profits of landowners were standing armless and all their incidents abolished, were all monopolies other than that of land done away with, were governments to become models of economy, were the profits of speculators, of middlemen, of all sorts of exchangers saved, were every one to become so strictly hope that no policemen, no courts, no prisons, no precautions against dishonesty would be needed the result would not differ from that which has followed the increase of productive power.

It is true that if it is proposed to-day, what all men ought to pray for, the complete disbandment of all the armies of the world the greatest fears would be aroused for the consequences of throwing on the labor market so many unemployed laborers.

The explanation of this and of similar paradoxes that in our time perplex on every side may be easily seen. The effect of all inventions and improvements that increase productive power, that save waste and economic effort, is to lessen the labor required for a given result, and thus to save labor, so that we speak of them as labor-saving inventions or improvements.

Now, in a natural state of society where the rights of all to the use of the earth are acknowledged, labor-saving. improvements might go to the very utmost that can be imagined without lessening demand for men, since in such natural conditions the demand for men lies in their own enjoyment of life and the strong instincts that the Creator has implanted in the human breast.

But in that unnatural state of society where the masses of men are disinherited of all but the power to labor when opportunity to labor is given them by others, there the demand for them becomes simply the demand for their services by those who hold this opportunity. and man himself becomes a commodity.

Hence, although the natural effect of labor-saving improvement, is to increase wages, yet in the unnatural condition which private ownership of the land begets, the effect, even of such moral improvements as the disbandment of armies and the saving of the labor that vice entails, is, by lessening the commercial demand, to lower wages and reduce mere laborers to-starvation or pauperism. If labor-saving inventions and improvements could be carried to the very abolition if the necessity for labor, what would be the result . Would it not be that landowners could then get all the wealth that the land was capable of producing, and would have no need at all for laborers, who must then either starve or live as pensioners on the bounty of the landowners Thus, so long as private property in land continuous so long as some men are treated as owners of the earth and other men can live on it only by their sufferance-human wisdom can devise no means by which the evils of our present condition may be avoided. Nor yet could the wisdom of God. He open the minds of men to the possibilities of new substances, new adjustments, new powers, could this do anymore to relieve poverty than steam, electricity, and all the numberless discoveries and inventions of our time have done or, if He were to send down from the heavens above or cause to gush up from the .subterranean depths, food, clothing, all the things that satisfy man's material desires, to whom under our laws would all these belong. So far from benefiting man, would not this increase and extension of His bounty prove but a curse, enabling the privileged class to roll in wealth, and bringing the disinherited class to more widespread starvation or pauperism. Since labor must find its workshop and reservoir in land, the labor question is but another name for the land question. The most important of all. the material relations of man is his relation to the planet he inhabits, and by virtue of the law " unto whom much is given, from him much is required," the very progress of civilization makes the evils produced by private property in land more widespread and intense,

The Root of the Evil

What is throughout the civilized world , the condition of things is not this and that local error or minor mistake. It is nothing less than the progress of civilization itself ; nothing less than the intellectual advance , and the material growth in which our country has been so pre-eminent, acting in a state of society based on private property in land.

The discoveries of science, the gains of invention have given to us in this wonderful century more than has been given to men in any time before; and, In a degree so rapidly accelerating as to suggest geometrical progression, are placing in our hands new material powers. But with the benefit comes the obligation.

In a civilization beginning to pulse with steam and electricity, where the sun paints pictures and the phonograph stores speech, it will not do to be merely as just as were our fathers. Intellectual advance and material advance require corresponding moral advance.

Knowledge and power are neither good nor evil. They are not ends but means of evolving forces that if not controlled, in orderly relations must take disorderly and destructive forms.

The deepening pain, the. increasing perplexity, the growing discontent, mean nothing less than that forces of destruction swifter and more terrible than those that have shattered every preceding utilization are already menacing ours that if it does not quickly rise to a higher moral level, if it does not become in deed as in world civilization.

1.40. Factory Laws I have already referred generally to the defects that attach to all Socialistic remedies for the evil condition of labor, and of these the widest and strongest are that the State should restrict the hours of labor, the employment of women and children, the unsanitary conditions of workshops, etc. Yet how little may in this way be accomplished. A strong, absolute ruler might hope by such regulations to alleviate the conditions of chattel slaves.

But the tendency of our times is towards democracy, and democratic States are necessarily weaker in. paternalism, while in the industrial slavery, growing out of private ownership of land. Thus the greatest difficulty in enforcing such regulations comes from those whom they are intended to benefit.

It is not, for instance, the masters who make it difficult to enforce restrictions on child labor in factories but the mothers, who, prompted by poverty, misrepresent the ages of their children even to the masters, and teach the children to misrepresent. But while in large factories and mines regulations as to hours, ages, etc., though subject to evasion and offering opportunities, for extortion and corruption, may be to some extent enforced, how can they have any effect in those far wider branches of industry where the laborer works for himself or for small employers.

All such remedies are of the nature of the remedy for overcrowding that is generally prescribed with them-the restriction under penalty of the number who may occupy a room, and the demolition of unsanitary buildings. Since these measures have no tendency to increase house accommodation or to augment ability to pay for it, the overcrowding that is forced back in some places goes on in other places, and to a worse degree. All such remedies begin at the wrong end.

They are like, putting on brake and bit to hold in quietness horses

that are being lashed into frenzy; they are like trying to stop a locomotive by holding its wheels instead of shutting off steam; like attempting to cure smallpox by driving back its pustules. Men do not overwork themselves because they like it; it is not in the nature of the mother's heart to send children to work when they ought to be at play; it is not of choice that laborers will work in dangerous and unsanitary conditions. These things, like overcrowding, come from the sting of poverty. And so long as the poverty of which they are expression is left untouched, such restrictions can have only partial and evanescent results. The cave remaining, repression in one place can only bring out its effects in other places, and the task assigned to the state is as hopeless as to ask it to lower the level of the ocean by bailing out the sea.

Nor can the State cure poverty by regulating wages. It is as much beyond the power of the State to regulate wages as it is to regulate the rates of interest. Usury laws have been tried again and again, but the only effect they have ever had has been to increase what the poorer borrowers must pay, and for the same reasons, that all attempts to lower by regulation the price of goods have always resulted merely in increasing them. The general rate of wages is fixed by the ease or difficulty with which labor can obtain access to land, ranging from the full earnings of labor, where land is free, to the least on which laborers can live and reproduce, where land is fully monopolized.

Thus, where it has been comparatively easy for laborers to get land, as in the United States and in Australasia, wages have been higher than in Europe, and it has been impossible to get European laborers to work there for wages that they would gladly accept at home; while, as monopolization goes on under the influence of private property in land, wages tend to fall, and the social conditions of Europe to appear. Thus, under the partial yet substantial recognition of common rights to land the many attempts of the British Parliaments to reduce wages by regulation failed utterly. And so, when the institution of private property in land had done its work in England, all attempts of Parliament to raise wages proved unavailing. In the beginning of this century it was even attempted to increase the earnings of laborers by grants in aid of wages. But the only result was to lower commensurately what wages employers paid.

The State could only maintain wages above the tendency of the market (for, as I have shown, labor deprived of land becomes a commodity) .by offering employment to all who wish it ; or by lending its sanction to strikes and supporting them with its funds. Thus it is that the thorough-going Socialists who want the State to take all industry into-its hands are much more logical than those timid Socialists who propose that the State should regulate private industry but only a little.

The same hopelessness attends the suggestion that working people should be encouraged by the State in obtaining a share of the land. It is proposed that, as is now being attempted in Ireland, the State shall buy out large landowners in favor of small ones, establishes what is known as peasant proprietors.

Supposing that this can be done even to a considerable extent, what will be accomplished save to substitute a larger privileged class for a smaller privileged class What will be done for the still larger class that must remain, the laborers of the agricultural districts, the workmen of the towns, the proletarians of the cities How, moreover, is it possible to justify State aid to one man to buy a bit of land without also insisting on state and to another man to buy a donkey, to another to Buy. a shop. to another to

buy the materials of a trade state and, In short, to everybody who may be able to make good use of it or thinks that he could.

All that the State can give it must get by some form or other of the taxing power. And whether it gives or lends money, or gives or lends credit, it cannot give to those who have not without taking from those who have.

1.41. Small Holdings But aside from all this, any scheme of dividing up land while maintaining private property in land is futile. Small holdings cannot co-exist with the treatment of land as private property where civilization is materially advancing and wealth augments.

We may see this in the economic tendencies that in ancient times were the main cause that transformed world-conquering Italy from a land of small farms to a land of great estates. We may see it in the fact that while two centuries ago the majority of English farmers were owners of the land they tilled, tenancy has been for a long time the all but universal condition of the English farmer.

And now the mighty forces of steam and electricity have come to urge concentration. It is in the United States that we may see on the largest scale how their power is operating to turn a nation of landowners Into a nation of tenants, The principle is clear and irresistible.

Material progress makes land more valuable, and when this increasing value left to private owners, land must pass from the ownership of the poor into the ownership of the rich, just as diamonds so pass when poor men find them. What the British Government is attempting in Ireland is to build snow houses in the Arabian desert to plant bananas .

There is one way, and only one way, in which working people in our civilization may be secured a share in the land of their country, and that is the way that we propose the taking of the profits of land ownership for the community.

Again, working-men's associations may promote fraternity, extend social intercourse, and provide assurance in case of sickness or death, but if they go no further they are powerless to affect wages, even among their members. As to trades unions proper, the attitude of many good people may, perhaps, best be stated as one of warm approbation, provided that they do not go too far. For these good people object to strikes ; they reprehend societies that " do their best to get into their hands the whole field of labor and to force working-men either to join them or to starve " ; they discountenance the coercing of employers, and seem to think that arbitration might take the place of strikes.

They use expressions and assert principles that are all that the trades unionist would ask, not merely to justify the strike and the boycott, but even the use of violence where only violence would suffice. For they speak of the insufficient wages of workmen as due to the greed of rich employers ; they assume the moral right of the workman to obtain employment from others at wages greater than those others are willing freely to give; and they deny the right of any one to work for such wages as he pleases such a way as to give the impression that the working for less than union wages, is a crime.

To men conscious of bitter injustice, to men steeped in poverty yet mocked by flaunting wealth, such words mean more than we can think is realized. When fire shall be cool and ice be warm, when armies shall throw away lead and iron to try conclusions by the pelting of rose leaves, such labor associations as these good people are thinking of may be possible.

For labor associations can do nothing to raise wages but by force. It may be force applied passively, or force applied actively, or force held in reserve, but it must be force. They must coerce or hold the power to coerce employers ; they must coerce those among their own members disposed to straggle; they must do their best to get into their hands the whole field of labor they seek to occupy and to force other working-men either to join them or to starve. Those who speak of trades unions bent on raising wages by moral suasion alone are like those who would tell you of tigers that live on oranges.

The condition of the masses to-day is that of men pressed together in a hall where ingress is open and more are constantly coming, but where the doors for egress are closed. If forbidden to relieve the general pressure by throwing open those doors, whose bars and bolts are private property in land, they can only mitigate the pressure on themselves by forcing back others, and the weakest must be driven to the wall. This is the way of labor unions and trade guilds. Even the most peaceable societies would, in their efforts to find employment for their own members, necessarily displace others.

For even the philanthropy which, recognizing the evil of trying to help labor by alms, seeks to help men to help themselves by finding them work, becomes aggressive in the blind and bitter struggle that private property in land entails, and in helping one set of men injures others. Thus to minimize the bitter complaints of taking work from. others and lessening the wages of others in providing their .own beneficiaries with work and wages, benevolent societies are forced to devices akin to the digging of holes and filling them up again.

It is assumed that there are in the natural order two classes, the rich and the poor, and that laborers naturally belong to the poor. It is true that there are differences in capacity, in diligence, in health and strength, that may produce differences in fortune.

These, however, are not the differences that divide men into rich and poor. The natural differences in powers and aptitudes are certainly not greater than are natural differences in stature. But while it is only by selecting giants and dwarfs that we can find men twice as tall. as others, yet in the difference between rich and poor that exists to-day we find some men richer than other men by the thousand fold and the million fold.

1.42. Equality of Opportunity Nor do we seek any " futile and ridiculous equality." We recognize that there must always be differences and inequalities.

In so far as these are in conformity with the moral law, in so far as, they do not violate the command, Thou shall not steal, we are content. We do not seek to better God's work; we seek only to do His will. The equality we would bring about is not the equality of fortune, but the equality of natural opportunity; the equality that reason and religion alike proclaim-the equality in usufruct of all to the bounty of God who art in Heaven. And in taking for the uses of society what we clearly see is the great fund intended for society in the divine order, we would not levy the slightest tax on the possessors of wealth, no matter how rich they might be. Not only do we deem such taxes a violation of the right of property, but we see that by virtue of beautiful adaptations in the economic laws of the Creator it is impossible for any one honestly to acquire wealth without at the same time adding to the wealth of the world.

1.43. The Right to Life To persist in a wrong, to refuse to undo it, is always to become involved in other wrongs. Those who defend private property in land, and thereby deny the first and most important of all human rights, the equal right to the material substratum of life, are compelled to one or two courses. Either they must, as do those whose gospel is Devil take the hindermost," deny the equal right to life, and by some theory like that to which the English clergyman Malthus has given his name, assert that nature (they do venture to say God) brings into the world more men. than there is provision for ; they must, as do the Socialists, assert as rights what in themselves are wrongs. There are many who deny the equality of right to the material basis of life, and yet, conscious that. there is a right to live, assert the right of laborers to employment and their right to receive from their employers a certain indefinite wage.

1.44. Mistaken Rights No such rights exist. No one has a right to demand employment of another, or to demand higher wages than the other is willing to give or in any way to put pressure on another to make him raise such wages against his will. There can be no better moral justification for such demands on employers by working-men than there would be for employers demanding that workingmen shall be compelled to work for them when they , do not want to, and to accept wages lower than they are willing to take.

Any seeming justification springs from a prior wrong, the denial to working men of their natural rights, and can In the last analysis only rest on that supreme dictate of self-preservation that under extraordinary circumstances makes pardonable what in itself is theft, or sacrilege, or even murder.

1.45. The True Natural Right The natural right which each man has is not that of demanding employment or wages from another man ; but that of employing himself-that of applying his own labor to the inexhaustible storehouse which the Creator has in the land provided for all men. Were that storehouse open, as by the single tax we would open it, the natural demand for labor would keep pace with the supply, the man who sold labor and the man who bought it would become free exchangers for mutual advantage, and all cause for dispute between workman and employer would be gone. continuance of that robbery is sanctioned it is idle to urge seem small. Nor can it be repressed, save. by degrading and imbruting men, by reducing Europe to Asia.

1.46. Principles of Evidence in Islam The first part of the verse deals with transactions involving future payment or future consideration, and later with transactions in which payment and delivery are made on the spot. Example at the former are if goods are bought now and payment in premised at fixed and place in future, or if cash in paid now and delivery in contracted for at a fixed time and place in future. In such cases a written document is recommence. This for any contract is a must to make an evidence either in writing document with an witness.

The scribe in such matters assumes judiciary capacity. In an illiterate population the scribe’s position is still more responsible.

The person mentally deficient or weak or unable to dictate may include inhales f making a valid contract and the whole duty would be on his guardian who against must act in perfect goods faith not only protecting but vigilantly promoting the interest of his ward.

It is desirable that the man (or women) chosen as witness should before the authority to which the parties belong, as they would best be able to understand the transaction and be most easily available it their evidence is required in future.

Commercial or business ethics (morality is here taught on the highest plane and yet in the most practical manner, both as regards the bargains to be made the evidence to be provided, the doubt to be avoided and the duties and rights of scribes and witnesses. Probity clarify for transparency even in worldly matters is to be not a mere matter of convenient or policy, but a matter of conscience and religions duty in practical life. Even our every day transactions are to be carried out as in the presence of Allah.

A pledge or security stands on its own independent footing, though it is a very convenient form of closing the bargain where the parties can not trust each other, and can not get a written agreement with proper wit nesses.

The law of deposit implies great trust in the depositary implies great trust in the depositary on the part of the depositor. The depositary becomes a trustee and the doctrine of trust can be further developed on that bases. The trustees duty is to award the interests of the person on whose behalf he holds the trust and to render back the property and account when required according to terms of the trust. This duty again is lynched to the section of Religion which requires higher standard than law.

It some times happens that if some inconvenient piece of evidence is destroyed or concealed we gain a great to held to such a temptation. The consentient of evidence has a serious effect on our moral and spiritual life for it taints the very source of higher life as typified by the heart. The heart is also the seat of our secrets. We are told that this is will reach our must secret being though the sin may be visible or open to the world.

The concept of Rabbi Zedni Ilma (Ye my Lord, endow me with knowledge), Aleemul Hakeem (Knowledgeable , wise and intelligence) emphasizes on knowledge dissemination along with the term Kiraman Katebeen (honoured Recordists/Writers) points out the ethical essence of systematic preservation of records and archives especially for judicial purposes.

The terms like ‘Quran’, ‘Iqra’, ‘Allama bil kalam’, ‘Balleg’ and other related and relevant guidances emphasize on institutional arrangements for knowledge management, dissemination, research, information disclosure, intelligence and wisdom (Aqle), dependable advocateship (Wakeel) to establish and maintain ethical and transparent evidence for ‘Insaf’or comprehensive social justice and ‘Adle’--the true human justice for all .

1.47. Role of Islamic Law in Policy and Information Law generally constitutes a significant medium in the development, articulation and implementation of land policies.

It defines property rights, informs land tenure systems and regulates land administration. Throughout the world there are variations in how property rights are established, the types of property rights recognized, the regulation of different types of

use and users and in the enforcement mechanisms. This position paper outlines how notions of law, in the Islamic legal contexts, are distinctive in their normative outlines, structure and methodology Whatever the extent and form of Islamic law ‘officially’ sanctioned in Muslim societies, in the consciousness of much of the Muslim world land tenure regimes and concepts are generally constructed or realized, to a noticeable degree, through reference to the Islamic law (Shari’a). Therefore there is no field of ‘Islamic land law’ but rather a set of overlapping themes or domains which practitioners will recognize as such.

Land rights in Islam therefore do not exist in isolation but rather are best understood with reference to other parts of Islamic law. Islamic law is the epitome of Islamic thought, the most typical manifestation of the Islamic way of life, the core and kernel of Islam Much of Islamic law relating to land, property and housing would fall within the domain of ‘social transactions’ (muamalat) and therefore be open to a greater degree of interpretation than matters of religious observances. Islamic law does not make sense without the ethical dimension of the divine revelation.

There are certain basic Islamic concepts or ‘golden threads’ that embody the spirit of the Islamic law (Shari’a) such as rights (haqq), justice (adl) and equity (qist) which are reiterated in the Qur’an. Islamic law has to be appreciated from a socio-historical context and debates even though it may have outgrown classical formulations.

1.48. Ethical Transparency of Evidence for Judiciary: Guidance from the Holy Quran “O ye who believe! when he deal with each other in transactions involving future obligations in fixed period of time reduce them to writing let a scribe write down faithfully as between the parties; as Allah has taught him so let him write let him who incurs the liability but let him fear Allah his lord and not diminish alight of what he owes. If the party liable it anent ally deficient or weak or unable him to dictate let his guardian dictate faithful and get two witness out of your own men then a men and two women such as he choose, for witnesses so that it one of them errs the other can remind her the witnesses should not refuse when they are called on (for evidence) disdain net reduce to writing (your contract) for a future period, whether it be small or big it is jouster in the sight of Allah mere suitable as evidence, and more convention to prevent doubts among yourselves but if it be a transaction which he carry out on the sport among yourselves, there in no blame on your if he reduce if not to writing.

But take witness whenever he make commercial contract; and let neither service nor witness suffer harm. If he do (such harm) it would be wickedness in you. So fear Allah for it is Allah that teacher you, And Allah in well acuminated with all things” (Sura-Al-Bakaara-282. The Holy Quran, IFTA, KSA, 1411 A.H) It he are on a Journey, and cannot final scribe, a pledge with possession (may serve the purpose). And if one of you deposits a thing on trust with another. Let the trustee (faithfully) discharge his trust and let him fear Allah, his Lord. Conceal no evidence; for whoever conceals it,-his heart is tainted with sin. And Allah knoweth all that you do. ( ibid 283, P-128-131)

1.49. Methodology in Islamic Law (Usul Al Fiqh) Usul al-fiqh is a science which deals with the methods of reasoning and the rules of interpretation which are derived from the Qur’an and Sunna (practice of the Prophet’s generation). It is

the methodology (usul) which determines the substantive rules of, or practical jurisprudence (fiqh). The foundational principles of Islamic law (Maqasid al- Sharia) recognise property rights as a priority so no law can violate this essential (daruriyyat) and also that State policy through public interest or welfare (masala) must operate to promote it. Thus, property and land rights lie at the very heart of Islamic law but must be approached within the Islamic methodological framework.

1.50. Evolution of Islamic Laws relating to Land and Property There exists no amalgamated or systematic field of Islamic land law or property law, even though it is an important Islamic legal branch of learning. During formative classical period of seventh to the ninth centuries, institutions and doctrines relating to Islamic property law emerged, and were adapted to their specific socio-economic and political contexts. The classical law relating to property and land rights underwent several periods of influence –Ottoman, colonial and post-colonial modern periods. In 1858 the Ottoman government consolidated various existing laws into a Land Code and it is from this that most States in the modern Muslim world derive their land tenure categories. Study of contemporary Islamic Property law today in the Western world its structure adopts much of the Western legal structure.

1.51. The Qur'an and Sunna in relation to Land and Property Law In Islamic law, there is a formal hierarchy of sources of law. The two foundational and primary sources of Islamic Law (Shari'a), are the Qur’an and the Sunna. The Qur’anic stipulations on general aspects of property and land rights are significant for example on the nature of property and women’s rights. Where an Islamic property regime, such as the compulsory inheritance rules, are dealt with explicitly by the Qur’an, most Muslims would consider the matter not subject to independent reasoning (ijtihad) but that it has to be interpreted as a whole.

A further important source of law lies in the records of the words and deeds of the Prophet (Sunna), peace be on him, in the form of a diverse collection of narratives (hadith) Here the challenge is to weed out spurious gender deprecating customary norms projected as Islamic truisms with reference to the gender empowering Qur’anic stipulations. Modern day land, property and housing rights within the Islamic framework are still heavily reliant on the Qur’an and the Sunna.

1.52. Deduction by Analogy (Qiyas) & Consensus (Ijma) Reasoning by analogy (qiyas) and consensus (ijma) are two secondary sources of Islamic understanding or law (Shari’a), first. Consensus (ijma) is commonly taken to mean the unanimous agreement amongst those who are learned in the religion at a particular time on a specific issue, though this is a matter of debate. It is ijma which allowed guardianship over the property of minors; this allowance has been extended by qiyas to apply to the guardianship of minors in marriage. Reasoning by analogy is form of deduction in comparable cases which links the reasoning back to the original sources of the Qur'an and the tradition of the Prophet (Sunna). Through Ijma and Qiyas, there are further possibilities for developing land and property rights.

Land tenure concepts have to be understood within the complex, dynamic and overlapping weave of Islamic legal principles, State and international legal frameworks, customary norms and informal legal rules. One of the key features of land tenure systems and legal categories in the Muslim world is that they

were embedded and remain embedded in their complex, particular and in many ways local histories.

It is sometimes difficult to discern the Islamic content in the modern land tenure regimes of many Muslim countries, particularly outside the Middle East. However, it is undoubtedly present, to varying degrees, even where land law is driven largely by the seemingly wholly secular demands of the strict Torrens registration system.

The challenges of urbanization, population and poverty, together with the increasing pressures on land and environment, arise throughout the Muslim world, although with variations between countries as elsewhere across the globe. Of particular concern is lack of secure land tenure for significant proportions of these populations. Research indicates the widest range of options should be considered in attempts to enhance security of tenure, bearing in mind local conditions and context. In the Muslim world, debates about the development of policy towards informal settlements often take a religious dimension.

Documented titles, particularly freehold titles, secured through the formal legal structures common in the West, have been projected as the best tenure option and goal for all States. Urban land tenure cannot be understood through simple and conventional binaries of legal/illegal, formal/informal or even secure/insecure. The residents of informal settlements in Muslim countries also exist on the tenure continuum. Islamic ‘webs of tenure’ could be mapped on a continuum that is neither hierarchical nor universal but adjusted to local contexts and choices.

1.53. Islamic Categorization of Land There are widely thought to be three broad types of land and land tenure in Islamic theory. These are land in full ownership (mulk) state owned land (miri) and endowed land (waqf).

Fundamental to these categories is the traditional Islamic theory of taxation. Sustained and developed under Ottoman rule into the 19th Century, they continue as conceptions if not categories into modern Muslim societies.

Dead (Mewat) Land Individuals have the right to reclaim waste or empty land (mewat), that is land without an owner which is uncultivated and undeveloped. This demonstrates further the Islamic requirement that land should be used for productive purposes. The Mewat concept is important in the material sense, but also in the manner in which people 'think through' their relationship with land, as seen by the approach of squatters in Saudi Arabia.

1.Rent and Sharecropping The legal prohibition against hoarding has led to considerable debate amongst Islamic scholars concerning the appropriate utilization of land, particularly with respect to the question of rent and the related issue of sharecropping. Some Islamic economists argue for instance that land rent for surplus land is always unlawful. Others hold that the tradition prohibits only the payment of rent on land which has not been improved in some way.

2. Limits on Individual Ownership

Islamic law (Shari'a) does not have a general theory of public property law and the rules in relation to land were not systematically organized, but derived from those dealing with taxation, conquest and the division of the spoils of war. Land ownership, belonging ultimately to God, is not absolute or unconditional and is subject to an overall social orientation, for land was given to the community of Muslims (umma) for the use and benefit of that community.

3. Acquiring Ownership of Land Private ownership may be obtained either through transaction, such as sale (buy) or gift (hiba), possession, including the reviving of dead land (mewat) and inheritance. Some scholars suggest that the high esteem given to sanctity of contracts and the promises within them preclude State intervention other than in limited circumstances to prevent exploitation.

4. Pre-Emption (Shuf'a) Pre-emption (shuf'a) is the means by which a co-inheritor or neighbor may use a privileged option to purchase land when it is for sale. It is a process capable of keeping strangers to communities on the outside and thereby placing limitations upon certain kinds of economic development. Different schools of law take different approaches to pre-emption but it is an important Islamic doctrine

1.54. Global Consensus The International Framework for Rights to Land relating to access to land, property and housing, its ownership and use, security of tenure and the guarantee against arbitrary deprivation were developed, clarified and elaborated in recent decades at international, regional, national and local levels to now comprise an identifiable body of tangible and enforceable rights. These rights arise out of a variety of constitutional and legal principles, international human rights treaties, political declarations, customary practice and international standards.

Political Resolutions Promoting Land Rights The promotion of land, property and housing rights was propelled by global initiatives seeking to prioritize and mainstream these rights, in which Muslim countries have generally participated. These initiatives include the 1976 UN Conference on Human Settlements, the 1988 Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 and the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in 1996, which led to the Istanbul Declaration and the Habitat Agenda which constitute the framework for realizing land and housing rights.

Taken together, they could be seen as a consensus forming part of international expectations and standards which make up part of a ‘soft law’ creating various levels of recognition and obligation on the part of States.

Land tenure concepts, categorizations and arrangements within the Islamic world are multi-faceted, generally distinctive and certainly varied. These ‘web of tenure’ regimes are often dismissed as intractable, inscrutable or outdated, but the lack of adequate systematic research hampers our understanding of the current manifestations of Islamic land concepts.

The evolution of Islamic land tenure regimes from the classical and Ottoman periods to the colonial and contemporary times provides vital insights into the dynamics of Islamic land. What emerges is the interplay of a range of Islamic land approaches, State interventions, customary practices and external influences.

An appreciation of the historical context of land tenure in Muslim societies and the range of land tenure forms may well contribute towards development of authentic and innovative strategies for enhancing access to land and land rights: 1. Recognize historical contexts of contemporary land tenure regimes; 2. Derive legitimacy from authenticated Islamic forms of tenure; 3. Take advantage of the ‘Web of Tenure’; 4. Facilitate a range of tenure models 5. Engage with communal and indigenous land tenures.

1.55 . The OIC Framework A considerable and increasing number of member States of the 57 member Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) have ratified the relevant international human rights treaties. They have also participated in the conferences and drafting and making of resolutions towards protection of property, land and housing rights.

Islamic Human Rights and Land Rights There are four major premises and methodologies currently in circulation evaluating Islam’s relationship with universal human rights conceptions - universalist, Islamist, cultural relativist and pragmatist. There is also a vibrant internal debate within Muslim societies over the role of modern human rights.

Universal Islamic Declaration (UIDHR) and Cairo Declaration The 1981 Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights (UIDHR) adopted by the Islamic Council of Europe or the OIC 1990 Cairo Islamic Declaration on Human Rights in Islam are influential with Muslim governments. Both the UIDHR and Cairo Declaration offer a wide range of property rights. Land rights as declared by these documents are less in conflict with universalist principles. It may well be possible to find, through a more dynamic or liberal methodology fuller Islamic property, housing and land rights conceptions.

1. Land Rights and Islamic Human Rights Principles There may be differences in articulation of the classical Islamic conception of rights and modern human rights expectations.

However, in the comparative study of Islamic and International human rights regimes there appears to be less of a conflict with respect to land, housing and property rights. This is not surprising because Islam has a strong socio-economic rights ethos and promotes equitable distribution of resources.

2. Islamic Land Rights for Specific Categories (a). Women’s Access to Land Women’s rights to acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of property have been an increasing component in efforts to mainstream gender rights. Muslim women have a range of rights to property under Islamic law and human rights. They possess independent legal, economic and spiritual identity, supported by Qur’anic injunctions which facilitate access to land. There are difficulties in terms of both fixed Islamic inheritance rules and the prevalence of patriarchal or gender deprecating practices in the name of Islam, but there are definite possibilities to workout a far more gender egalitarian Islamic approach to women’s property rights through independent reasoning (ijtihad).

(b). Children’s Access To Land Children’s access to land and housing are often ignored on the assumption that the family will provide housing security and that property rights are almost exclusively an adult concern.

Ironically, in endorsing several child centred guarantees in the CRC, the child was privileged over the adult by Muslim countries since the formal acknowledgement of corresponding rights for the adults had often been withheld. Islamic conceptions of child rights contain several strengths, such as the rights of orphans. However, there are some problems relating to adopted' or illegitimate children.

© . Minorities’ Access To Land One of the general concerns about any faith-based ideology is the rights of minorities. In theory, non-Muslim minorities or Dhimmis (the ‘protected’ or ‘covenanted’ people) who live in an Islamic State ‘are guaranteed irrevocable protection of their life, property and honor' in exactly the same manner as Muslims.

Both the UIDHR as well as the Cairo Declaration emphasize minority rights.

(d). Migrant’s Access to Land Migrants and asylum seekers’ access to land Migrants and the displaced are among those most defence less against arbitrary deprivation of property, forced evictions or exclusion from access to housing. The Refugee Convention, which has over 140 State ratifications, has been controversial for Muslim States due to its exclusion of Palestinian refugees. However, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) emphasizes that ‘Islam laid the foundations for the institution of asylum in its public law through the holy Koran and the Tradition (Sunna)' and that respect for migrants and those seeking refuge has been a permanent feature of the Islamic faith’.

1.56. Implementing Land, Property and Housing Rights Land, housing and property rights cannot be seen in isolation or in the abstract but are part of the interdependent and indivisible human rights regime, where the fulfillment of land rights is dependent on the existence of a broad range of rights. The State has two types of obligations with respect to land rights.

First, there are negative obligations where the State has to abstain from interfering in the enjoyment of rights, while at the same time recognizing and protecting them. Second, there are positive obligations, that is the duties to provide and fulfill, which require State intervention. While at first glance land rights as socio-economic principles have limitations of resources and capacity and States are only called upon to do their best, there are basic minimum thresholds and obligations of conduct.

1.57. Islamic Legal Structures Islamic law is not a monolithic, static or autonomous field. There is a gap between the theory of Islamic law and its practice in the Muslim world. There is considerable divergence among Muslim countries with regard to form and extent of Islamic law in their legal and political systems. This may have to do whether the Muslim community in question follows the Sunni and Shi'a

creed of Islam. Among the Sunnis, who constitute the majority of Muslims in the world, there are four main jurisprudential schools (maddahib, singular maddhab) Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbali and Shafi which are named after their founders and each is the dominant authority in different parts of the world. Legal systems throughout the Muslim world also exhibit considerable variety owing to their specific historical and colonial contexts, the State ideology and the extent to which Islamic law is able to trump secular or customary laws. To consider a particular brand of Islamic law as generally applicable to all parts of the Muslim world would miss the specific national or local contexts which they operate .

Despite the general application of Islamic law in Muslim societies, there has always existed – since the Islamic Ummayad and Abbasid empires- the dichotomy between Islamic law and secular law. It was during the Ottoman period that while Islamic law was codified and promoted, a series of secular codes referred to as qanun (secular laws) were also promulgated. Even within Islamic legal systems then, there exist numerous institutions or personnel that implement the range of laws and interests. These include not merely the judge within an Islamic jurisdiction (Qadi), judges dealing with secular matters, administrative offices such the Muhtasib (ombudsman) and informal legal authorities such as the mufti (one issues fatwa or responsa, advisory opinions) and the mujtahids (those exercising ijtihad or personal reasoning).

Muslim judges were generally conscious of moral contexts and social visions and the need to garner legitimacy across multiple schools of legal thought. The Judge within the Islamic legal system (Qadi) balances the ‘rights’ or duties owed to God with the rights of individuals through elaborate procedural guarantees.

Classical jurists devoted much attention on the Qadi and his qualifications, court procedures including evidence. Adab al-qadi is a genre of legal literature that expresses the model behavior of the judge and the courtroom.

Judicial independence is an importance feature of Islamic legal systems with procedural guarantees.

The Islamic legal system did not generally require any lawyers since the litigants themselves generally pleaded their own case.

Disagreements and disputes were settled within the organic society through the community as well as formal processes.

Concepts of mediation or conciliation are found in the Qur’an, as well as in the practice of the Prophet’s generation. These include conciliation (Solh), mediation (wasta) and arbitration (takhim). In assessing the applicability of Western-based conflict resolution models in non-Western contexts such as the Arab-Islamic culture area, theoreticians and practitioners alike have begun to recognize the importance of indigenous ways of thinking and feeling, as well as local rituals for managing, reducing, and resolving conflicts.

Among the duties of the Muslim State, as well as members of the society is to promote good (ma`ruf) and prevent wrongdoing (munkar). These public duties contained in the institution of hisba are relevant in the wider context of a just society and an efficient market economy. Since earliest Islamic history, this hisba agency was headed by a learned jurist (muhtasib) who functioned like a market inspector, chief public health officer, receiver of complaints and land use enforcer. This Islamic institution can be put to good use in the modern context.

Land and property rights being part of the Islamic legal sphere relating to social relations (muamalat) is inherently more susceptible to flexibility and innovation though egalitarian Islamic principles apply. Islamic history, particularly Ottoman experience,

demonstrates that these matters were considered amenable to secular and efficiency approaches though cast in Islamic language. Despite the fertile Islamic rights literature supporting pro-poor, innovative and inclusive land and property regime, Islamic legal theory appears to be detained by transactional details rather than express its lofty ideals and objectives. More juristic work needs to be done to systematically develop equivalent doctrines of access to land, security of tenure and protection from forcible eviction though Islamic legal raw materials and concepts exist. Islamic law is a central feature of the lived experiences and consciousness of Muslims across the world, whether or not their States ‘officially’ implement the law.

As such, Islamic legal conceptions inform and influence the lives of a majority of Muslims as well as their attitudes towards land and property rights. However, much of the Western perspectives regarding tends to be limited, partial or hostile creating a gulf of cross-cultural misunderstanding. It also allows myths about Islamic law to develop and the field is left clear for extremist and obscurantist constructs of Islamic law. Recognizing the potency of Islamic legal thought processes paves the way for active and constructive engagement with the internal discourses.

While secular approaches towards property and land rights are evident in interventions from both within and outside, delving into the ‘authentic’ forms of argumentation has its advantages, at the least it is an additional form of securing those rights. Islamic laws relating to property and land rights have to be assessed within the broader Islamic legal systems since there is considerable overlap and cross-application of different Islamic legal doctrines. Decoding the sources, structure and normative frameworks of Islamic law enables those working within Muslim societies to explore innovative, proactive and inclusive land tools potentially available within Islamic law. This is particularly relevant for strategies towards developing access to land and security of tenure.

1.58. Islamic Inheritance Laws Any person contemplating death and considering the future distribution of his or her property will place in the balance a whole range of factors, which will be specific to his or her personal, family and social circumstances , In Muslim societies, a person's ability to make such calculations is frustrated, in theory, by the compulsory Islamic inheritance rules that impose substantial constraints upon the freedom of a person to determine the devolution of his property'. (Powers, 1999) Inheritance is often treated as peripheral to, or semi-detached from, general debates and policy formation concerning security of tenure, land rights, land reform or regularization. However, inheritance is one of the commonest ways of acquiring land or access to land. In Muslim societies generally, irrespective of the nature of faith of the Muslims concerned, inheritance rules are derived from religious sources for the division of an individual's property upon death. The rules are in the main rigorously implemented by the family, and community, and upheld by the State.

Yet, the application of these formal inheritance rules pertaining to designated shares must be understood in a broader socio-cultural and economic context and within wider inheritance systems of practice. Demystifying the complex dynamics of Islamic inheritance rules and practice may reveal important information for the implementation of strategies designed to enhance security of tenure while modern reforms and changes have influenced several fields of Islamic law, the detailed classical inheritance structure has been one of the enduring legacies of classical Islamic law or the Shari’a.

The formal inheritance rules have several distinctive features.

First, there are predetermined percentage shares for pre-selected beneficiaries while at the same time allowing some flexibility through bequests and legitimate estate planning. Second, a Muslim’s ability to bequeath is restricted to only one-third of an individual's estate under certain rules with the remaining two thirds devolving according to the compulsory inheritance rules.

Third, the scheme of mandatory fixed shares is remarkably inclusive and provides access to property to a range of family members. Finally, the inheritance rights cannot be generally taken away. Rather than a set of abstract rules, Islamic inheritance rules are intended to facilitate distinctive Islamic conceptions of property, family, community, empowerment and justice.

1.59. What Properties May be Inherited The Islamic law of succession makes no distinction between different kinds of property. It is immaterial whether property is real (land) or personal, movable or immovable - it covers all assets.

1.60.Who May Inherit Property Given the wide range of beneficiaries that the Islamic inheritance system seeks to cater to through a sophisticated balancing process, the results can turn out to be hairsplitting permutations and combinations varying according to a given scenario. There are some differences in Sunni and Shi’a positions.

1.61. Benefits of the Rules for fixed Shares There exist some easily perceived potential benefits to a scheme of specified shares, as compared with systems of inheritance which provide greater apparent legal freedom to the individual seeking to control devolution of his/her property upon death.

1.62. Fragmentation of Property The fixed inheritance share rules which apply to big or small estates, residential or commercial property, liquid assets or investments can lead to minute divisions, making fragmentation of property a problem, particularly, although not exclusively, in relation to agricultural land.

1.63. Inheritance Rules and Islamic Inheritance Systems A variety of legal tools have developed in different contexts to permit individuals to make arrangements for the transmission of property, according to their own determination.

1.64. Islamic wills (wasaya) Gifts can be made to take effect upon death, by means of a will, but only up to one-third of an individual's estate can be bequeathed in this manner with the remaining two-thirds devolving according to the compulsory rules.

1.65. Women's Inheritance Female relatives and spouses are accorded shares, but half that of a male in a similar position and male relatives are more likely to inherit and to enjoy a greater share of the estate. This

difference in treatment between men and women is usually explained by reference to the fact that it is also a feature of Islamic law that a wife is entitled to maintenance from her husband, in terms of shelter, clothing, food and medical care.

Despite the argument that women are compensated for their unequal inheritance shares through such material obligations on the part of husbands to their wives (and other tools such as dower and gift), the apparent formal paper inequality remains a matter of vigorous debate and gives rise to calls for legal reform.

1.66. Unborn, Illegitimate and Adopted Children and Orphaned Grand Children Since a child is deemed to be in existence from the point of conception, a child in the womb is competent to inherit within Islamic law. However, an illegitimate child whose paternity was contested may not inherit from the wife's husband, although that child may inherit from its mother and its mother's family.

Adoption is not recognized under Islamic law (Shari'a), so inheritance through legal adoption into a family is not feasible.

A bequest in favor of an adopted child may not exceed one third of an estate, under the rules. An orphaned grandchild is unlikely to inherit from a grandparent under Islamic inheritance principles.

1.67. 'Estate Planning' and Lifetime Transfers There are a variety of legal techniques that a person contemplating death may deploy as a form of 'estate planning', in order to avoid the strictures of the compulsory inheritance rules. These include the lifetime transfer or gift (hiba) and the establishment of a family endowment (waqf ahli). The tools deployed for estate planning are subject to debate but the modernization of Islamic societies has resulted in a propensity towards several kinds of estate planning.

1.68. Family Endowments Another legal strategy for an individual seeking to control the devolution of his or her property is to establish a family endowment (waqf ahli). A major source of women's historic wealth appears to have arisen from beneficial interests in endowment (waqf) properties, but these endowments have now either been abolished or subjected to severe limitations in most countries.

1.69. Non-Registration of Land to avoid Inheritance Rules There is evidence in some Muslim communities that individuals keep their property outside the formal land registration system, because of the costs involved and to avoid giving women their allotted shares under the Islamic inheritance rules.

1.70. Consolidation of Property In a process known as consolidation, the division of an estate into fractional shares may be followed by a series of sales and exchanges designed to reduce the number of co-owners. It is women who usually exchange their rights in land for movable property, cash or gold and it is women in the main who decide to give up their fractional shares, particularly in land.

1. 71. Renunciation of Inheritance Rights

There is a widespread practice after the inheritance shares are distributed whereby a person, typically a woman, may renounce her inheritance rights (tanazul). While gender rights’ advocates are justifiably concerned over women being forced to renounce their limited property rights, the reality may be far more complex. It may be a choice over empowerment through property or enhanced family support.

1.72. Codification and Secularization There has been little legislative interference with the compulsory inheritance rules and daughters continue to enjoy only half as much as their brothers from the estate of a parent, which is a cause of concern for some women's organizations.

1.73. Changes regarding Adopted Children, Grandchildren and Others One example of a change in inheritance law in several countries, though subject to juristic debate, which has been widely justified on the basis of the Qu'ranic "verse of bequest" and social practice is the obligatory bequest for orphaned grandchildren.

1.74 Islamic Inheritance Systems and the Equality Debate The differential treatment on the basis of gender regarding inheritance shares, on the face of it, violates international human rights. A number of NGOs and liberal personalities in Muslim countries have called for equal inheritance rights. However, a more dominant position is the general position, even from Muslim women, that what God has ordained for shares cannot be changed.

1.75. Opportunities for Empowering Women The Islamic inheritance rules despite their apparent discriminatory nature, where implemented in letter and spirit and construed holistically, provide a solid starting point for women and other members of the family in asserting the full range of their property rights.

1.76. Strategies for Empowerment by Inheritance Rights General knowledge of the basic legal system pertaining to inheritance appears to be embedded within Islamic communities, but the specific rights are generally not publicized, and certainly not widely articulated or agitated. This is due to several factors, the widespread illiteracy of particularly Muslim women in some societies, a perception that the rules are complex, which is deliberately reinforced by authority figures and the marginality of certain categories within families and communities.

Though inheritance is only a part of the wider Islamic property regime, inheritance rules are presented as a complete divinely ordained code without room for compensation through other tools. With regard to entitlement of shares and the impact of estate planning, consolidation of property and renunciation of shares, those involved and affected must have the fora and opportunities to discuss and deal with the impact of their decisions.

1.77. Promote Islamic Reasoning (Ijtihad) Islamic inheritance is closely associated with Islamic identities and social structures and a general concern about secularization as a threat to Islam. As such, there is widespread resistance against anything other than very limited state intervention into this area, even amongst women. The reforms towards

materializing the egalitarian and distributive aspects of Islamic law- have to come primarily from within the community and be compatible with the Islamic frameworks. The main features of the inheritance rules appear to be clear-cut, particularly when they are deemed to be clear, and unambiguous (qat’i) and not readily open to any modification. However, any set of Islamic principles are to be re-interpreted and applied in the backdrop of the objectives of Islamic law (maqasid e sharia). Despite the limited forays into the realm of Islamic inheritance rules, the return to first principles and continuing development of these principles suggest that several inheritance practices may in the near future be subjected to ijtihad (interpretation as an Islamic jurisprudential tool) leading to newer forms of interpretation.

1.78. Facilitate Social Legitimacy Inheritance rules have to be understood within the myriad systems of property relations, including such matters as dower and maintenance, and within inheritance systems, of legitimate methods of estate planning. Legal techniques, notably lifetime transfers and the establishment of family endowments, have developed to enable individuals to determine the devolution of their property to meet perceived social needs, to avoid fragmentation of agricultural land and family businesses. In some communities the lifetime transfer is seen as a means of adjusting for discrimination against women under the inheritance rules, but in other contexts to prevent family property moving out of male control or into the hands of 'outsiders'. Where these ‘legal’ techniques serve to achieve progressive and inclusive results, efforts to enhance their social legitimacy must be facilitated.

1.79. Resist Abuse of Consolidation and Renunciation The transfer of property through inheritance is only one point in the cycle. The subsequent processes of consolidation and renunciation of the inherited property must also be queried.

Given the propensity towards consolidation of family property and its smooth intergenerational transfer, property- particularly farmland or a family business- is likely to be transmitted and retained in the hands of men. The social convention being to the effect that, men as the producers should manage and control both the business and the land it sits upon.

Moreover there are compelling pressures on women, of affection, notions of honor and shame, and economic necessity, which have a bearing on whether they will assert a claim upon a share in an inheritance, agree to sell a share, whether for cash or symbolically, or whether to renounce a share. These are not Islamic principles but socio-economic and cultural practices which have to be tested for their utility and legitimacy, in view of the evolving family and community structures.

1.80. Promote Security of Land Tenure Strategies designed to enhance security of tenure and to relieve poverty within Islamic societies, inheritance law and inheritance systems, particularly as they pertain to women, should not be regarded as a peripheral matter. Inheritance is an essential component in access to land. The inheritance process is not dependent on formal legal decrees on inheritance which are only one element of the picture. The specifics of the inheritance system in any context must be demystified, including the dominant legal techniques of estate planning in that context, the

motivation for using those legal techniques and the social meanings attributed to the use of estate planning methods.

However, in many political and social contexts the full implementation of the inheritance rules under Islamic law could be a realizable goal and a good starting point to extend rights in land to less powerful members of society.

1.81. Islamic Legal Methodologies Contrary to general assumptions, Islamic law is not a ‘religious’ law but rather a man made code whose primary source is the holy scripture Qur’an which is subject to human interpretation of divine intent. While there are dominant conservative legal opinions alongside egalitarian foundational principles, there exist significant opportunities for interpretation strategies within Islamic law that can promote access to land and security of tenure for all. However, general interpretation techniques based on logic and reasoning are not persuasive Islamic legal interpretation as they are merely considered ‘opinions’ (ra’y). In order to be legitimized within an Islamic jurisprudential praxis, interpretation must comply with certain authenticated methodology. How one goes about interpreting Islamic legal principles in compliance with certain protocols is therefore vital to success of the venture.

Islamic law has a well developed field of usul-al-fiqh (methodology in Islamic jurisprudence) which deals with the processes of reasoning and interpretation. The primary source is the Qur’an which has a limited number of ‘law verses’ some of them being explicit, others general. These are interpreted in their context alongside the practice of the Prophet’s generation (Sunna), some of which has to be verified for their accuracy, credibility and compatibility with the Qur’an. The two other sources, interpretation by analogy (qiyas) and through consensus (ijma) need to be appreciated. A major avenue for exploring the true spirit of Islam is personal reasoning within the Islamic framework (ijtihad) which is a well recognized Islamic jurisprudential tool. There are other supplemental law generating mediums such as juristic preference (istishan) which enhance the flexibility and responsiveness of Islamic law (Shari'a), the principle of ‘necessity and need’ (darura), actions to promote public interest (maslaha) and human welfare (istislah).

The deployment of these mechanisms and tools could well enable the emergence of inclusive, innovative and empowering land management tools.

1.82. Making of Ottoman Law Islamic categories of land and land tenure were not derived simply from the nature and quality of property rights or Islamic legal theory, but owed much to the demands of the State in the Ottoman world. Complex power relations shaped the forms of tenure that emerged and property rights in land in the Ottoman world should be viewed as a ‘bundle’ which was subject to a dynamic process of negotiation, re-negotiation and resistance.

Various types of tenure, authorizing land use or rights to revenue, 'did not correspond to an understanding of ownership' whether State or private- at least in the Western liberal sense of the word.

1.83. Conferring Full Land Ownership (Mulk/Milk) Mulk land gives the holder extensive power to use and enjoy the land, including disposing of it, making a gift of it, settling it as an endowment (waqf) in perpetuity or leaving it in a will in the form of a bequest. The origins of private land in full ownership

(mulk) lie in land owned by Muslims and upon which a tithe of one tenth was collected (ushr), as opposed to a tax (kharaj).

1.84 . Implications of State Land (Miri) Under the Ottomans (1299-1923) virtually all cultivated land, State land in the possession of individuals, became known as miri. It is a term which derives from, or is a shortened version, of the literal explanation that it was land under the control of the leader of the Muslims (Amir-al-Muslimin). However, Ottoman land tenure concepts , for example, should not to be confused with the British concept of crown land/public domain.

1.85. Empty Land (Mewat) In contrast to the modern situation in many Muslim countries, the Ottoman State was not concerned with any 'shortage of land', rather it was keen to encourage the cultivation and use of land to ensure the continuance of subsistence farming and a regular supply of provisions to urban dwellers. In the Ottoman world, dead land (mewat), that is undeveloped land at a distance from any town or village, in accordance with Islamic legal theory, could be 'enlivened' through cultivation or other acts such as irrigation. The occupier who reported and received the permission of the State would be granted rightful possession.

1.86.Communal Common Land (Musha) Pastoral lands, as opposed to cultivated land, were held as the traditional communal domain of particular tribes both for residence and herding according to local custom. The term 'musha was used, at village level, to denote either common undivided land or communal grazing land.

1.87. Ottoman Land Administration Regulation of state land (miri) and the Ottoman Land Code 1858 The Ottoman Land Code of 1858 was based upon both Ottoman practice and Islamic law. It defined the five categories of land: private ownership (mulk), State land (miri) and endowment (waqf), dead land (mewat), and public land for general use such as pastures for the use of particular towns and villages, markets, parks and places to pray (metruke). The Code remains the basis for modern state legislation and the division into these forms of land tenure remains in place today.

1.88. Extension of Possession Rights in State Land (Miri) Land in private ownership (mulk) continued to be governed by Islamic law (Shari'a). However, the differences between State land (miri) and land in private ownership (mulk) were in practice fairly narrow. State land (miri), that is the grant of the usufruct rights (tapou/tapu), could now be inherited, though according to the principles and requirements of the Ottoman Land Code and not as stipulated in Islamic law (Sharia)

1.89. Effecting the Transfer of Ownership In Shari'a courts across the Ottoman world the traditional method for registering property transactions and demonstrating ownership was by means of a document (hujja, literally proof), sealed by the court, which was often the only means for effecting land transactions between buyers and sellers. However, where

no such documentary proof existed, the prospective seller could fall back on witnesses prepared to confirm both continuous possession of the land in question and also the absence of any other contenders as to its ownership.

1.90. Registration under the Ottoman Land Code The cadastral registers that were a feature of the Ottoman world in the 16th and 17th Century have survived and proved to be a rich source for historians. Alongside the central registers, were provincial registers, detailing revenues in relation to towns and villages. At the root of the Ottoman Land Code lay a system of compulsory registration of usufruct rights in State land (miri), in the government land register office and the issue of an official title deed as evidence of ownership (tapu), but it was not fully carried through.

1.91 . Colonial Responses to State Land (Miri) The period of the direct colonial engagement had a direct impact on conceptualization of State land and further complicated land tenure regimes. Some colonial administrators construed land held as miri within a wider definition of State land than that envisaged within Islamic legal principles, or indeed even that pertaining under Ottoman rule. Confusion as to the precise nature of usufruct rights in miri land came at least in part from the translation of this category, which persists today and is used in this paper for convenience, into the term 'State land'.

1.92. Colonial Attitudes to Land Use Under Ottoman law a person who possessed uncultivated miri land (mahlul) who informed the state would be able to obtain a grant of title (tapu). However, under the Mahlul Lands Ordinance of 1920 the best that he/she could hope for would be a lease. The colonial powers were also anxious to limit rights over dead (mewat) land, so that they could be drawn into state control. The early period of British Mandate rule in Palestine saw also the 1921 Land Transfer Ordinance, which deemed that all land transactions, with the exception of short leases, would require consent from the High Commissioner who was not obliged to supply any reason for refusal.

1.93. Re-establishment of the Land Registration System Colonial land measures have been internalized and the dual track of part secularization/modernization (arising from colonial heritage) and part Islamization (from the Ottoman experience) of land tenure systems did take place through codification. These post-colonial codes preserved either explicitly, or implicitly in the case of Iraq, basic and traditional categories of land in full ownership (mulk), endowment (waqf) and state land (miri), although the emphasis varied depending upon the particular histories of these different countries and earlier reforms.

1.94. The Postcolonial Land Tenure Webs Islamic land tenure systems, which were filtered through Ottoman administration and then colonial constructions, have endured into the postcolonial world. At least in most of the Middle East, the Islamic tradition is relatively easy to detect in official land law systems, albeit overlaid in many countries with secular codes. The distinction between the land itself and its

usufruct, the principle that ownership of land lies with God but is held in trust by the State for the community of Muslims still underpins categories of land which are utilized today.

1.95 . Developing Modern Land Administration Systems Land administration, management, regulation and conflict resolution are usually a part of the public sphere. Land registration, which has a relatively long history across the Middle East, is embedded in some parts of the region, though there is some resistance. It carries with it at least a veneer of secularism, although it bumps against the Islamic legal framework and customary/unofficial tenure.

1.96. Web of Islamic Land Tenure The 'web of tenancy' is used to denote the 'multiple interrelated tenancy relationships in which the landholder accesses land through combinations of more than one pattern'. The confluence of Islamic principles, Ottoman law, colonial interventions, custom and unofficial norms may not merely have led to a 'web of tenancy' in some households, but a broader 'tenure web'.

There exist no 'clean patterns' or 'neat categories', but multiple combinations of relations which give access to land.

1.97. Safety Webs for Informal Arrangements Functioning informal markets sometimes use traditional documentation (hujja) as evidence in the legitimate transfer of property interests. As evidenced in Yajouz in Jordan communal elements form part of the web of tenure in some contexts. Several of these phenomena have proven highly resilient and resistant to the efforts of reformers, continuing to play a role in the lives and the minds of postcolonial actors. For instance, the Musha land system, that is communal land held in shares and involving the periodic redistribution of lots, survived the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the colonial mandate authorities that followed, despite attempts at abolition and land registration.

1.98. Women and Islamic Land Tenure Arrangements Islamic law provides women with substantial rights to acquire, manage and alienate property. However, under classical Islamic law (Shari'a), which governed the devolution of land in full ownership (mulk), women were accorded smaller inheritance shares. State land (miri) was inherited according to state law, crucially in equal shares by both sons and daughters and with children placed first on the list of those with a right to inheritance, but some modern states have made state land (miri) subject to Islamic inheritance law. Ownership and management of endowment (waqf) property was historically important for women. The abolition, nationalization and decline of the endowment (waqf) may deprive women of a further means of access to land. Modernist land reforms initiated across the Middle East bypassed most women, consolidating land in the hands of males.

1.99. Strategies for Empowerment by Islamic Land Tenures Though the histories of individual Muslim countries vary, the contemporary land tenure regimes have evolved from, or have been influenced by, a variety of historical periods or episodes. To unravel or effectively engage with these complex and

overlapping land tenure forms requires a sensitivity to land history, which often takes the form of local or communal narratives. These include the impact of distinctive pre-Ottoman Islamic land conceptions, the Ottoman land administration and regulatory framework, the colonialist modifications or extensions of land tenure practice and the post-colonial and modernist land reforms.

The current dominant forms of land tenure are equally rooted in resilient customary practices and State interventions and together form the basis through which individuals and groups in particular contexts think through their relationships with land and with one another.

Strategies to enhance access to land must be based upon detailed research as to the particular tenure categories, which are relevant in specific localities.

Though land tenure systems in the Muslim world are often a convergence of State designs, customary practices and increasingly international pressures which are modernist and secular, there is generally a consciousness of Islamic land conceptions. The range of land tenures, classifications and categories in the postcolonial Middle East and many parts of the Muslim world are derived often from Islamic principles developed and manipulated by successive regimes, particularly during the long period of Ottoman rule, and to varying degrees the colonial and post colonial governments.

With the increasing calls for ‘authenticity’ through return or reinvigoration of Islamic and indigenous principles and practices, the strategy of legitimizing innovative land tenure arrangements through recourse to Islamic historical and spiritual principles could facilitate reforms. What is necessary though is the articulation that rather than being static, monolithic or exclusive formulae, Islamic land systems can be responsive, flexible and capable of catering to a wide range of contexts and diverse constituencies of claimants.

Islamic law facilitates full ownership, conceives of ‘State’ lands which could be used in the public interest and also accommodates collectives and group land access and usufruct rights. Land readjustment strategies which find their authority and social legitimacy in enduring Islamic principles of equity and egalitarianism as in communal ('musha) villages, using plot exchanges and compensation, could in appropriate circumstances enhance access to land where there are often fragmented parcels and a web of tenures.

Similarly, the institution of the endowment (waqf) can facilitate land rights that are often preserved within a smaller circle of the landed class. Rather than view the mesh of complex, sometimes seemingly ad-hoc, tenure forms as necessarily a barrier to economic development and the provision of secure access to land, they may be used beneficially and can be a positive force. In reality, there exist few 'clean categories', but rather a web of tenure with a local distinctiveness which may be focused even at the level of particular communities. This fluidity and often overlapping situations could augment innovation and offer a range of choices. Some tenure forms are recognized by the State and incorporated into legislation or recognized as social practice However, whether they are formally part of policy or tolerated as customary arrangements, they work best because they are closer to the lived experiences of the people who use them, rather than a top-down approach.

Fragmentation of land is a perceived problem with regard to this tenure web, with even those individuals possessing quite large total landholdings and operating as landlords, owning or co-owning

small plots. These have been, in part, the consequence of the agrarian reform processes of the 1950's and 1960's, but Islamic inheritance rules also play a part.

Current policy making around land regularization in the Middle East that seeks to encourage the registration of individual land titles can only be one of the approaches, to address this issue. Equally strategies to enhance land rights for women or disadvantaged/vulnerable groups must be aware of Muslims, like others, may prefer to keep 'ownership' outside of official control attempts to avoid further land fragmentation even where it appears to be counter-intuitive to the outsider.

Islamic land tenure regimes offer a range of options relating to the protection of rights of occupation, possession, use, usufruct and full ownership for a wide range of constituencies including the urban poor, squatters and slum dwellers. It offers several avenues for regularizing informal settlements. Land registration can have advantages but are not always preferred or possible.

Land registration has a long history and is well embedded in many Muslim countries, including parts of the Middle East, with some sophisticated systems using modern technology. At first sight this would appear to lay solid foundations for land regularization processes focused upon securing ownership and access to land through formal titling. However, vast tracts of land in the Middle East, even where modern registration systems exist, remain unregistered, not least much of the endowed land (waqf) and land falling under the control of government.

Moreover, strategies at local, household and individual level to avoid registration of title are also entrenched and have a long history. Relatively large and wealthy landowners choose to remain outside the official land titling processes, even where this may preclude the use of credit mechanisms and full engagement in land markets. The motivations that underpin such strategies are multifarious. They include a desire to circumvent the strict application of Islamic inheritance rules, and the consequence fragmentation of ownership and landholdings and to avoid the high costs of registration, including those associated with fragmented plots.

Also registration may not be chosen because it is difficult to bring the prevailing local forms of land tenure within the officially recognized categories, or because the State refuses to register land ownership which challenges or places barriers to the State's own development plans. Fear of appropriation may also be a factor, as is the fact that 'unofficial' markets and tenure formations may operate relatively efficiently and be responsive to local needs.

Contemporary policies surrounding the encouragement of land titling may be too abstract in the above climate and strategies concerned with access to land, rather than titling, may better encompass the requirements of many communities in relation to secure tenure. In practice, the seemingly complex web of Islamic tenures can be mapped against a continuum model, which is not hierarchical but promotes choice regarding a range of options.

Communal relations to land have endured both in practice and as a state of mind within the Muslim world. They have survived in the face of legal systems in which the concept of State land (miri) dominates and is manipulated by successive regimes to establish control over any land in which individual ownership claims cannot be maintained.

In some areas these customary tenures have survived despite the attempts by tribal leaders to use land registration as a means to turn communal land

into a large individual land holding. Communal land relationships exist often in areas where the people concerned are particularly vulnerable, amongst nomadic pastoralists, in areas of marginal rainfall, but also in the village, peri-urban or urban context.

It is crucial in these contexts, where change is proposed or State policies are likely to impinge on the area, that the local populations are engaged in participatory development processes in order to find their own indigenous solutions. Islamic tenure webs potentially offer innovative tenures that could be part of a dynamic continuum of tenure model choices that are efficient, appropriate and authentic.

Chapter Two : Registration Governance Structure

2.1. Objectives and Scope of Registration The objects for which the law of registration was promulgated are set forth below: 1). To provide conclusive guarantee of the genuineness of documents; 2). To afford publicity to transaction; 3). To prevent frauds; 4) .To afford facility of ascertaining whether a property has already been dealt with; and 5) .To afford security of title deeds and facility of proving titles in case the original deeds are lost destroyed.

If these objects are properly understood, the registration law, as it stands evolved after more than a century of legislation, will be properly followed and the inwardness of the various sections of the Act will be clear to students of the law.

2.2. Nature of the Law of Registration

According to Jeremy Bentham “all law may be said to be either substantive or adjective; the former designating that law, which the courts apply to ascertain facts in order to frame a judgment; and the latter denoting the rules, by which the courts proceed in order to bring before them the parties, their witnesses, their documents and other materials, necessary for adjudication, top record their judgments and if necessary, to enforce them. Thus, the laws of evidence, which declare by what facts, by whom and in what manner any disputed rights should improved before the courts of law, fall under the head of adjective law�.

The laws of registration, though often containing provisions in the nature of attentive law, e.g., those which render registration a prerequisite to the creation of certain rights and also those which enact the rule of priority due to an are still in the main character of the nature of adjective law, as they concerned with the providing of the means, whereby trustworthy a transaction in which persons are interested may be preserved.

2.3. Current Feature of Registration Practice in Bangladesh Land Registration in Bangladesh is currently a Deeds Based Systems comprised of 3 agency model : 1. Deeds Registry, 2. Land Records, 3. Survey & Settlement The major feature of all the practices are highlighted here: 1. Lack of efficient communication/interaction, 2. Informal and unrecorded transactions, 3. Spatial data weaknesses, 4. Quality of verification/validation unclear, 5. Computerization of deeds registry, 6. Cadastral maps and parcel surveys, 7. Digitization of existing paper data, 8. Little new cadastral mapping, 9. Link deeds registry with land records, 10. Link both of the above with spatial data.

2.4. Land Use Pattern The feature of existing land use pattern shows following characteristics : 1.Intensity of land use, 2. Commonality of systems and issues, 3.Mughal and British legacies, 4. Limited World Bank operational role , 5. Land access, 6. Security of tenure, 7. Indigenous peoples Forestry and State Land Management, 8. Land acquisition, 9. Peri-urban development, 10. Abolition of intermediaries, 11. Ownership ceilings, 12. Tenancy control, 13. Distribution of Government land.

2.5. Reform Issues The registration and information systems still demand reforms for following causes : 1.Eventual goal – conclusive title, 2. Evolutionary vs. revolutionary approaches,

3. Integration with broader e-government initiatives, 4. Improved governance , 5. Improved access to information, 6. Reduced stamp duties and fees, 7. Increased role of the private sector, 8. Focus on service delivery, 8. Need for reliable impact analysis, 9. Difficult to get a stand alone land policy project, 10. Utilize policy, programs and project components, 11. Focus on potentials of lease markets liberalization, 12. Pursue implementation of the new Laws, 13. Build on experience , 14. Land legal advisory services , 15. Need reliable impact analysis.

2.6. Policy Focus The following policy options are emphasized : 1. Enforcing existing legislation, 2. Protecting against alienation of land, 3. Liberalization of land leasing, 4. Land acquisition procedures 5. Converting tenancy to freehold, 6. Allocating rights on forest and other state land, 7. Recognizing traditional communal rights, 8. Homestead grants, 9. Decision-making process and 10. Rational model.

2.7. Political Economy The present political culture comprises of following factors : 1.Politics exogenous, 2. Power, politics and interests 3. Pluralism, fragmented power, informal and elites, 4. Economic Theory --public choice/rational choice, 5. Individual behavior explained by market-based decisions, 6. Self-interest, political market-place, failure of regulatory instruments, rent-seeking behavior and 7. Complexity and group behavior difficult to explain

2.8. Stake Holder’s Projects in Operation Land Registration 1. Sri Lanka – Land Titling & Related Services 2. Pakistan – Punjab Land Records Management 3. AAA – India, Bangladesh 4. Land policy/land access 5. Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction 6. Orissa DPL 7. AAA – India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan Source : World Bank, 2006

2.9. Expected Benefits The ongoing projects seek reforms to achieve following results: 1. Improved system, 2. Improved communication, 3. Reduced time 4. Enhanced knowledge, 5. higher levels of customer and employee satisfaction, 6. Increased revenue, 7. Improved capacity and output, 8. Increased quality and reliability, 9. Decreased unit cost, 10. Increased price flexibility, 11. Faster delivery time,

12. Higher employee morale and 13. Secure business.

(Gitlow, Levine &Popovich, 2006)

Table- A. Structure & Functions of Registration Directorate (Central Authority), Bangladesh Sl. No Topic Description Higher Authority Name & Address of the Institution 01. Registration Directorate, Ministry of Law and Justice 14, Abdul Goni Road, Dhaka-1000 02. Head of the Institution Secretary, Dhaka, Inspector General of Registration Ministry of Law and Justice Bangladesh 03. Organization Structure of the Institution Inspector General of Registration (One) Ministry of Law and Justice Assistant IGR (one) Inspector General of Registration 14, Abdul Goni Road, Dhaka-1000 Inspector of Registration OfficesDO DO IRO- 6 Zones, (Six Posts) DO DO Administrative Officer (One Post) DO DO Administrative Officer-T.C. (OnePost) DO DO Head Assistant (One Post) DO DO Stenographer (One Post) DO DO Supervisor T.C. Section (One Post) DO DO Upper Division Clerk, Section Heads (Seven Posts including T.C.) DO DO Assistant-cum/Computer Operator(Four Posts) DO DO Office Assistant (Eighteen Posts) DO DO Driver (Four Posts) DO DO M.L.S.S. (Twelve Posts) DO DO Night Guard (One post) DO DO Sweeper (One Post) DO DO 04. Sub-ordinate Offices (A) Office of the District Registrar Inspector General of Registration 61 District level Offices (B) Office of the Sub Registrar Concerned District Registrar. 476 S.R. Offices at Upazilla levels

Table –B : District Level Governance Structure Sl. No Topic Description Higher Authority Name & Address of the Institution District Registrar (One Post) Inspector General of Registration 61 District level Offices Officer In charge (One-Sadar Record Room) District Registrar DO Head Assistant (One Post) DO DO Assistant-cum/Typist (One Post) DO DO T.C. Assistant-Cum Typist (One Post) DO DO M.L.S.S. (One Post) DO DO Night Guard / Sweeper (One Post) DO DO

Table—C : Field Level Governance Structure Sub-Registrar (One Post) Office Assistant (One Post) Muharrir (Two Posts) T.C. Muharrir (One Post) Peon (One Post) Copyists (as needed) Deed Writers (as needed)

DO DO DO DO DO DO DO

DO DO DO DO DO DO DO

Table –D : Services Rendered by the Registration Directorate, Bangladesh Sl. No Type of Service

Duration of Service Delivery Officer Responsible

1. Information or Problems Related to Registration of Documents 2. Collecting copies of Documents 3. Complaints about Staffs malpractices

1 Day 1 Day 7-30 Days

Address

Phone

Inspector General of Registration, 14 Abdul 02-9569174 Goni Road ,Dhaka DO DO DO DO

Table—E : Services Rendered by the District Registrar’s Offices

Sl. No Type of Service

Duration of Service Delivery Officer Responsible

1. Information about Registration of Documents 2. Copies of Documents 3. Investigation of Complaints about Staffs mal practices 4. Investigation of Complaints against Marriage Registrars 5. Investigation of Complaints against Copyists & Deed writers.

1 Day 1 Day

Address

District Registrar DO

Phone DR Office DO

7-30 Days

DO

DO

7-30 Days

DO

DO

7-30 Days

DO

DO

Table—F : Services Rendered by the Sub Registrar’s Office Sl. No Type of Service

Duration of Service Delivery Officer Responsible

1. Registration of Documents and Authentication of Power of Attorney 1 Day 2. Returning the Original Documents after Registration.

1 Month to 1 Year 3. Returning the Authenticated Power of Attorney 1 Day 4. Delivery of Certified copy of Documents 1 to 7 Days 5. Information Related to Transfer of Property.

DO 6. Assistance in drafting, writing and preparing the document.

1 Day

Address

Sub Registrar

Phone

S. R Offices

DO

DO

DO

DO

DO

DO

DO

DO

Licensed Deed Writer

DO

Public Finance in Registration Rate of Stamp Duty 01. Conveyance/Gift/Exchange : 2% on the shown value 02. Contract for Sale / Agreement : Tk. 150/03. Affidavit / Declaration of Hiba/Declaration : Tk. 50/04. Rectification/Cancellation/Redemption : Tk. 150/05. Wakf / Settlement : 06. Mortgage Deed (1) Up to 10 Lac Taka : Tk. 1500/(2) Tk. 10 Lac to Tk 50 Lac : Tk. 3,500/(3) Tk. 50 Lac to any amount : Tk. 3,500/-+0.10% on the remaining amount.

07. Trust Deed : Tk. 33.75/-

Taxes 01. Local Government Tax (A) Urban--City Corporation, Paurashava Cantonment Board & : 2% on the shown value (B) Rural--District Council Tax (Rural Areas) : 1% on the shown value Union Council Tax : 1% on the shown value 02. Gain Tax : 2% on the shown value Real Estate --Tk. 250/- per sq. meter on apartment of 03. VAT : 1.50% on the shown value of Real Estate.

Table- H : Income , Expenditure & Increase of Registration Deeds 2006-2010. FY FY

Regn Income LG Tax Total Rev. Income Total Expenditure

2005---2006 1255,95,51000/243,41,34000/2006—2007 1378,04,68,000/- 301,84,97,000/2007—2008 1878,98,11,000/- 310,87,95,000/2008—2009 2148,56,89,000/- 476,92,36,000/2009—2010 2170,29,66,000/- 536,17,70,000/Source: Directorate of Registration, Dhaka.

1499,36,85,000/1679,89,65,000/2189,86,06,000/2625,49,25,000/2706,47,36,000/-

37,99,03,000/41,07,14,000/53,71,72,000/86,28,31,000/87,15,33,000/-

2.10. Registration Governance Structure Section 3 of Registration Act said, The Government shall appoint an officer to be the Inspector General of Registration for the territories

Surplus Total Deeds

1461,37,82,000/1638,82,51,000/2136,14,34,000/2539,20,94,000/2619,32,03,000/-

21,17,854 22,54,652 26,47,636 27,00,574 29,35,778

subject to such Government: provided that the Government may, instead of making such appointment, direct that all or any of the powers and duties hereinafter conferred and imposed upon the Inspector-General shall be exercised and performed by such officer or officers, and within such local limits, as the Government appoints in this behalf. Any Inspector- General may hold simultaneously any other office in the service of the Republic.

Section 5(1) For the purposes of this Act, the Government shall form districts and sub-districts, and shall prescribe, and may alter, the limits of such districts and sub district .

(2) The districts and sub-districts formed under this section together with the limits thereof, and every alteration of such limits, shall be notified in the official gazette. (3) Every such alteration shall take effort on such day after the date of the mutilation as is therein mentioned.

The limits of districts formed for the purposes of the Registration Act, coincide with those of magisterial districts. Every alteration of limit can be made only by a notification expressly under the Act but not retrospectively.

Section 6. of the Act said The Government may appoint such persons, whether Registrars public officers or not, as it thinks proper, to be Registrars of and Sub-Registrar the several districts, and to be Sub-Registrars of the several sub-districts, formed as aforesaid, respectively.

As in Section 7, The Government shall establish in every district an office to be styled the office of the Registrar and in every sub district an officer of officers to be styled the office of the SubRegistrar or the offices of the joint Sub-Registrars. (2) The Government may amalgamate with office of a Registrar any office of a Sub-Registrar subordinate to such Registrar and may authorize any Sub-Registrar whose office has been so amalgamated to exercise and perform, in addition to his own powers and duties, all or any of the powers and duties of the Registrar to whom he is subordinate.

Provided that no such authorization shall enable a Sub Registrar to hear and appeal against an order passed by himself under this Act. In a “Sub- District” when two or more offices are established, all of them are to be styled “Joint officers”.- The term “appeal” in proviso to section 7(2) includes an application, under section 73. A SubRegistrar in his delegated capacity as Registrar is not competent to hear an application, under section 73 against his won order of refusal.

But the proviso does not prohibit such Sub-Registrar from entertaining and deciding an application under section 73 as a matter of course. The officers of certain Sub Registrars at Sadar have also been amalgamated with the officers of the District Registrars and they have been authorized to exercise the powers of a Registrar, under section 7(2) excepting those laid down in sections 68 and 72.

Section 8. adds, The Government may also appoint officers, to be called Inspectors of Registration officers, and may prescribe the duties of such officers. Every such Inspector shah be subordinate to the Inspector-General. There are two Inspectors of Registration offices and their duties have been prescribed by the Government.

Section 9. (Military cantonments may be declared Sub-Districts or districts) Rep. by the Repealing and Amending Act. 1927 (X of 1927) .

Section 10—13 includes : (1) When any Registrar is absent otherwise than on duty in his district, or when his office is temporarily vacant, any persons whom the Inspector-General appoints in this behalf, or, in default of such appointment, the

Judge of the District Court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the Registrar’s office is situate, shall be the Registrar during such absence or unit the Government fills up the vacancy.

When any Registrar is absent form his office on duty in his district, he may appoint any Sub-Registrar or other person in his district to perform, during such absence, all the duties of a Registrar except those mentioned in section 68 and 72.

When any Sub-Registrar is absent or when his office is temporarily vacant, any person whom the Registrar of the district appoints in this behalf shall be Sub-Registrar during such absence, or until the vacancy is full up. All appointment made under section 10, section 11 or section 12 shall be reported to the Government by the Inspector-General. Such report shall be either special or general, as the Government directs.

2.11. Registers of Records The Government shall provide for the office of every registering officer the books necessary for the purposes of this Act. The books so provided shall contain the forms from time to time prescribed by the Inspector-General with the sanction of the Government and the pages of such books shall be consecutively numbered in print, and the number of pages in each book shall be certified on the title page by the officer by whom such books are issued.

The Government shall supply the office of every Registrar with a fire-proof box and shall in each district make suitable provision for the safe custody of the records connected with the registration of documents in such district.

2.12. Registrable Documents The following documents shall be registered, if the property to which they relate is situate in a district in which, and if they have been executed on or after the date on which, Act No, XVI of 1864, or the Indian Registration Act 1866 or the Indian Registration Act, 1871, or the Indian Registration Act, 1877 or this Act came or comes into force, namely:(a) instruments of gift of immovable property; (b) other non-testamentary instruments which purport or operate to create, to declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards, to or in immovable property; in the case of an assignment of a mortgage the consideration for the deed of assignment shall be deemed to be the value for registration. (c) non-testamentary instruments (other than the acknowledgment of a receipt or payment made in respect of any transaction to which an instrument registered under clause (b) relates) which acknowledge the receipt or payment of any consideration on account of the creation, declaration, assignment limitation or extinction of any such right, title of interest; and (d) leases of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent; (e) non-testamentary instruments transferring or assigning

any decree or order of a court or any award when such decree or order or award purport or operations to create declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent , of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards, to or in immovable property); Provided that the Government may, by order published in the official gazette, exempt from the operation of this sub-section any leases executed in any district, or part of a district, the terms granted by which do not exceed five years and the annual rents reserved by which do not exceed fifty rupees except : (1)any composition deed, (2) any instrument relating to shares in a joint Stock company, notwithstanding that the assets of such company, notwithstanding that the assets of such company consists in whole or in part of immovable property, (3) any debenture issued by any such company and not creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right title or interest, to or in immovable property except in so far as it entitles the holder to the security afforded by a registered instrument whereby the company has mortgaged, conveyed or otherwise transferred the whole or part of its immovable property or any interest there in to trustees upon trust for the benefit of the holders of such debentures, (4) any endorsement upon or transfer of any debenture issued by any such company, (5) any document not itself creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right, title or interest of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards to or in immovable property, but merely creating a right to obtain another document which will, when executed, create declare assign, limit or extinguish such right, title or interest, (6) any decree or order of a Court except a decree or order expressed immovable property other that which is the subject matter of the suit or proceeding, (7) any grant of immovable property by the Government, (8) any instrument of partition by a Revenue Officer, (9) any order granting a loan orinstrument of Collateral Security granted under the Land Improvement Act, 1871, or the Land Improvement Loans Act,1883 (10) any order granting a loan under the Agriculturists Loan Act, 1884 (XII of 1884), the Agricultural Development Bank Ordinance, 1961 (Ordinance No. IV of 1961), or under any other law for the time being in force relating to the advancement of loans for agricultural purposes, or any instrument under which a loan, is granted by co-operative society for any such purpose, or any instrument made for securing the repayment of a loan so granted (11) any endorsement on a mortgage-deed acknowledging the payment of the whole or any part of the mortgage money and any other receipt for payment of money due under a mortgage (12) any certificate of sale granted to the purchaser of any property sold by public auction by a Civil or Revenue Officer (13) any counter-part of a lease, where the lease corresponding thereto has itself been registered-- a document purporting or operating to effect a contract for the sale of immovable property shall not be deemed to require or ever to have required registration by reason only of the fact that such document contains a recital of the payment of any earnest money or of the whole or any part of the purchase money.

Section 17 treats of documents of which registration is compulsory. This section subject to exceptions, practically enacts

that all non-testamentary documents effecting immovable property shall be registered.

Document merely creating a right to obtain another document”This clause provides that a document not itself creating a right in immovable property but merely creating a right to obtain another document which will, when executed, create any such right need not be registered.

An agreement for sale or for release, or for mortgage, or for partition .

An agreement for lease also falls within this clause only when it does not create a present demise. An agreement to make a gift does not fall within clause (v), as it must be registered under section 25(I) of the Contract Act. “Authority to adopt”- It is an instrument by which a wife is authorized by her husband to adopt a son for him after his death.

It should not be confounded with a deed of Adoption which merely declares the fact of the adoption of a son. It has been held by the Legal Remembrancer that an authority to adopt cannot be executed by a Hindu minor who has not attained majority under the Majority Act. Such instrument, if executed by a minor, cannot also be registered. A deed of adoption as distinguished from an authority to adopt does not require registration unless it creates or transfers an interest in immovable property . if it does create or transfer such interest, it requires registration.

Section 18. Any document not required to be registered under Section 17 may also registered under this Act, which treats of documents of which registration is optional( General Registration Service—GRS).

In this connection attention is invited to section 4 of Transfer of Property Act, 1882 under which the provisions of sections 54, 59, 107 and 123 of that Act shall be read as supplemental to the Registration Act. These sections make the registration of certain documents compulsory which would otherwise be optional. The necessity for registration must be determined by the value of consideration stated in the deed and not by the actual market value of the property .

2.13. Immovable Property Registration System (IPRS) Section 21 said, no non-testamentary document relating to immovable property shall be accepted for registration unless it contains a description of such property sufficient to identify the same.

Houses in towns shall be described as situate on the north or other side of the street or road (Which should be specified) to which they front, and by their existing and former occupancies and by their numbers if the houses in such street or road are numbered. Other houses and lands shall be described by their name, if any and as being in the territorial division in which they are situate, and by their superficial contents, the roads and other properties on which they abut, and their existing occupancies and also, whenever it is practicable, by reference to a Government map or survey.

No non-testamentary document containing a map or plan of any property comprised therein shall be accepted fro registration unless it is accompanied by a true copy of the map or plan, or in case such property is situate in several district, by such number of true copies of the man or plan as are equal to the number of such district.

Where a document comprises several properties and the description is sufficient as to some, but in sufficient as to others, the registering officer must not refuse to accept the document for registration in

its entirety. The Calcutta High Court has said that if the properties are sufficiently identifiable, there is no reasons why the document if registered, would not be operative in respect of such properties as would be found to answer the description contained in the document.

Section 22 adds, where it is, in the opinion of the Government, practicable to describe houses, not being houses in towns, and lands by reference to a government map or survey, the Government may, by rule made under this Act, require that such houses and lands as aforesaid shall be described. It provides for a description of houses other than houses in towns and of lands by reference to Government map or survey, the object being to provide an easy and certain method of identification and to oblige parties make use of it where it exists.

2.14. What Registration does not effect. (a). Registration not by itself absolute proof of the execution of a document. (b). More registration does not prove title nor prove bona fides. (c). Registration does not confer validity upon an instrument which otherwise ultra vires or illegal or fraudulent.

2.15. Interpretation of the Act. The Registration Act is a very useful code, but it is extremely stringent and requires to be strictly construed. To insist on the exact compliance with the provisions of the Act may seem technical but, nevertheless, it is absolutely necessary in view of the object of the Act. The cardinal principle that statutes must be construed according to their plain meaning neither adding to not subtracting from them, is equally applicable to the interpretation of the Registration Act. If the words are clear and positive, no other consideration can govern their meaning.

Technical words should be construed technically and other words in their ordinary and grammatical sense and popular acceptation. The point is not what the legislature meant but what the language means. Intention of a Legislature is a common but very slippery phrase. Courts are not to speculate upon it if the words are plain and admit of only one meaning.

But if the language is ambiguous or is not itself precise, then extraneous considerations, such as, provision of statutes in part material and the previous state of the law may be resorted to in aiding the construction. Literal construction should be ignored if it runs counter to the intention of the legislature as apparent from the statute and if the words are capable of other construction by which that intention of the Legislature can be better subserve and effectuated.

And if it leads to some absurdity repugnance or in consistency with the rest of the statute the grammatical sense may be modified so as to avoid that difficulty and no farther. Where words are susceptible of two or more constructions the intention which appears to be most in accord with convenience, reasons, justice and legal principles should prevail. But where the words are plain and admit of but one construction, consideration of hardship, arbitrariness, inconvenience etc. are quite immaterial.

2.16. Enactments of Laws Brief History When the British rule, in its inception, was gathering itself into a force the country had been passing through a critical phase.

There had been widespread social and political unrest. The people grabbed the lands for others, forged and fabricated documents and produced them, claiming immunity from payment of land revenue. Cut off from their ancient mooring, the people feel into vices of corruption, forgery and treachery .As such it became extremely difficult to settle the disputes of the rival parties.

With a view to preventing fraud and streamlining the collection of revenue, the British, with the growth of their interests in the country, felt the used of introducing the system of registration.

The law of registration was, therefore, introduction not abruptly but by a gradual process is to attune the people to the new system. Provincial laws were enacted from time to time providing for the establishment of registry officers.

The registration of documents was made optional, though it was provided that certain documents, if registered, would take effect against unregistered documents. Of these provincial laws, the first was the Bengal Statute of 1781 and the most important were Bengal Regulation 36 of 1793, Bombay Regulation 4 of 1802 and Madras Regulation 17 of 1802. There Regulations were drafted on the model of the Yorkshire Regulation Act of the reign of Queen Anne . As regards registration of documents in other provinces, Circulars were issued making suitable provision in that behalf.

As the people began to appreciate its merits, the provincial laws were conveniently replaced by the General laws which were promulgated and made applicable to the whole of British India.

Of the General laws the most important were Act 16 to of 1864.

Act 1865, Act 20 of 1866, Act 8 of 1871, Act 3 of 1877 and Act 161908. By Act 16 of 1864 which came into force on 1st January 1965, the system of compulsory registration was, for the first time, introduced in British India dividing all documents into two classes viz- Cements which were compulsorily remittable, Cements, the registration of which was optional.

It will thus appear the above facts that the Registration Law is divisible into two periods: 1) Era of Provincial laws and optional registration from 1793 to 1864.

2) Era of General laws extending to the whole of British India and compulsory registration from 1865 to 1947.

The subsequent historical development of the law of Registration from 1947 onwards is very short. With the passing of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, British India was partitioned and Pakistan became independent in 1947 and thereafter it was constituted into a sovereign state. After the independence in 1947, the Registration Law of British India continued to be the law of Pakistan in terms of section 18(3) of the Independence Act, 1947, with necessary adaptations as made under the Pakistan (Adaptation of Existing Bangladesh Laws) Order, 1947, and the (Pakistan) Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinances Order, 1949. After adaptation, further amendments were made in the Registration Act. 1908 from time to time and latest amendments were made therein by Pakistan Ordinance XLV of 1962. After liberation the act continued in force as per provision

or article 149 of the constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

The statute of 1781 passed on the 9th January 1991was introduced the settlement of Fort William in Bengal. Its objects were to supply the want of a registry of houses, lands and states within that settlement and to prevent fraud.

Mr. Edward Tiretta, after whom a well-known market in Calcutta is named, Mr. Edward Tiretta was the First Registrar of Lands, Houses, The Record Room and The Registrar of Calcutta. There are several Register-books containing the registration of deeds effected by Mr. Edward Tiretta and his successors who combined in themselves the triple functions of 1). Registrar of Memorials of Deeds , 2). Registrar of Mutations in the Ownership and 3). Surveyor of Lands, Houses And Estates .

By Regulation 36 of 1793 which came into force on 1st January 1796, an office for the registration of deeds was established at the Sadar Station of each Zilla in the cities of Patna, Dacca and Murshidabad. The superintendence of the office was committed to the Registrar of the court of Dewany Adalat who registered documents.

Regulation 36 of 1793 was passed for appointing a Kaziul-Kazaat or Head Kazi of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and the Kazis stationed in the several districts. Their respective duties were prescribed and they attested documents with their seal and signature.

Regulation 4 of 1824 provided for appointment of Deputy Registrars during the absence of the permanent incumbents owing to sickness or other causes. Regulation 7 of 1932 was passed empowering the Zilla or city judge who had been entrained with the duty of registration, to make over the said duty to the Principal Sadar Ameen of the station.

Act 30 of 1938 provided for the establishment of Sub-Registrar any civil station other than Sadar stations and the appointment superintend such officer.

Act 11 of 1851 was passed providing for the custody of registers of deeds among the records of the Magistrates or Joint Magistrates in the lower Provinces of Bengal.

By Act 3 of 1859 Cantonment Joint Magistrates were constituted Registers of Deeds. The provision for sending an abstract of every registered document to the Registrar General appears in Act 16 of 1864. Act 20 of 1866 provided for the appointment by the local Government of Registrars and Sub-Registrars only. The provision for the appointment of Deputy Registrars does not appear in this Act. Act 8 of 1871 provided for the abolition of the office of the Registrar-General as an office of record and registry and limited the duties of that officer to inspection and general superintendence under the altered designation of Inspector General of Registration. Section 8 of this Act also provided for the appointment of Inspectors or Registration Office After Independence, this Act was adapted in Pakistan in 1949.

Further amendments have since been made therein form time to time and has been brought up to date (vide Pakistan (Adaptation of Existing Pakistan Laws) Order, 1947, Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinance 1949. The Registration (Amendment) Act 1950 (69 of 1950). The Registration (Amendment) Act 1957 (1 of 1958), Central laws (Statute Reform) Ordinance 1960 (21 of 1960), The Registration Act (Amendment) Ordinance 1961 (32 of 1961), Presidents Order, 1961 (1 of 1962). After liberation this Act continued in force as per provision of Article 149 of the constitution of the peoples Republic of Bangladesh.

Various types of registration services are now in operation in Bangladesh effecting the following laws and rules over the

centuries, a set of enactments, organizations, institutions and human resources are actively involved in the sector to achieve the defined goals.

1. The Registration Act -1908 2. The Court Fees Act-1870 3. The Evidence Act-1872 4. The Majority Act-1875 5. The Transfer Of Property Act-1882 6. The Stamp Act –1899 7. The State Acquisition Act-1950 8. The Non-Agricultural Tenancy Act—1949 9. Land Reforms Ordinance-1984 10. The Bengal Survey Act-1875 11. The Bengal Settlement Manual-1935 12. The Enemy Property Laws-1966 13. The Abandoned Property Act-1972 14. The Destruction Of Records Act—1917 15. The Places Of Public Amusement Act—1933 16. The Essential Commodities Ordinance--1981 17. The Contract Act-1872 18. The Specific Relief Act- 1877 19. The Power Of Attorney’s Act- 1882 20. The General Clauses Act-1897 21. The Civil Procedure Code-1908 22. Local Govt. Taxation Rule-1959 23. The Income Tax Act-1984 24. The Value Added Tax Act-1991 25. The Companies Act- 1994 26. The Factories Act--1965 27. The Securities And Exchange Ordinance—1969 28. The Securities And Exchange Commission Act—1993 29. The Bangladesh Standardization & Testing Institution Ordinance—1985 30. The Societies Registration Act 1860 , Act 21 of 1860 31. The Penal Code 1860, Act 45 of 1860 32. The Societies Registration Act -1961 33. The Hindu Widow’s Re Marriage Act 1856 , Act 15 of 1856 34. The Marriage & Divorces (Registration) Act-1974 35. The Christian Marriage Act—1872 36. Special Marriage Act—1872 37. The Patent And Design Act-1911 38. The Emigration Ordinance-1982 39. The Wage Earners’ Welfare Fund Rules-2002 40. The Trade Marks Act-1940 41. The Copyright Act—2000 42. The Printing Press (Declaration And Registration) Act--1973 43. The Cooperative Registration Act-1984 44. The Trade Union’s Registration Act45. Birth & Death Registration Act- 2004 46. The Motor Vehicle Registration Act- 1988 47. The Inland Shipping Ordinance—1976 48. The Bangladesh Merchant Shipping Ordinance—1983 49. The Marine Fishing Zone Ordinance-1983 50. The Trust Act--1882 51. The Bangladesh Wakf Ordinance—1962 52. The Succession Act --1925 53. The Districts Act—1836, Act 21 of 1836 54. The Judicial Officer; s Protection Act , 1850, Act 18 of 1850 55. The Public Accountants’ Default Act 1850, Act 12 of 1850

With all these acts and allied laws the following services are covered IPRS or Registration of Land & Real Estate, Mortgage, Lease, Searches, Copies of Registered Deeds, Documents, Maps, Boundaries, Audit, Monitoring, Revenue, Taxes, Valuation, Supply, Finance, Law & Rules & Opinion Drafting, Stamp Duty, Certificates, Licenses & Renewal, ROR/Mutation, Dispute & Complain, Plan, Zoning, Cooperative, Societies, Joint Stock, Securities, Stocks, Shares, Debentures & IPOs, Companies, SMEs, Micro Enterprises, Foundations, NGOs, Business, Industry, Shipping & Marine, Citizenship, Passport, Professions & Occupation (Teachers, engineers, doctors, advocates, contractors, C& F agents, enlisted labors, drivers and other), Marriage, Divorce, Trade License, Varieties, Patent, Birth, Death, Education, Research, Training , ICT ., Archive, LIS, Public Information ,HR, GIS, Software, Trade Unions, Vehicles, Recruiting Agencies, Income Tax, VAT, Registration Fees, Evaluation, Assessment, Management of Registry, Preservation of Record , Trust, Appointment, Promotion, Discipline , Evidence,

Identity, Validity, Publications (Press, media, news papers, books, magazines, journals etc.), Copyright, Transparency & Reliability.

2.17 .Various Types of Registration Property Registration Societies around the world continue to march into a future that is dogged by changes and pressures that reflect the complexity of challenges on economic, social, political and environmental fronts. The current global drivers of environmental crises, rapid urbanization, radical economic reforms and the information technology revolution, add to the kaleidoscope of forces that both assist and obstruct the process of understanding and overcoming the challenge of sustainable development.

The Bathurst Declaration has confirmed the powerful link between appropriate land administration and sustainable development.

In doing so, it has further confirmed the gradual evolution of land administration from its cadastral, market focus to an additional facilitative role for multi-purpose spatial information infrastructures that better address the complex demands for sustainable decision-making over development of land and related resources. In simple terms a new land administration paradigm is required if sustainable development is rise above mere rhetoric.

The momentum of the thinking and commitment of the Bathurst Workshop’s experts will lead to lasting progress only if governments, civil societies and a spectrum of professions work together to capitalize on and maintain the momentum from the Declaration with creative thinking and systematic action.

Property Registration evolves the central and vital part of the entire system which ensures legal base of ownership with human and judicial support toward making transparent society .

At the same time it contributes a significant revenue share to the public finance.

A leading international property consultant , H.D. Soto puts his comment on the issue as “Modern market economies generate growth because widespread formal property rights, registered in a system governed by legal rules, afford indisputable proof of ownership and protection from uncertainty and fraud so permitting massive low cost exchange, fostering specialization and greater productivity.

It is law that defines the relationship of rights to people. Civilized living in market economies is not simply due to greater prosperity but to the order that formalized property rights bring.� (Hernando de Soto 1993).

"Sustainable development is just rhetoric without appropriate land administration systems". The changing humankind-land relationship and current global and local drivers such as sustainable development, urbanization, globalization, economic reform and the information revolution, demand land administration responses. Of the global drivers, sustainable development may be identified as having overall significance because of its dynamic economic-political, social, and environmental dimensions. At the heart of the challenging opportunity-cost decisions for sustainable development is the pressing need for land administration systems to evolve speedily and appropriately to support the sustainable development imperative (The Evolving Role of Land Administration in Support of Sustainable Development--A review of the United Nations - International Federation of Surveyors Bathurst Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable Development, Don Grant, Surveyor- General of New South Wales, Professorial Associate, Department of Geomatics , The University of Melbourne, Bathurst, NSW).

Proper land registration is crucial for security of tenure and

property rights, effective housing policies and the promotion of market-oriented reforms in economies in transition, as well as in the context of European integration. The activity is aimed at providing assistance to countries in transition in reforming cadastre and land registration systems and sharing information and experience of modernizing land administration systems in the developed market economies through education and training, research and development, exchange of experience, transfer of technology, and standardization.

The most relevant topics are defined as follow: Land Information System (LIS)-- a system for acquiring, processing, storing and distributing information about land, Landlord – A land lord may be an individual, a local authority, a trustee, a personal representative, or a corporation (such as a company).

Land Management--the activities associated with the management of land as a resource from both an environmental and an economic perspective.

Khatian or Land Parcel--an area of land under homogeneous property rights and unique ownership.

Land Reform-- the various processes involved in altering the pattern of land tenure and land use of a specified area.

Land Register--a public register used to record the existence of deeds or title documents.

Land Tenure --the mode of holding rights in land.

Land Title--the evidence of a person's rights to land.

Land Transfer-- the transfer of rights in land.

Land Use--the manner in which land is used, including the nature of the vegetation upon its surface.

Land Value-- the worth of a property, determined in a variety of ways which give rise to different estimates of the value.

Land Registration -- The system of registering, at local branch offices under IGR, and the process of recording rights in land either in the form of registration of deeds or else through the registration of title to land certain legal estates or interests in land.

Under the Land Registration Act in 1865 compulsory registration was to be introduced. Registration has now been extended to the whole of Bangladesh except Hill Tract Region, and , almost cent percent of all land property in the country is now registered land.

The Land Registration Act 1908 has been superseded by the Land Registration Act 2004 with effect from 1st July 2005. There is no obligation on existing owners to register, but most transactions in land, including sale, gift, legal mortgage, etc., now trigger registration by the new or existing owner. If he fails to do so he does not acquire the legal estate and therefore runs the risk that the vendor or landlord may sell to someone else who can acquire a better title by registration.

In the United Kingdom and many other countries in Europe, upon registration of a title the Land Registry allocates a title number. The owner of a registered estate is known as a registered proprietor. The entry on the register will consist of three parts, namely:

The Property Register -- This describes the land and any additional rights incidental to it, such as rights of way over adjoining land. The filed plan shows the location of the land, usually with a general indication of the position of the boundaries. Registration of precise boundaries is possible under a special procedure involving notice to adjoining owners and hearing their objections.

The Proprietorship Register -- This names the registered proprietor(s) of the land and notes any restriction on their powers

to dispose of it (for example, restrictions, inhibitions, cautions, etc. The register also states the nature of the title, which maybe absolute, qualified, possessory, or good leasehold. The charges register. This details interests adverse to the proprietor, such as mortgages, restrictive covenants, or easements to which the land is subject.

When a prospective purchaser or mortgage requires to know the exact state of the register, the Land Registry will issue "official copies or a certificate of "official search on application. A registered proprietor's title is guaranteed by the state subject to overriding interests, which are not registrable in the charges register. The extent of the guarantee depends on the nature of the title. The register can be altered or rectified by the court in certain circumstances to correct a mistake; compensation is .generally paid by the government to a party who suffers loss as a result.

2.18. Major Issues in Land Registration Modernizing Deeds based systems deals with IPRS or Registration of Land & Real Estate, Mortgage, Lease, Searches, Copies of Registered Deeds, Documents, Maps, Boundaries, Service, Audit, Monitoring Revenue, Taxes, Valuation, Supply, Finance, Law & Rules & Opinion Drafting, Stamp Duty, Certificates (NEC), Licenses & Renewal, ROR/Mutation, Dispute & Complain, Plan, Zoning, Conservation and protection, Geo-databases, Geocoding, Archive, LIS, Public Sector Information (PSI), GIS, Software, Income Tax, VAT, Registration Fees, Evaluation, Assessment, Management of Registry, Preservation of Records.

2.19 . Citizenship Registration The Government may, upon an application made to it in this behalf, register as a citizen of Bangladesh any person who, or whose either parent, or whose grandparent of either parent, was born in any place of undivided India and who is ordinarily resident in Bangladesh and has been so resident at least for five years immediately before making an application for registration and has obtained a certificate of domicile. Provided that the Government may, for good reason being shown, exempt any person seeking registration of Bangladesh citizenship from obtaining a certificate of domicile.

(2) The Government may grant citizenship of Bangladesh to any person who is a citizen of any state of Europe or North America or of any other state which the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify in this behalf. ( proposed Bill of Bangladesh Citizenship Act, 2005, section 7--13. Law Commission , Ministry of Law & Justice, GOB, 2005 p 6—7b).

2.20. Naturalization Register The Government may, upon an application made to it in the prescribed manner by any person of full age and capacity who has been granted a certificate of naturalization under the Naturalization Act, 1926, register that person as a citizen of Bangladesh by naturalization. Provided that the Government may register any person as a citizen of Bangladesh by exempting him from the condition of his obtaining the certificate of naturalization as aforesaid.

Provided further that, if in the opinion of the Government the applicant is a person who has rendered distinguished service to the cause of science,

philosophy, art, literature, world peace or human progress generally, it may waive the pre-condition of his obtaining a certificate of naturalization in registering that person as a citizen of Bangladesh. There shall be kept and maintained in the prescribed form, a register of persons who are granted citizenship by registration and naturalization (ibid).

2.21. Certificate of Registration The Government shall issue, in the prescribed form, a certificate of registration to every person who is registered as a citizen of in Bangladesh under section 7 or 8. If any territory becomes a part of Bangladesh, the Government may, by order notified in the official gazette, specify the persons who shall be citizens of Bangladesh by reason of their connection with that territory, and those persons shall be citizens of Bangladesh as from the date to be specified in the order.

Where a person with respect to whose citizenship a doubt exists, whether on a question of law or of fact, makes an application in that behalf to the Government, the Government may grant him a certificate that on and from the date specified in the certificate he is a citizen of Bangladesh; and a certificate so granted under this section shall, unless it is proved to have been obtained by fraud, false representation or concealment of any material fact, be conclusive evidence of the fact that that person was a citizen of Bangladesh on and from the date mentioned in the certificate.

2.22. Companies Registration (1) For the purposes of the registration of Companies under this Act, there shall be central office and original office at such places as the Government think , fit and company shall be registered except at an office within the territorial jurisdiction in which by the memorandum, the registered office of the company is declared to be established.

(2) The Government may appoint such Registrar, Additional Registrar, and Assistant Registrar as it thinks necessary for the registration of companies under this Act and may make regulation rule with respect of their duties.

(3) The Salaries of the persons appointed under this section shall be fixed by the Government.

(4) the Government may direct as seal or seals to be prepared for the authentication of documents required for or connected with the registration companies.

(5) any person may inspect the documents kept by the Registrar on payment of such fees as may be specified by the Government not exceeding the fees specified in Schedule III for each inspection; and any person may require of any company or a copy or extract of any other document or any part of other document, to be certified by the Registrar on payment for the certificate certified copy or extract of such fees as the Government may specify not exceeding the fee specified in the said Schedule.

(6) Whenever any act is by this Act directed to be done to or by the Registrar it shall until the Government otherwise direct be done to or by the case of the central office the existing Registrar or in his absence OT or by such person as the Government may for the time being authoress and in the Joint Registrar or Deputy Registrar or Assistant

Registrar as is appointed as the Chief Officer of that office.

Fees (1) There shall be paid to the Registrar in respect of the several matters mentioned in Schedule II the several fees therein specified, or such smaller fees as the Government may direct.

(2) All fees paid to Registrar in pursuance of this Act shall be accounted for the Government.

2.23. Enforcement by the Registrar (1) If a company, having made default in complying with any provision of this Act, which requires it to file with, deliver or send to the Registrar any return account or other document, or to give notice to him of any matter fails to make good the default within fourteen days after the service of a notice on the company requiring it to dos so, the Court may on an application made to the Court by member or creditor of the company or by Registrar, make an order directing the company and officer thereof to make good the default within such time as may be specified in the order.

(2) Any such order may provide that all costs of and incidental to the application shall be borne by the company or the concerned officer in respect of any such default as aforesaid.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be taken to p[prejudice the operation of any then enactment imposing penalties on a company or its officers in respect of any such default as aforesaid.

2.24. Filing or Registration of Documents Any documents or return by this Act required or authorized to be file or registered or any fact by this Act required or authorized to be registered with the Register on payment of fees specified therefore in Schedule II any without prejudice to any other liabilities be filed or registered after the time if any pacifier in this Act for its filing or registration on payment of late fee specified in the said Schedule II.

2.25. Companies Capable of Being Registered (1) With the exception and subject to the provisions mentioned and contained in this section, any company formed whether before or after the commencement of this Act in pursuance of any Act of Parliament other than this Act or being otherwise duly constituted according to law and consisting of seven or more members, s many at time register under this Act as an unlimited company or as a company by shares or as a company limited by guarantee; and the registration not be invalid by reason that it has taken place with a view to the company being wound up Provided that – (a) a company having the liability of its members limited by Act of Parliament and not being a joint-stock company as injection 355, defined, shall not register in pursuance of this section; (b) a company having the liability of its members limited by Act of Parliament shall not register in pursuance of this section as an unlimited company not register on pursuance of this section as a company limited by guarantee;

(c) a company that is not a joint-stock company as in section 355 defined shall not register in pursuance of this section as a company limited by shares; (d)) a company shall not register in pursuance of this section without the assent of a majority of such of its members as are present in person or by proxy, on cases where proxies are allowed by the articles at a general meeting summoned for the purpose; (e) where a company not having the liability of its members limited by Act of Parliament is about to register as a limited company, the molarity required to assent as mentioned it clause (d) shall consist of not less than three-fourths of the members present in person or by proxy at the meeting; (f) where a company is about to register as a company limited by guarantee, the assent being so registered shall a accompanied by a resolution declaring that each member undertake to contribute to the assets of he company in the event of its being wound up while he is member, or within one year afterwards, for payment of the debts and liability of the company contracted of winding up and for the adjustment of the right of the contributors among themselves such amount as may be required not exceeding a specified amount.

(2) In computing any majority under this section, when a poll is demanded regard shall be had to the member of votes to which each member is entities according to the articles.

2.26. Definition of Joint Stock Company (1) For the purposed of this part, so far as it relates to registration or companies limited by shares, a joint-stock company means-(a) a company having a permanent paid up or nominal share capital of fixed amount divided into shares, also fixed amount, or held of and transferable as stock or divided and held partly in one way and partly in the other; and (b) formed on the principle or having only for its members as the holders of those shares or that stock and for no other person.

(2) Such a company, when registered with limited liability under this Act, shall be deemed to a company limited by shares.

2.27. Requirements for Registration of Joint Stock Companies Before the registration in pursuance of this part of joint stock company, there shall be delivered to the Registrar the following documents that is to say-(a) a list showing the names address occupation of all person who on a day named in the list not being more than six clear days before the day of registration were members of the company with the addition of the shares or stock held by them ; (b) a copy of deed of settlement contract of copartner or other instrument constituent or regulation the company; and (c) if the company is intended to be registered as a limited company, a statement specifying the following particulars, that is to say-(i) the nominal share capital of the company and the

number of shares into which its divided or the amount of stock of which it consists; (ii) the number of shares taken and the amount paid on each share; (iii) the name of the company with the addition of the word "Limited''" as the last OED thereof; and (iv) in the case of a company intended to be registered as a company limited by guarantee, the resolution declaring the amount of the guarantee.

2.28. Requirements for Registration of Companies other than Joint-Stock Companies Before the registration in pursuance of this Part of any company not being a joint-stock company, there shall be delivered to the Registrar-(a) a list showing the names, addressed and occasions of the directors of the company; and (b) a copy of deed of settlement, contract of copartner or other instrument constituent or regulating the company; and (c) in the case of a company intended to be registered as a company limited by guarantee, a copy of the resolution declaring the amount of the guarantee.

2.29. Authenticating statement of existing Companies The list of members and directors and any other particulars relating to the company required to be delivered to the Registrar shall be duly verified by the declaration of any two or more directors or other principal officers of the company.

2.30. Registrar may require evidence as to nature of company The registrar may require such evidence as he thinks necessary for the purpose of satisfying himself whether any company proposing to be registered is or is not a joint stock company as defined in section 355.

2.31. Registration of Banking Company with Limited Liability Notice to be given to customer (1) Where a banking company, which was in existence on the commencement of this Act, proposes to register as a limited company, it shall at least thirty days before so registering give notice of its intention so to register OT every person who has a banking account with the company be delivery of the notice to him by posting at or his last know address.

(2) If the company omits to give the notice required by this section, then as between the company and the person for the time being interested in the account in respect of which the notice ought to have been given and so far as respect the account down to the time at which notice is given but not further or otherwise the certificate of registration with limited liability shall have not operation.

2.32 . Exemption of Fees : No fees shall be charged in respect of the registration in pursuance of this part of a company if it is not registered as a limited company, or if before its registration as a limited company the liability of the shareholders was limited by some Act of Parliament.

2.33 Addition of "Limited" to Name : When a company registration in pursuance of this part with limited liability the word "Limited shall form and be registered as part of its name.

2.34. Certificate of registration of existing companies: On compliance with the requirements of this Part with respect to registration and on payment of such fees, if any as are payable under Schedule II, the Registrar hall certificate under his land that the company applying for registration incorporated as a company under this Act and in the he a e of a limited company that it is limited, and thereupon the company shall be incorporated and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal.

2.35. Vesting of property on registration: All property movable and immovable, including all interest and rights into and out of property, mobile and immovable and including obligations and actionable claims as may belong to or be vested in a company at the date of its registration the company as incorporated under this Act for all the estate and interest of the company therein.

2.36. Saving of existing liabilities: registration of a company in pursuance of this Part shall not affect the rights or liabilities of the company in whatever manner such right on liability accrued or arose.

2.37. Continuation of Suits: All suits and other legal proceedings which at the time of the registration of a company, in pursuance of this part are pending by or against the company or an officer or member thereof may be continued in the same manner as if the registration had not taken place nevertheless execution shall not issue against the effects of any individual member of the company on any decree or order obtained in any such suit or proceeding but in the event of the property and effects of the company being insufficient to satisfy the decree or order, and order may be obtained for winding up the company.

2.38. Effect of Registration under this Act When a company is registered in pursuance of this Part(a) all provision continued in any Act of Parliament deed of settlement contract of copartner or other instrument constituting or regulating the company or, in the case of a company registered as a company limited by guarantee, the resolution declaring the amount of the guarantee, shall be deemed to be conditions and regulations of the company in the same manner and with the same incidence; as it— (i) so much thereof as would if the comma had been formed under this Act, have been required to be inserted in the memorandum, were consigned in a registered memorandum; and (ii) the residue there of were continued in a registered article; (b) all the provisions of this Act shall apply to the company and the members, contributors and creditors there of in the he same manner in all respects as of it had been formed under this Act subject as follows , that is to say-(i) the regulation in Schedule I shall not apply, unless

adopted by the special resolution: (ii) the provisions of this Act relating to the numbering of shares shall not apply to any joint stock company whose shares are not numbered: (iii) subject to the Provisions of this section the company shall not have power to alter any provision contained in any Act of Parliament relating to the company; (iv) in the invent of the company being wound up every person shall e a contributory, in respect of the debts and liability of the company contract before regretting who is liable to pay or contiguity to the payment of any such debt or liability or to pay or contiguity to the payment of any sum or the adjustment of the rights of the number among themselves in respect of any such debt or liability; or to pay or themselves in to the pay payment of the coat and expenses of winding upon the company so far as relates to such debts or liability as aforesaid of the company, in the course of the winding up all sum-due form hi in respect of any such liability as aforesaid; and in the event of the death or insolvency of the contributor; the provisions of this Act with respect of the legal representative and heirs of decreased contributors, , and with reference to the assignees of insolvent contradictories, shall apply; (c) the provisions of this Act with respect to-(i) the registration of an unlimited company as limited; (ii) the powers of an unlimited company on registration as a limited company to increase the nominal amount of its shares capital[ital and to provide that a portion of this share capital and to provided that a prosing of OT shares capital shall not be capable of being called up except in the event of winding up; (iii) the power of a limited company to determine that a prosing of its share capital shall not be capable of being called up except in the event of winding up; shall apply with not standing any provisions contained in any Act or Parliament , deed of settlement, contract of copartner or other instrument constitution or regulating the company, (d) nothing in this section shall authoress the company to alter any such provisions continued in any Act or Parliament, deed of settlement contract of copartner or other instrument constitution or regulating the company, as would., if the company had originally been formed under this Act have been required to be continued in the memorandum and are not autopsied to be altered by this Act. (e) nothing in this Act shall derogate from any lawful power of altering its continuation or regulating the company which may by virtue of any Act of Parliament, deed of settlement contract of copartner or other instrument constituting or regulating the company, be bested in the company.

2.39. Foreign Combines Registration Application of sections 376 to 387 to foreign companies Sections 379 to 387 shall apply to all foreign Combines, that is to say, campiness falling under the following two classes, namely: (a) Combines incorporated outside Bangladesh which, after

commencement of this Act establish a place of business within Bangladesh; and (b) Combines incorporate outside Bangladesh which has before the commencement of this Act, established a place of business within Bangladesh and continued to have an established place of business with Bangladesh, at the commencement of this Act.

2.40 . Trade Union and CBA Registration The Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 (Ordinance No. 23 of 1969) (As amended up to 1996) provides for the freedom of association (s. 3) and governs matters regarding registration of trade unions, collective bargaining, and unfair labor practices on the part of employers and employees.

Trade unions shall enjoy immunity from civil proceedings in relation to actions carried out in an industrial dispute. S. 32 allows strikes or lockouts; if such an action lasts for more than 30 days, the government may prohibit the action. Also provides for a Labor Court and arbitration and conciliation procedures.( Labor and Industrial Laws of Bangladesh, 2000-04, Nirmalendu Dhar with the assistance of Nesar Ahmed, Remisi Publishers, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. 355-431).

Section 3: Trade unions and freedom of association.- Subject to the provisions contained in this Ordinance(a) workers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the Rules of the organization concerned, to join associations of their own choosing without previous authorization; (b) employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and subject only to the Rules of the organization concerned, to join associations of their own choosing without previous authorization; (c) trade unions and employers' associations shall have the right to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organize their administration and activities and to formulate their programs; (d) workers' and employers' organizations shall have the right to establish and join federations and confederations and any such organization, federation or confederation shall have the right to affiliate with international organizations and confederations of workers' and employers' organizations.

4. Workers and employers and their respective organizations, in exercising the rights provided for in section 3, like other persons or organized collectivities, shall respect the law of the land.

5. Application for registration: Any trade union may, under the signature of its chairman and the secretary, apply for registration of the trade union under this Ordinance.

6. Requirements for application.- Every application for registration of trade union shall be made to the Registrar and shall be accompanied by(a) A statement showing(i) the name of the trade union and the address of its head office; (ii) date of formation of the union; (iii) the titles, names, ages, addresses and

occupations of the officers of the trade union; (iv) statement of total paid membership; (v) in case of federation of trade unions, the names, addresses and registration number of member unions; (vi) in case of a trade union of transport vehicles workmen, total number of transport vehicles, the names and addresses of their owners, the route permit number of the vehicles, and the number of workers in such vehicles; (b) Three copies of the constitution of the trade union together with a copy of the resolution by the members of the trade union adopting such constitution bearing the signature of the chairman of the meeting; (c) A copy of the resolution by the members of the trade union authorizing its chairman and the secretary to apply for its registration; and (d) In case of a federation of trade unions, a copy of the resolution from each of the constituent unions agreeing to become a member of the federation.

Section -7 : Requirements of Registration.

A trade union shall not be entitled to registration under this Ordinance unless the constitution thereof provides for the following matters, namely:-

(a) the name and address of the trade union; (b) the objects for which the trade union has been formed; (c) the manner in which a worker may become a member of the trade union specifying therein that no worker shall be enrolled as its member unless he applies in the form set out in the constitution declaring that he is not a member of any other trade union; (cc) the sources of the fund of the trade union and the purposes for which such fund shall be applicable; (d) Not in existence. (e) the conditions under which a member shall be entitled to any benefit assured by the constitution of the trade union and under which any fine or forfeiture may be imposed on him; (f) the maintenance of a list of the members of the trade union and of adequate facilities for the inspection thereof by the officers and members of the trade union; (g) the manner in which the constitution shall be amended varied or rescinded; (h) the safe custody of the funds of trade union, its annual audit, the manner of audit and adequate facilities for inspection of the account books by the officers and members of trade union; (i) the manner in which the trade union may be dissolved; (j) the manner of election of officers by the general

body of the trade union and the term, not exceeding two years, for which an officer may hold office upon his election or reelection; (k) the procedure for expressing want of confidence in any officer of me trade union; and (l) the meetings of the executive and of the general body of the trade union, so that the executive shall meet at least once in every three months and the general body at least once every year.

A trade union of workers shall not be entitled to registration under this Ordinance unless it has a minimum membership of thirty per cent of the total number of workers employed in the establishment or group of establishments in which it is formed: Provided that more than one establishments under the same employer, which are allied to and connected with one another for the purpose of carrying on the same industry irrespective of their place of situation, shall be deemed to be one establishment for the purpose of this sub-section: Provided further that where any doubt or dispute arises as to whether any two or more establishments are under the same employer or whether they are allied to or connected with one another for the purpose of carrying on the same industry, the decision of the Registrar shall be final.

Disqualifications for being an officer or a member of a trade union (Section—7A) (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the constitution or the rules of a trade union, a person shall not be entitled(a) to be, or to be elected as, an officer of a trade union if he has been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude or an offence under clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 16 or section 61; and (b) to be a member or officer of a trade union formed in any establishment or group of establishments if he is not or was never employed or engaged in that establishment or group of establishments, or if he was dismissed from any such establishment.

(2) Nothing in clause (b) shall apply to any federation of trade unions.7-B. Registered trade union to maintain register, etc.- Every registered trade union shall maintain in such form as may be prescribed(a) a register of members showing particulars of subscriptions paid by each member; (b) an accounts book showing receipts and expenditure; and (c) a minute book for recording the proceedings of meetings;

Section 8: Registration (1) The registrar, on being satisfied that the trade union

has complied with all the requirements of this Ordinance, shall register the trade union in a prescribed register and issue a registration certificate in the prescribed form within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of the application. In case the application is found by the Registrar to be deficient in a material respect or respects he shall communicate in writing his objection to the trade union within a period of 15 days from the receipt of the application and the trade union shall reply thereto within a period of fifteen days from the receipt of the objections.

(2) When the objections raised by the Registrar have been satisfactorily met, the Registrar shall register the trade union as provided in sub-section (1).

In case the objections are not satisfactorily met, the Registrar may reject the application.

(3) In case the application has been rejected or the Registrar has, after settlement of the objections, delayed disposal of the application beyond the period of sixty days provided in sub-section (1), the trade union may appeal to the Labor Court who, for reasons to be stated in their judgement , may pass an order directing the Registrar to register the trade union and to issue a certificate of registration or may dismiss the appeal.

Section 9 : Certificate of Registration The Registrar, on registering a trade union under section 8, shall issue a certificate of registration in the prescribed form which shall be conclusive evidence that the trade union has been duly registered under this Ordinance.

Section 10: Cancellation of Registration (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, the registration of a trade union may be cancelled by the Registrar if the trade union has(a) applied for such cancellation or ceased to exist; (b) obtained registration by fraud or by misrepresentation of facts; (c) contravened any of the provisions of its constitution. (d) committed any unfair labor practice; (e) made in its constitution any provision which is inconsistent with this Ordinance or the rules; (f) a membership which has fallen short of 30% of the workers of the establishment or group of establishments for which it was formed; (g) failed to submit its annual report to the Registrar as required under this Ordinance; (h) elected as its officer a person who is disqualified under section 7- A from being elected as, or from being, such officer; or (i) contravened any of the provisions of this Ordinance or the rules.

(2) Where the Registrar is of opinion that the registration of a trade union should be cancelled, he shall submit an application to the Labor Court praying for permission to cancel such registration.

(3) The Registrar shall cancel the registration of a trade union within seven days from the date of receipt of permission from the Labor Court

(4) The registration of a trade union shall not be cancelled on the ground mentioned in clause (d) of sub-section (1) if the unfair labor practice is not committed within three months prior to the date of submission of the application to the Labor Court.

Appeal (1) A trade union aggrieved by the order of cancellation of its registration under section 10 may, within sixty days from the date of the order appeal to the Labor Appellate Tribunal which may uphold or reject the order.

No Trade union to function without registration (1) No trade union which is unregistered or whose registration has been cancelled shall function as a trade union.

(2) No person shall collect any subscription for any fund of trade union mentioned in sub-section (1).

11-B. Restriction on dual membership.- No worker shall be entitled to enroll himself as, or to continue to be, member of more than one trade union at the same time.

Section 12 : Registrar of Trade Unions For the purpose of this Ordinance, the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint as many persons as it considers necessary to be Registrars of trade unions and where it appoints more than one Registrar, shall specify in the notification the area within which each one of them shall exercise and perform the powers and function under this Ordinance.

Section 13 : Powers and functions of the Registrar The following shall be the powers and functions of the Registrar:(a) the registration of trade unions under this Ordinance and the maintenance of a register for this purpose; (b) to lodge complaints with the Labor Courts for action against trade unions for any alleged offence or any unfair labor practice or violation of any provisions of this Ordinance; (c) the determination of the question as to which one of the trade unions in an establishment or an industry is entitled to be certified as the collective bargaining agent in relation to that establishment or industry; and (d) such other powers and functions as may be prescribed.

Section 14 : Incorporation of Registered Trade Union (1) Every registered trade union shall be a body corporate by the name under which it is registered, shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and the power to contract and to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable and shall, by the said name, sue or be sued.

(2) The Societies Registration Act, 1860 (XXI of 1860), the Cooperative Societies Act, 1940 (Ben. Act XXI of 1940) and the Companies Act, 1913 (VII of 1913), shall not apply to any registered trade union and the registration of any trade union under any of these Acts shall be void.

Section 61A : Penalty for Activities of Unregistered Trade Unions Whoever takes part in, or instigates or incites others to take part in the activities of an unregistered trade union or of a trade union whose registration has been cancelled or collects subscription except enrolment fee, for the fund of any such trade union, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred Taka or with both.

Section 65-A : Registrar, to be Public Servants A Registrar, a Conciliator, the Chairman of a Labor Court and the member of the Tribunal shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Penal Code, 1860 (Act XLV of 1860)

2.41. Registration of Cooperatives This ordinance, repealing the Society Act of 1940, regulates the settlement and management of cooperatives. It sets forth the procedure and criteria for registration. The management of cooperative societies shall vest in a managing committee whose members are elected by the General Assembly. Restricts the possibility for cooperatives to receive deposits and loans from persons who are not members of cooperatives. Provides for the privileges of cooperatives societies as for example the possibility to change their form and liability.

Other provisions cover the property and funds of cooperative societies, distribution of profits, privileges, liabilities and obligations of members of cooperative societies, audit, inspection and inquiry, settlement of disputes, winding up and dissolution of cooperative societies.

An entire chapter deals with special provisions for cooperative land mortgage banks, central societies and national societies.

Provisions are made for the enforcement of obligations and the recovery of sums due. Regulates jurisdiction and appeal, offences, penalties and procedure.

2.42. Enactments for Registration in Bangladesh When the British rule, in its inception, was gathering itself into a force the country had been passing through a critical phase.

There had been widespread social and political unrest. The people grabbed the lands for others, forged and fabricated documents and produced them, claiming immunity from payment of land revenue. Cut off from their ancient mooring, the people feel into vices of corruption, forgery and treachery. As such it became extremely difficult to settle the disputes of the rival parties.

With a view to preventing fraud and streamlining the collection of revenue, the British, with the growth of their interests in the country, felt the used of introducing the system of registration.

The law of registration was, therefore, introduction not abruptly but by a gradual process is to attune the people to the new system. Provincial laws were enacted from time to time providing for the establishment of registry officers.

The registration of documents was made optional, though it was provided that certain documents, if registered, would take effect against unregistered documents. Of these provincial laws, the first was the Bengal Statute of 1781 and the most important were Bengal Regulation 36 of 1793, Bombay Regulation 4 of 1802 and Madras Regulation 17 of 1802. There Regulations were drafted

on the model of the Yorkshire Regulation Act of the reign of Queen Anne . As regards registration of documents in other provinces, Circulars were issued making suitable provision in that behalf.

As the people began to appreciate its merits, the provincial laws were conveniently replaced by the General laws which were promulgated and made applicable to the whole of British India.

Of the General laws the most important were Act 16 to of 1864.

Act 1865, Act 20 of 1866, Act 8 of 1871, Act 3 of 1877 and Act 161908. By Act 16 of 1864 which came into force on 1st January 1965, the system of compulsory registration was, for the first time, introduced in British India dividing all documents into two classes viz- Cements which were compulsorily remittable, Cements, the registration of which was optional.

It will thus appear the above facts that the Registration Law is divisible into two periods: 1) Era of Provincial laws and optional registration from 1793 to 1864.

2) Era of General laws extending to the whole of British India and compulsory registration from 1865 to 1947.

The subsequent historical development of the law of Registration from 1947 onwards is very short. With the passing of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, British India was partitioned and Pakistan became independent in 1947 and thereafter it was constituted into a sovereign state. After the independence in 1947, the Registration Law of British India continued to be the law of Pakistan in terms of section 18(3) of the Independence Act, 1947, with necessary adaptations as made under the Pakistan (Adaptation of Existing Bangladesh Laws) Order, 1947, and the (Pakistan) Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinances Order, 1949. After adaptation, further amendments were made in the Registration Act. 1908 from time to time and latest amendments were made therein by Pakistan Ordinance XLV of 1962. After liberation the act continued in force as per provision or article 149 of the constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

The statute of 1781 passed on the 9th January 1991was introduced the settlement of Fort William in Bengal. Its objects were to supply the want of a registry of houses, lands and states within that settlement and to prevent fraud.

Mr. Edward Tiretta, after whom a well-known market in Calcutta is named, Mr. Edward Tiretta was the First Registrar of Lands, Houses, The Record Room and The Registrar of Calcutta. There are several Register-books containing the registration of deeds effected by Mr. Edward Tiretta and his successors who combined in themselves the triple functions of 1). Registrar of Memorials of Deeds , 2). Registrar of Mutations in the Ownership and 3). Surveyor of Lands, Houses And Estates .

By Regulation 36 of 1793 which came into force on 1st January 1796, an office for the registration of deeds was established at the Sadar Station of each Zilla in the cities of Patna, Dacca and Murshidabad. The superintendence of the office was committed to the Registrar of the court of Dewany Adalat who registered documents.

Regulation 36 of 1793 was passed for appointing a Kaziul-Kazaat or Head Kazi of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and the Kazis stationed in the several districts. Their respective duties were prescribed and they attested documents with their seal and signature.

Regulation 4 of 1824 provided for appointment of Deputy Registrars during the absence of the permanent incumbents owing to sickness or other causes. Regulation 7 of 1932 was passed empowering the Zilla or city judge who had been entrained with the duty of registration, to make over the said

duty to the Principal Sadar Ameen of the station.

Act 30 of 1938 provided for the establishment of Sub-Registrar any civil station other than Sadar stations and the appointment superintend such officer.

Act 11 of 1851 was passed providing for the custody of registers of deeds among the records of the Magistrates or Joint Magistrates in the lower Provinces of Bengal.

By Act 3 of 1859 Cantonment Joint Magistrates were constituted Registers of Deeds. The provision for sending an abstract of every registered document to the Registrar General appears in Act 16 of 1864. Act 20 of 1866 provided for the appointment by the local Government of Registrars and Sub-Registrars only. The provision for the appointment of Deputy Registrars does not appear in this Act. Act 8 of 1871 provided for the abolition of the office of the Registrar-General as an office of record and registry and limited the duties of that officer to inspection and general superintendence under the altered designation of Inspector General of Registration. Section 8 of this Act also provided for the appointment of Inspectors or Registration Office.

After Independence, this Act was adapted in Pakistan in 1949.

Further amendments have since been made therein form time to time and has been brought up to date (vide Pakistan (Adaptation of Existing Pakistan Laws) Order, 1947, Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinance 1949. The Registration (Amendment) Act 1950 (69 of 1950). The Registration (Amendment) Act 1957 (1 of 1958), Central laws (Statute Reform) Ordinance 1960 (21 of 1960), The Registration Act (Amendment) Ordinance 1961 (32 of 1961), Presidents Order, 1961 (1 of 1962). After liberation this Act continued in force as per provision of Article 149 of the constitution of the peoples Republic of Bangladesh.

2.43. Origin and Evolution of Property Rights Understanding the origins of property rights and their evolution over time is important to appreciate how property rights to land affect households’ behavior and can, in turn, be influenced by government policy. Historically, one reason property rights evolved was to respond to increased payoffs from investment in more intensive use of land resulting from population growth or opportunities arising from greater market integration and technical advances.

In the course of development everywhere, the need to sustain larger populations or to make use of economic opportunities associated with trade will require investments in land that cultivators will be more likely to make if land rights are secure. Appropriate institutional innovations to provide such rights can lead to a virtuous cycle of increasing population and successively greater investment in land, economic growth, and increased welfare.

At the same time, failure of the institutions administering land rights to respond to these demands can lead to land grabbing, conflict, and resource dissipation that, in extreme circumstances, can undermine societies’ productive and economic potential.

In addition to this evolutionary perspective, the imposition of property rights to land by outside forces or local overlords has affected the nature of such rights in many countries of the developing world. The goal of such intervention was to obtain surpluses from local smallholder populations or to force independent smallholders into wage labor by preventing them from acquiring independent land rights.

To do so, a variety of mechanisms, often supported by distortions in other markets, was used. Not surprisingly, such imposition of rights often disrupted the evolution of land rights as a response to population growth or has, by co-opting local institutions or changing how they functioned, implied vast changes in the way land was allocated and managed at the local level.

Given that the historical evolution of property rights is not only a response to purely economic forces, but for social cause also..

As a consequence, there is concern that in many countries economic growth may widen pre-existing inequalities and tensions rather than reduce them. Despite such shortcomings, socially sub optimal and economically inefficient property rights arrangements have often remained in place for long periods of time. In fact, far-reaching changes of land relations have generally been confined to major historic transitions.

2.44. Importance of Property Rights for Economic Growth Property rights affect economic growth in a number of ways.

First, secure property rights will increase the incentives of households and individuals to invest, and often will also provide them with better credit access, something that will not only help them make such investments, but will also provide an insurance substitute in the event of shocks.

Second, it has long been known that in un mechanized agriculture, the operational distribution of land affects output, implying that a highly unequal land distribution will reduce productivity. Even though the ability to make productive use of land will depend on policies in areas beyond land policy that may warrant separate attention, secure and well-defined land rights are key for households’ asset ownership, productive development, and factor market functioning.

If property rights are poorly defined or cannot be enforced at low cost, individuals and entrepreneurs will be compelled to spend valuable resources on defending their land, thereby diverting effort from other purposes such as investment. Secure land tenure also facilitates the transfer of land at low cost through rentals and sales, improving the allocation of land while at the same time supporting the development of financial markets.

Without secure rights, landowners are less willing to rent out their land, which may impede their ability and willingness to engage in nonagricultural employment or rural-urban migration.

Poorly designed land market interventions and the regulation of such markets by large and often corrupt bureaucracies continue to hamper small enterprise startups and non farm economic development in many parts of the world.

Such interventions not only limit access to land by the landless and poor in rural and urban areas of the developing world, but by discouraging renting out by landlords who are thus unable to make the most productive use of their land, they also reduce productivity and investment. High transaction costs in land markets either make it more difficult to provide credit or require costly development of collateral substitutes, both of which constrain development of the private sector. A recent study estimates that in India, such land market distortions reduce the annual rate of gross domestic product growth by about 1.3 percent.

2.45. Role of Secure Property Rights in Poverty Reduction

For most of the poor in developing countries, land is the primary means for generating a livelihood and a main vehicle for investing, accumulating wealth, and transferring it between generations. Land is also a key element of household wealth.

For example, in Uganda land constitutes between 50 and 60 percent of the asset endowment of the poorest households. Because land comprises a large share of the asset portfolio of the poor in many developing countries, giving secure property rights to land they already possess can greatly increase the net wealth of poor people. By allowing them to make productive use of their labor, land ownership makes them less reliant on wage labor, thereby reducing their vulnerability to shocks.

Given the key role of land as a determinant of access to economic opportunities, the way in which land rights are defined, households and entrepreneurs can obtain ownership or possession of it, and conflicts pertaining to it are resolved through formal or informal means will have far-reaching social and economic effects. The implications not only influence the structure of governance at the local level, but also affect (a) households’ ability to produce for their subsistence and to generate a marketable surplus, (b) their social and economic status and often their collective identity, (c) their incentive to invest and to use land in a sustainable manner, and (d) their ability to self-insure and/or to access financial markets. For this reason, researchers and development practitioners have long recognized that providing poor people with access to land and improving their ability to make effective use of the land they occupy is central to reducing poverty and empowering poor people and communities.

Control of land is particularly important for women, whose asset ownership has been shown to affect spending, for instance, on girls’ education. Yet traditionally, women have been disadvantaged in terms of land access. Ensuring that they are able to have secure rights to one of the household’s main assets will be critical in many respects.

This includes meeting the challenges arising in the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, where the absence of clear land rights can lead to costly conflict and hardship regarding possible loss of land by widows.

2.46 .Types of Deeds and Documents Legal practitioners need to draft hundreds of types of deeds and documents to fulfill diversified user needs. A sample is compiled herewith.

• Adoption of Male Child • Publicity Agreement with a Cinema for Advertisement by Slide or Film Production of a Picture • Adoption of Male Child • Loan Agreement • Adoption by a Hindu Widow• Agreement between a Solicitor and Articled Clerk • Adoption

by Unmarried Hindu Woman • Agreement between Master and Workman • Adoption of Son by Hindu Male without Wife’s Consent• Agreement between Master and Domestic Servant • Declaration by Guardian • Agreement between Parent and Resident Governess • Consent given by Wife to Adopt • Agreement between a School and a Teacher • Authority given to Wife to Adopt • Agreement between Firm of Solicitors and Managing Clerk • Deed by Adoptive Father and Natural Guardian • Agreement between Solicitor and a Company • Adoption from Guardian • Agreement between Publisher and Author • Adoption without Consent of Step-mother • Tenancy Agreement Residential House • Adoption of Female Child where getting Consent of Wife Impossible • Agreement for Carriage of Goods • Adoption of Male Child from Orphanage • Agreement for Transfer of a Flat by a Member of a Co-operative Housing Society to Another • Agreement for Cash Credit • Agreement for Sale of Apartment Apprenticeship Deed• Agreement between Producers and Distributors • Deed of Cancellation of Apprenticeship •Advertising Agreement • Award made under an Order of the Court • Agreement for Appointment of Sales Agent • Award by Arbitrator Appointed by Parties • Agreement between Manufacturer and Dealer • Award by Umpire • Agreement between Merchant and Travelling Agent • Application for Cancellation of Arbitration Agreement • Agreement between Businessman and Manager • Petition for Appointment of an Arbitrator • Agreement with Agent for Procuring Purchaser • Petition Praying for Interim Measures • Agreement between Principal and Monopoly Agent • Petition for Appointment of a Sole Arbitrator • Agreement between a Cinema Artiste and Producer • Petition for Substitution of Arbitrator upon Challenge • Petition for Substitution of Arbitrator upon Termination of Mandate • Petition Seeking for Interpretation of Award • Application for Setting Aside an Award • Application for Setting Aside an Award and Interim Relief • Application for Appointment of an Arbitrator • Application for Court Assistance in taking Evidence • Award made by Arbitrator Appointed by Court• Award by Arbitrator Appointed by Party • Application Seeking for Interim Measures • Notice for Hearing of Application * Deed of Assignment of Business Debts • Deed of Assignment of Bond Debt • Assignment of a Bond Debt • Assignment of a Bond Debt • Deed of Assignment of Bond Debt• Deed of Assignment of Business Debts • Assignment of Cinematograph Rights in a Play or Novel • Apology for Infringement of Copyright • Assignment of Copyright of Book Reserving Royalty• Deed of Assignment of Growing Crops • Assignment of Copyright and Trade Name in a Newspaper by a Limited Company to the Trustee of an Intended Association • Assignment of Patent • Assignment of Policy of Life Insurance by Nomination • Deed of Assignment of Policy of Life Insurance by way of Gift with Reservation • Deed of Assignment of Policy of Life Assurance • Deed of Assignment of Shares in a Company • Assignment of a Registered Trade Mark • Deed of Assignment of Rent • Application for Anticipatory Bail before High Court • Application for Anticipatory Bail before Sessions Judge • Application for Anticipatory Bail • Application for Bail before High Court• Petition for Bail • Petition for Bail Sessions Judge • Bail Petition before a Magistrate during Police Enquiry• Bail Petition before a Magistrate in a Pending Case • Bail Petition • Simple Money Bond • Installment Money Bond • Money Bond with Surety • Administration Bond • Administration Bond of the Guardians and Wards • Security Bond on Grant of Succession Certificate • Security Bond from Receiver • Bond by Manager of Property of Mentally ill Person • Security Bond for Stay of Execution of Decree • Bond to a Firm with Surety for Securing the Faithful Service of an Employee • Guarantee, Deposit and Charge as Security for Advances to a Third Person • Bond to Preserve Trade Secret • Indemnity Bond in Case of Loss or Nonproduction of Title Deeds • Indemnity Bond• Indemnity Bond with a Surety in Favor of a Bank • Indemnity to a Company and its Directors on the Death of an Accountholder Replace Lost Share Certificate • Deed of Guarantee by a Bank on Behalf of a Company for the Performance of a Contract • Guarantee for the Performance of a Contract • General Form of Security Bond to be Executed by an Employee with Two Sureties • Indemnity Bond by Building Contractor • Indemnity Bond against Possible Claim of a Co-sharer believed to be Dead• Indemnity Bond in favor of Bank or Limited Company • Bottomry Bond • Agreement to Rescinda Contract • Deed of Cancellation • Deed of Cancellation of a Conveyance • Deed of Revocation of Trust • Deed of Cancellation • Memorandum for Businessmen’s Club • Memorandum of Association of a Club • Model Bye-laws of a Club Golf Catering Tennis Swimming Bath Accommodation Hacking—Bridle Path Constitution of a Rotary Club Societies • Memorandum of Association Rules and Regulations • Memorandum of Association Rules and Regulations • Application for Registration of a Trade Union • Model Constitution of a Trade Union • Memorandum of Association • Articles of Association • Agreement of Amalgamation of One Company with Another • Memorandum and Articles of Association of Industrial Company Pvt. Ltd. • Contract between a Proprietor of Business and Promoter of a Company • Agreement between a Company and its Employees • Debenture • Debenture Trust • Agreement between Company and a Broker Underwriting of issue of Shares and Debentures • Broker’s Consent Letter • Underwriter’s Consent • Letter of Acceptance • Underwriting Agreement for Shares • Underwriting Agreement for Debentures • Petition for Rectification of the Register of Charges and for other Reliefs • Application by the Depositor under section 58A(9) of the Companies Act • Petition for Framing of Scheme for Management • Application for Relief from Certain Liabilities Petition for Winding-up of a Company • Application for Relief from Certain Liabilities Agreement for Construction of Building • Direct Contract to Build a House • Agreement between Builder and Artisan • Agreement to Construct a Multi-storied Building • Applications for Deficiency of Service : Defective Washing Machine • Applications for Deficiency of Service : Defective Computer • Applications for Deficiency of Service : Malfunctioning Computer • Application for the Registration of a Cooperative Society with Limited/Unlimited Liability • Bye-laws of General (Multipurpose) Cooperative Society • Co-operative Housing Society • Construction Agreement between Promoter and Cooperative Housing Society • Construction Agreement between Builder and Cooperative Society • Form of Application for the Registration of a Cooperative Society with Limited Liability • Deed of Release • Sale of Debutter Property • Lease of Debutter Property • Lease of Debutter Property • Power-of-Attorney for Admitting Execution and Developer Registration of Document • Developer’s Agreement • Agreement between Landowner and Promoter • Developer’s Agreement with Tenant • Transfer of Apartment by Developer • Agreement for Sale of Flat by the Original Purchaser to Another • Agreement for Sale of Flat • Sale to a Co-operative Society • Sale to a Co-operative Society • Deed of Assignment of Ownership Flat • Notice of Purchase of Ownership Flat• Deed of Sale of Office Space • Deed of Sale n• Agreement to Sell (Involving Life-interest) • Disclaimer of Benami Property • Disclaimer by Trustee Appointed under a Will • Disclaimer by Trustee Appointed under a Deed of Trust • Appointment of Overseas Distributors with Exclusive Rights • Distributorship Agreement • Agreement of Bottling Beverages • Agreement for Distributorship • Petrol Station Agreement • Petition by Husband for a Dissolution of Marriage with Damages against Correspondent by Reason of Adultery • Petition of Wife for Decree of Nullity of Marriage • Petition by Wife for Judicial Separation on the Grounds of her Husband’s Adultery • Petition for Protection

Order • Petition for Alimony Pending the Suit • Petition for a Judicial Separation by Reason of Cruelty • Petition for Reversal of Decree of Separation • Petition of Divorce• Petition for Judicial Separation • Petition for Decree of Nullity of Marriage • Petition for Maintenance and Expenses of Proceedings • Form of Petition for Restitution of Conjugal Rights under section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act1955 • Petition for Divorce by Mutual Consent • Petition of Divorce by Mutual Consent Deed of Endowment for Beds in a Hospital • Deed of Exchange of Properties • Deed of Exchange of Properties where Money is paid to Equalize • Deed of Exchange of Properties by Separate Mutual Conveyances • Deed of Exchange of Properties Adjusting Boundary • Foreign Collaboration Agreement • Collaboration Agreement • Collaboration Agreement • Joint Venture Agreement Financial • Joint Venture with Foreign Company • Foreign Collaboration Agreement (Financial) • Technical Foreign Collaboration Agreement of Franchise—Gold and Jwellery • Deed of Gift of Property in Consideration of Natural Love • Deed of Gift of Property for Particular Purpose • Deed of Gift of Land in Trust to Charity • Memorandum of Gift of Movables • Gift of Business Goodwill • Guarantee for Payment of Debt • Guarantee to Pay for Goods Supplied • Continuing Guarantee to Pay for Goods Supplied • Bank Guarantee • Renewal of Bank Guarantee • Deed of Guarantee by a Bank on behalf of a Company for the Performance of a Contract • Counter Guarantee in favor of a Bank • Agreement of Guarantee • Government Guarantee • Bank Guarantee in favor of Government • Petition for Guardianship of • Petition for Permission to a Minor Sell Minor’s Property under the Guardians and Wards Act • Application for Permission under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act • Petition for Appointment of Guardian Hire-Purchase Agreement • Hire-Purchase of Printing Machinery • Hire-Purchase Agreement for Machinery for the Garden • Hire-Purchase Agreement for Transport Vehicles Petition by Debtor to be Adjudged an Insolvent • Petition by Creditor to Adjudge Debtor Insolvent • Petition for Discharge • Agreement for Composition with Creditors with Surety Application for Permission under section 33 of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 • Complaint under section 33A of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 • Application by an Inspector or Person Acting with the Permission of the Authority under the Minimum Wages Act • Individual Application • Group Application • Application by an Inspector or Person Permitted by the Authority or Authorized to Act • Application under Workmen’s Compensation Act for Compensation by Workmen • Form of Application by an Employee under section 20(2) of the Minimum Wages Act 1948 • Application under Workmen’s Compensation Act, for Order to Deposit Compensation • Application for Registration of a Trade Union • Sickness or Temporary Disablement Benefit Claim for Benefit • Accident Case Only • Sickness or Temporary Disablement Benefit Claim for Benefit • Claim for Permanent Disablement Benefit • Dependants ’ Benefit • Maternity Benefit Contract for Leases • Deed of Lease of Dwelling house • Tenancy Agreement for Letting Furnished House • Deed of SubLease • Deed of Lease • Deed of Lease of Land with Forfeiture Clause and Covenant for Renewal • Deed of Surrender of Lease • Deed Altering Conditions in a Lease • Tenancy Agreement of a Flat for a Fixed Period • Lease of Debutter Property • Deed Modifying Terms of Lease • Licence for use of a House Property to a Company for Office Accommodation • Deed of Licence • Agreement for Alternative Accommodation in the case of Demolition of the Premises • Lease of Jute Mill • Lease Finance Agreement (Equipment) • Leasing of Plants and Machinery • Tripartite Agreement for Leasing Finance • Lease Agreement (Equipments) • Leave and License Agreement • Leave and License Agreement for Company’s Officers• Agreement of Easement of Right of Way • Easement of Drainage and Sewage for Order of Reception of Mentally ill Person •Petition for Appointment of Guardian of a Mentally ill Person and Manager of his Estate • Application for Admission of Mentally ill Person under the Mental Health Act • Application for discharge of the in-patient Maintenance Agreement between Husband and Wife not being a Separation Agreement• Separation Agreement between Husband and Wife • Agreement for Maintenance of Wife and Daughter • Separation Agreement between Husband and Wife • Petition seeking Order for Maintenance of a Minor • Maintenance Charge Deed • Petition Claiming Payment of Maintenance• Petition by a Guardian of Minor Child for Maintenance against Father • Petition by wife for Maintenance • Petition by Wife for Enforcing Maintenance Allowance Ordered by Court • Deed of Separation between Husband and Wife *Deed of Simple Mortgage • Deed of Mortgage by Conditional Sale • Deed of Usufructuary Mortgage • Deed of Usufructuary Mortgage by Conditional Sale (Anomalous Mortgage) • Mortgage of Land and Building to be erected there on to Secure Present and Future Advances Secure Existing Debt and Future Advances • Deed of Further Charge on Mortgaged Property • Deed of the Reconveyance of Mortgaged Property • Deed of Release of Mortgaged Property • Memorandum of Mortgage by Deposit of Title-deeds• Deed of Submortgage • Mortgage-deed in favor of Bank to Secure Indebtedness on Loan Account • Memorandum of Pledge of Movables • Mortgagedeed with Guarantors • Deed of English Mortgage where Part of the Consideration Money of a Sale is Unpaid • Deed of Floating Charge • Pari Passu Charge Agreement (Tripartite Agreement) • Transfer of Mortgage and Creation of Further Charge for Further Loan • Promissory Note Payable on Demand • Joint Promissory Note Payable on Demand • Joint Promissory Note Payable After Date or Sight • Joint Promissory Note Payable in Installments • Inland Bill of Exchange Payable on Demand • Inland Bill of Exchange • Foreign Bill of Exchange in Payable After Date or Sight Sets • Foreign Bill of Exchange in Sets • Foreign Bill of Exchange (French) • Notice by Landlord to Quit • Notice Demanding Possession after Expiry of Lease • Notice to Determine Tenancy for Breach of Covenants in a Lease • Notice by Tenant to Determine Lease • Notice by Landlord’s Advocate to Quit • Notice by Landlord to Repair Dilapidations • Notice by Tenant for Renewal of Lease • Notice to Tenant to Attorney • Notice to Debtor • Notice by Lawyer to Debtor • Notice of Dishonor (or Protest) of Bill of Exchange to Drawer • Notice of Dishonor (or Protest) of Bill of Exchange to Endorser • Notice of Dishonor of Cheque • Notice by Partner to Determine Partnership • Notice of Expulsion of Partner • Notice by Vendor to a Preemptor • Notice by a Vendor to Complete a Purchase • Notice by Purchaser to Complete a Sale • Notice of Re-sale of Goods on Buyer’s Default • Notice to Determine Guarantee for Faithful Service • Notice to Determine Continuing Guarantee • Notice to Transfer of Mortgage • Notice Claiming Mortgage Money • Notice for Production of Documents • Notice of Sale of Pledged Articles • Notice of Assignment by Assignor • Notice of Assignment by Assignee • Notice of Assignment of Policy of Life Insurance • Notice of Assignment of Lease • Notice for Removal of Nuisance and Obstruction • Notice of Suit against Municipality • Notice of Termination of Agent’s Authority • Notice of Wife’s Leaving Husband’s Protection • Notice to Creditors to Deceased’s Estate• Notice by Attorney to Creditors and Debtors to Deceased’s Estate • Notice of Dissolution of • Notice of Suit to a Common Carrier for Damages for Loss • Notice to the General Manager of a Railway of Goods Administration Claiming Compensation for Short Delivery, Non-delivery or Delivery in Damaged Condition • Notice to the General Manager, Railway Claiming Compensation for Non -delivery, Short Delivery/Deterioration, etc. • Notice to General Manager of a Railway Claiming Refund of Overcharge • Notice to a Railway Claiming Damages for Liabilities in Tort of a Railway Administration (case of Physical Injury) • Notice of Suit of General Manager of different Railways under section 80, CPC, Claiming Compensation for Short Delivery • Notice of Election by the Minor Concerning Partnership • Notice by Purchaser’s Solicitor Previous to Purchase of Property • Notice of Sale of Business • Partnership among Solicitors or Advocates • Deed of Admission of Partner • Deed of Partnership between Two Partners • Deed of Partnership between more than Two Partners • Deed of Dissolution of Partnership Demand for Partition • Agreement for Partition • Partition Deed • Deed of Partition by Trustees • Memorandum of Oral Partition • Deed of Partition of Mitakshara Coparcenary Estate where some Properties are Retained as HUF Estate • Partition of a Debutter Estate • Agreement to Assign a Patent • Agreement of Assignment of Patents • Licence to use a Patent • Assignment of Design • Licence to use Trade Mark • Agreement of Registered User of Trade Mark • Affidavit of Constituted Attorney of Registered Proprietor • Application for Registration of User of Trade Mark • Assignment of Trade Mark • Notice regarding Infringement and/or Passing off the Trade Mark • Trade Mark–Passing off Suit • Application for Rectification of Trade Mark Registry • Complaint for Infringement of Trade Mark • Proxy • Power-of-Attorney to Present Document for Registration • Power-of-Attorney to Sell a particular Property • Power-of-Attorney to Recover Debts • Power-of-Attorney by a Firm • Power-of-Attorney by Trustee • Power-ofAttorney to obtain Letters of Administration on behalf of Person Resident Abroad • Power-of-Attorney to Agent for any particular Court Case • Power-of-Attorney to Advocate for Court Case • General Power-of-Attorney to a Manager of Estate • General Power-of-Attorney from Person going to Reside Abroad • Irrevocable Power-of- Attorney • Deed of Revocation of Power-of-Attorney • Agreement for Loan by Promoters • Letter of Guarantee for the Promoter’s Loan • Irrevocable Power-of Attorney • Agreement regarding Construction Loan with a Bank Specimen of a Writ Petition for Public Interest Litigation Receipt in Full Discharge of Claims • Receipt of Account Due • Receipt for Bond Debt • Receipt for Endorsement on • Receipt for Loan • Receipt for Price of Watch with Warranty • Receipt for Sale of a Business • Rent Receipt • Rent Receipt in Bill Form • Receipt at the End of Agreement • Receipt for Mortgage on Deed • Receipt of Title Deeds by Mortgagor *Mortgage by Deposit of Title Deeds • Receipt by Creditor for Composition of Debt • Receipt for Earnest Money • Receipt by Retiring Partner • Receipt by Residuary Legatees • Acknowledgement to Save Limitation • Acknowledgement of Part Payment •

Acknowledgement of Liability • Declaration of Change of Surname • Deed of Rectification of Hire • Deed of Rectification of Purchase Agreement Mistakes in a Previous Deed Mutual Release by Two Persons • Release by Creditors under Composition Scheme • Release by a Minor in favor of the Certified Guardian on attaining Majority • Disclaimer by a Member of a Joint Family in respect of the Separate Property of a Member • Release of Property from Charge for Maintenance under a Will • Disclaimer by a Benamdar • Mutual Release between a Separated Member of the Mitakshara Family and the Old Branch • Release of Right of Way • Release by a Legatee in favor of an Executor • Deed of Release of Mortgage • Agreement for Sale • Agreement for Sale (English) • Model Form of Requisition on Title & Answers • Agreement for the Sale of Assets of a Running Business to a Limited Company • Form of Conveyance–English Precedent • Special Requisitions in Case of Sale of Agricultural Land • Deed of Sale of House Property • Deed of Assent from Executor • Deed of Transfer from the Executor to the Beneficiary under a Will • Assignment of a Lease in the Absence of any Restriction on Assignment • Deed of Sale by a Certificated Guardian of a Hindu Minor • Sale Deed of Agricultural Land • Deed of Sale of Mortgaged Property, Mortgagee Joining • Deed of Sale by Co-owners of Undivided Property • Deed of Sale of Joint Family Property for Legal Necessity • Conveyance on Sale of Property by the Executor • Agreement for Sale of Stock-in-Trade, Furniture and Effects • Sale of Ownership Flats • Deed of Sale of a Business and Assignment of Goodwill • Assignment of Decree • Deed of Assignment of Mortgage, Mortgagor Joining • Grant of Right of Way • Conveyance of Land Accidentally omitted in Sale Deed • Sale by the Liquidator of a Company in Voluntary Liquidation • Sale on behalf of a Mentally ill Person • Sale by a Hindu Widow as Limited Owner for Legal Necessity • Sale of Equity of Redemption of Simple Mortgage • Sale by an Administrator under an Order of Court • Sale of a Property by the Heirs of a Mohamedan • Deed of Boundary Demarcation Sole Selling Agency Agreement • Appointment of Selling Agent for a District or Town • Appointment of Sole Selling Annexed • Petition for Probate • Petition for Letters of Administration of Property and Credits as no Will was Made • Form of Valuation (to be used with such Modifications, if any) as may be Necessary • Petition for the Grant of Succession Certificate by Widow • Petition for Grant of Succession Certificate • Petition for Extension of Succession Certificate • Petition for Revocation of Grant of Probate, Letters of Administration, Certificate• Compromise in Probate Proceedings • Disclaimer by a Trustee of a Will • Disclaimer by Devisee of a Gift by Will • Deed of Disclaimer by a Person who is Entitled to an Interest in the Settled Property • Settlement of Property for the Benefit of Minor Children Deed of Settlement by Father in favor of Children • Trust Deed Constituting Guarantee Fund (As Security) • Trust Deed (Provident Fund) • Trust Deed Constituting Pension Fund • Trust Deed Constituting Superannuation Fund • Will with Legacies, Residue to One Person • Deed of Ante-nuptial Settlement • Deed of Settlement of Preservation of Property • Deed of Settlement for Establishing a Girls’ School • Endowment for Building a Ward in a Hospital and Maintenance of Beds therein • Trust Deed Establishing a Scholarship • Deed of Trust for the Purpose of Paying Debts • Deed for Public Charitable Trust • Deed of Trust when no Trustees are Appointed but Money is given Straight to the University Direct • Appointment of New Trustee by continuing Trustees in Pursuance of a Power in a Deed of Charitable Trust • Appointment of a New Trustee on the Death of a Trustee, the Appointment being made by the Surviving Trustee in Exercise of Power of Appointment • Deed of Trust • Deed of Wakf • Deed of Wakf (Mahomedan)—Movables and Wakf Property • Wakf-alal-Aulad • Deed of Wakf for Ultimate Religious and Charitable • Deed of Wakf for Public all Properties to One Person • Will with Legacies for Children • Will with Legacies and Trust for Children and Continuation of Business • Codicil Substituting new Executor for Deceased One • Codicil with new Bequests on Death of a Legatee • Bequest Absolute of Land in Trust for Religious uses with a Direction to Found a Temple and carry out Maintenance of the Deity and other expenses from the Money raised from Sale of Property Existing at the Testator’s Death • Codicil with Bequest and Authority to Widow to Adopt • Codicil Revising Will and Providing for Wife and Future Children • Will with Provision for Appointment of Trustee for a School • Petition for Revocation of Probate • Application for Revocation of Succession Certificate • Objection to Petition for Grant of Probate • Petition of Consent to Grant of Succession Certificate • Succession Certificate *Hardware Sale and Installation Agreement • Hardware Maintenance Agreement • Software Licence Agreement.

2.47. Land and Property Registration at the Cross Roads : A Time For More Relevant Approaches Land registration and cadastral surveying in much of the developing world has reached a crossroads. It is not possible to continue with business as usual in the face of massive informality within the world's cities, and new more relevant approaches have to be developed. A critical review of land registration has started both inside and outside the professions.

(Conferences held by the United Nations and the Federation of International Surveyors(FIG) produced Declarations (Bogor (1996) and Bathurst (1999)) that facilitate the adoption of new approaches. (Clarissa Fourie, 2000)

2.48. Why land and property registration is criticized Conventional land registration does not supply urban tenure security and access to land for the majority of city dwellers. They do not benefit from the land registration system and instead often lose their land because of the system. Land registration is generally seen as centralized and expensive to the user, as the systems are designed for use by the middle class and/or previous settler population. Also, the system is only capable of recording legal land parcels and not the 30-80 percent of illegal urban land parcels of most developing countries.

In addition to this, registration systems are based on colonial laws in regard to inheritance, forms of evidence, administrative procedures etc., and therefore not relevant to local conditions. Finally, they are based on individual rights and unable to accommodate group and/or family rights, and they are not transparent and user friendly, especially to women. In addition to this, there are extremely serious equity and governance issues associated with present systems.

Conventional cadastral and land information systems do not serve the vast majority of most developing countries' populations. A review of land registration, cadastral and land information systems indicates that there is likely to be no documentary evidence of title for the majority of parcels in developing countries. For example, best estimates indicate that in South American countries 70 percent of parcels are undocumented.

That is, in general the majority of people's land rights are not protected through any form of land registration in developing countries.

Also, most developing countries only have about 10 percent of their parcels surveyed, with this dropping to less than 1 percent for sub Saharan Africa. Surveying creates land information for land management. Often the only land information available for this purpose comes from this 10 percent and relates to that part of the city where formal legal procedures were used for planning.

Despite numerous initiatives during the last decade to improve land information systems, limited results have been achieved. Many countries are still battling to create land information systems that supply sufficient coverage, at large scale, that are up to date and have integrity, and to integrate diverse data sets held by a wide range of government departments and utilities. Relatively few of these data sets also contain information about informal urban land use and settlement -i.e. the illegal part of the city.

2.49. Developing Relevant Approaches Capacity needs to be developed to undertake land management/ administration by addressing the development of systems and products that can be used by the majority of people -this includes both tenure and information products. Also, these products should accommodate local tenure rules (informal and/or customary) and bottom up public participation approaches.

In addition to this they should facilitate group (including family) approaches, and not just individual. Also, they should contribute to poverty alleviation and to supplying tenure security and land for the urban poor.

The products should be affordable, decentralized, transparent and User friendly, especially to women and other vulnerable groups, thereby increasing good governance.

Finally, the products should supply evidence to protect people from eviction and to strengthen their right of possession.

We therefore need to develop a range of new approaches such as: firstly decentralized technical processes that are transparent and easily understood by local people.

Secondly, we need to create land information management systems that can accommodate both cadastral parcels and non cadastral land information.

Thirdly, we need to find new ways to supply tenure security to the majority, by the documentation of rights and boundaries for informal settlements and/or customary areas, without using cadastral surveys, centralized planning and conveyancing undertaken by property lawyers.

Fourthly, we also need to develop accessible records, both in terms of their location and user-friendly products, as well as new approaches so that technicians, para-professionals and local land management institutions undertake most of the work for low

value land, and land professionals are involved only in policy development and management.

In most developing countries land professionals are in short supply and they are the only people who are allowed to perform, or supervise the performance of, cadastral surveys, thereby creating the legal evidence for the boundary of a land right. By comparison, technicians are more numerous, are locally based, and are cheaper to train, but colonial based laws, regulatory frameworks and licensing procedures do not allow them to perform cadastral surveys in their own rights.

Fifthly, we need to develop new tools for this new paradigm technical, administrative, legal and conceptual. For example, instead of focusing on accurately surveyed cadastral parcels only, we need to develop Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) to include poorly surveyed tax parcels and/or data bases used for billing electricity -these latter forms of information often serve as the first evidence of land rights.

Also, the legal framework has to be adjusted, to enable the steps involved in land delivery to be driven at the local level by local land administrators/surveyors, rather than requiring administrative procedures and information flows constantly between the central and local levels.

Finally, new approaches to education, training and research need to be developed to facilitate this. For example, instead of focusing on supplying sufficient content to the learner for them to pass the technical exams only, learners should be able to understand that technical, legal, social, political and economic aspects are all integral parts of land management/ administration, and that they cannot fix problems using technical solutions on their own.

The real world with its multitude of over-lapping rights, contradictory land legislation, conflict over land, inappropriate legal frameworks is much more complex than the world for which they are presently being trained.

This in turn requires the development of holistic conceptual frameworks, as well as a teaching approach that enshrines problem solving by the learners. Also, to be able to problem solve the learners will need to learn how to partner communities, other professionals and local level technicians.

Some land managers, both academics and leaders in the profession, have acknowledged the problems and started work on more relevant approaches, such as:1. Using cheaper technology and approaches for use by local level people undertaking land administration; 2. Emphasizing the creation of comprehensive land information for decision makers, rather than focusing on a few well surveyed cadastral parcels; 3. Undertaking rigorous research linking the technical, institutional and governance issues associated with land registration; 4. Developing a technical research agenda to facilitate a new generation of more appropriate technical and legal approaches; 5. Developing participatory, decentralized and/or community based approaches for the management of land information systems and land management/administration; 6. Partnering with other land professionals (land economists, land lawyers, planners, valuers) to develop integrated products; 7. Designing appropriate education and training systems; 8. Interpreting/reviewing national law to better fit with local government land management/administration needs, also for informal settlements.

Finally, many existing national regulatory frameworks create

illegal cities. They also often prevent land professionals, such as land surveyors/ managers who work on the ground, from actively addressing these issues. Therefore these frameworks need to be reformed as a priority.

2.50. Impact of Secure Property Rights on Governance and Sustainable Development The ability of local leaders and authorities to control land has traditionally been a major source of political and economic power. Over and above the economic benefits that may be derived from giving households greater tenure security, measures to increase households’ and individuals’ ability to control land will have a clear impact on empowering them, giving them greater voice, and creating the basis for more democratic and participatory local development. For example, fiscal decentralization is often hampered by the lack of own revenue and accountability on the part of local governments.

Both of these could be increased by taxation of land. In countries where land continues to be a key productive asset, governments could use land taxation more effectively to motivate fiscal discipline and to strengthen the voice of the local population by enhancing the accountability of local officials.

Conflicting interventions in land rights systems by outsiders in the course of history, or a failure to establish legitimate institutions in the face of increasing population pressure and appreciation of land values, have tended to exclude the poor from land access and ownership and resulted in the creation of parallel or overlapping institutions.

Therefore ensuring minimum standards for rapid conflict resolution And dispensation of justice, accountability, and transparency in land management and access is critical. Where longstanding, systematic distortions in the area of land overlap with race and ethnicity issues, a buildup of land-related conflict and violence can even result in collapse of the state, with devastating consequences.

In Africa, for example, formal tenure covers only between 10 percent of the land. To avoid leaving the occupants of these lands effectively outside the rule of law, many African countries have recently given legal recognition to customary tenure as well as to the institutions administering it; however, implementing these laws remains a major challenge.

In many countries the state continues to own a large portion of valuable land despite evidence that this is conducive to mismanagement, underutilization of resources, and corruption.

Broad and egalitarian asset ownership strengthens the voice of the poor, who are otherwise often excluded from political processes, allowing them greater participation that can not only increase the transparency of institutions, but can also shift the balance of public goods provision, especially at the local level.

As appropriation of rents from land appreciation through discretionary bureaucratic interventions and controls remains a major source of corruption and a barrier to the startup of small enterprises in many developing countries, this can help to significantly improve governance.

Poor people in developing countries like Bangladesh directly on natural resources than any other group in society. They are usually the first to suffer when those resources are damaged or become scarce. This means it is vital that we consider the environment in all our development work. How we manage the

environment will affect the long-term success of development and play a significant part in our progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

This is why MDG 7 commits us to ensuring environmental sustainability. It demands that we make the principles of sustainable development an integral part of our policies and programs. We must consider the environment when making decisions, just as we consider economic and social issues.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is the most promising way to make this happen. SEA helps decision makers reach a better understanding of how environmental, social and economic considerations fit together.

Without that understanding, we risk turning today’s development successes into tomorrow’s environmental challenges. In short, SEA helps decision makers think through the consequences of their actions.

In March 2005, ministers and heads of development agencies from more than 100 developed and developing countries met in Paris to consider ways to make aid work better. As a result, we adopted the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

The Declaration sets out our plan for improving the way we deliver and manage our co-operation on development. It says that aid needs to be more effective and its delivery better coordinated. It calls for more and better support for developing countries’ priorities. It underlines the importance of working through existing institutions in developing countries whenever possible, to build their own development capacity, instead of creating parallel paths.

The Paris Declaration also commits donors and their partner countries to “develop and apply common approaches for Strategic Environmental Assessment”. This good practice guidance on applying SEA in development co-operation is the first step along this road. We are pleased that our agencies have risen to this challenge so promptly and joined forces with a wide range of partners to turn this commitment into action.

In the twenty-first century, food and fiber production systems will need to meet the following three major requirements: 1. Adequately supply safe, nutritious, and sufficient food for the world’s growing population.

2. Significantly reduce rural poverty by sustaining the farming derived component of rural household incomes.

3. Reduce and reverse natural resource degradation, especially that of land.

It is now known that these challenges will need to be resolved in the face of significant but highly unpredictable changes in global climate—a key factor in natural and agro ecosystem productivity.

Other major issues that will influence how agriculture evolves to meet the challenge of food security include globalization of markets and trade, the increasing market orientation of agriculture, significant technological changes, and increasing public concern about the effects of unsustainable natural resource management.

2.51. Definition of SLM SLM is defined as a knowledge-based procedure that helps integrate land, water, biodiversity, and environmental management (including input and output externalities) to meet rising food and fiber demands while sustaining ecosystem services and livelihoods. SLM is necessary to meet the requirements of a growing population. Improper land management can lead to land degradation and a significant reduction in the productive

and service (biodiversity niches, hydrology, carbon sequestration) functions of watersheds and landscapes.

In layman’s terms, SLM involves: Preserving and enhancing the productive capabilities of land in cropped and grazed areas that is, upland areas, downslope areas, and flat and bottom lands; sustaining productive forest areas and potentially commercial and noncommercial forest reserves; and maintaining the integrity of watersheds for water supply and hydropower generation needs and water conservation zones and the capability of aquifers to serve farm and other productive activities.

Actions to stop and reverse degradation or at least to mitigate the adverse effects of earlier misuse which is increasingly important in the uplands and watersheds, especially those where pressure from the resident populations is severe and where the destructive consequences of upland degradation are being felt in far more densely populated areas “downstream.�

2.52. Challenges to SLM At the global level, a large area of formerly productive land has been rendered unproductive. Caution is required in interpreting the extent of land degradation and desertification described in the international literature, because local communities often have age-old strategies that allow them to manage land, forest, fallow, and water resources at variable and interacting spatial and temporal levels.

However, there is a general consensus that it is far less expensive to prevent land degradation via the application of good management based on both cultural and scientific knowledge than to rehabilitate degraded land, and that where land is truly degraded, significant production and ecosystem service benefits can result from the rehabilitation of degraded lands.

The potentially deleterious effects of global climate change and natural catastrophes (earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and volcanic activity) on land resources are proving difficult to anticipate, both for the Bank and its clients and for the international community as a whole. In this area, adaptive management tailored to decrease the vulnerability of regions and communities will be increasingly necessary.

Other driving forces behind degradation that can be reversed might best be termed behavioral. These include misaligned policies and incentives; unclear property rights, especially use rights; and weak enforcement capabilities, often aggravated by corruption and governance problems. Given the scale of potential benefits and negative effects, it is essential for problem diagnosis, assessments of resource use alternatives, and cost-benefit analyses to be conducted at appropriate spatial and temporal levels. More emphasis needs to be placed on planning and implementation at the watershed and landscape levels.

Given the trans boundary effects of land, water, and other resource management costs and benefits, equitable regional arrangements and treaties will need to be considered and revised as necessary.

Property rights to resources such as land, water, and trees have been found to play a fundamental role at the nexus of poverty reduction, resource management, and environmental management.

The property rights held by poor people represent key household and community assets that may provide income opportunities, ensure access to essential household subsistence

needs (water, food, fuel, and medicines), and insure against livelihood risk. Poorer groups tend to rely more heavily on customary or informal rights. It is unlikely that SLM can be achieved in the absence of explicit attention to property rights.

2.53. Opportunities for SLM Where land and resource management programs have been successful, the following contributing factors have often been present: (a) local community participation in all aspects of the program, (b) public support for private investment in soil and water conservation, (c) improvement and maintenance of roads, (d) sound macroeconomic management that does not discriminate against agriculture and natural resources, (e) robust local capacity building by nongovernmental organizations and other cooperative-type projects, and (f) consistent efforts over at least a decade by concerned governments to increase not only land productivity but also awareness of environmental problems and possible solutions at local levels.

2.54. Intensification of Land Use and Integrated Resource Management Production practices that emphasize integrated nutrient and water management— for example, no-till production, conservation tillage, or mixed cropping that combines food crops with cover crop legumes and/or tree and shrub species can greatly facilitate SLM. Coupled with enhanced management, improved breeds and varieties of animals, crops, and trees can also significantly increase resource use efficiency in agro ecosystems and plantations and reduced pressure on pristine lands, including primary and healthy secondary forests.

The conservation of native above- and below-ground biodiversity is often required for sustaining ecological processes (nutrient cycles, pest-predator associations, and soil structure and function) and to maintain the resilience of most agro ecosystems. The stocks of available plant nutrients need to be managed to prevent consumption from exceeding availability and, where necessary, effective recycling of crop residues and manures ought to be supplemented by external (organic and/or fertilizer) sources in order to sustain system function and productivity.

2.55. Exploiting the Production and Environmental Functions of Land In addition to facilitating the production of food, feeds, and industrial crops, natural and agro ecosystems also provide a wide variety of nonmarket services.

The environmental benefits (or services) derived from well-managed agro ecosystems typically include but are not limited to (a) improved hydrology: controlling the timing and volume of water flows and protecting water quality; (b) reduced sedimentation: avoiding damage to downstream reservoirs and waterways, thereby safeguarding uses such as hydroelectric power generation, irrigation, recreation, and providing the water necessary for fisheries and domestic water supplies; (c) disaster prevention: preventing floods and landslides; (d) biodiversity conservation; and (e) sequestering carbon and providing sinks for other greenhouse gases.

2.56. Mechanisms and Incentives for Improved Land Management of Watershed Level

The following “best practices” have been found to facilitate upstream-downstream land and water management and the equitable assessment of costs and benefits: 1. All parties in the watershed are given a stake in the management program and in watershed development functions as an equity-enhancing mechanism.

2. Because water is often the most valuable resource of watershed management, it is essential to develop mechanisms that allow an equitable sharing of the water.

This resource sharing can substitute for direct payments to some stakeholders.

3. Where common property is involved, especially in the upper catchments, it is essential that local communities collectively protect the common land so that land and water resources are not compromised by illegal deforestation or overgrazing and subsequent land degradation.

4. If irrigation water is used to produce greater vegetation biomass on common lands, biomass-sharing agreements are needed, especially for landless stakeholders.

5. If water harvesting results in improved recharge of groundwater aquifers, designating groundwater as a common property resource can provide all stakeholders with a powerful incentive to improve natural resources management practices and to promote collective action.

2.57. Land & Bangladesh Economy Land is a key asset for the rural and urban poor. It provides a foundation for economic activity and the functioning of market (for example, credit) and non market institutions (for instance, local governments and social networks) in many developing countries. Given this importance, institutions dealing with land have evolved over long periods, and land policies will invariably be affected by the presence of multiple market imperfections (Klaus Deininger & Gershon Feder , 2003).

Bangladesh is facing a number of challenges to meet national and sectoral development goals and objectives. The identified challenges are related to the broader environment and natural resource management. Adverse impacts of extreme weather and natural disasters (floods, cyclone and storm surges, and drought) have also recognized as barriers of achieving sustainable development. Many anticipated adverse impacts of climate change including sea level rise, higher temperatures, enhanced monsoon precipitation and run-off, potentially reduced dry season precipitation, and an increase in cyclone intensity would in fact reinforce many of existing baseline stresses that already pose a serious impediment to the economic development of Bangladesh.

Adverse effects of climate stimuli including variability and extreme events in the overall development of Bangladesh are significant and highly related to changes in the water sector and extreme events particularly floods, droughts salinity and cyclones. Low economic strength, inadequate infrastructure, low level of social development, lack of institutional capacity, and a higher dependency on the natural resource base make the country more vulnerable to climate stimuli including variability and extreme events. It was found that the population living in the coastal area are more vulnerable than the population in other areas. The agricultural sector will face significant yield reduction thus food-grain self sufficiency will be at risk in future.

It is revealed from the OECD and other reports that there is a general lack of explicit attention to “climate change” in many

government plans and donor project documents in Bangladesh.

Nevertheless a number of policies and program have mentioned adverse impact of extreme weather events particularly floods, droughts and cyclones. The National Water Policy (NWP) and National Water Management Plan (NWMP) do not mention climate change explicitly but do nevertheless bear upon adaptation to climate change. Some examples of priorities that are synergistic with adaptation responses to climate change include: (i) The recommendation in NWP to develop early warning and flood-proofing systems to manage flood and drought that are expected to increase under climate change; (ii) The NWP recommendation for comprehensive development and management of the main rivers through a system of barrages, to help sustain dry season flows and regulate monsoon flooding. This is also synergistic with adaptation measures for the water sector as well as it will contribute to reducing salinity concerns in the Sundarbans during the dry seasons and enhance their resilience under climate change and sea level rise; (iii) Emphasis within the NWP on regional co-operation among co-riparian countries .

This again is a good institutional adaptation response.

Apart from the policy there are projects already underway in Bangladesh through several government-donor partnerships for addressing existing broader environment and development. A wide array of river dredging projects have been completed to reduce siltation and facilitate better drainage at times of flooding as well as to boost dry season flows to critical areas such as the Sundarbans.

Improvement of cyclone early warning systems and protection shelters are being developed. Development of coastal green belts is a good “no-regrets� adaptation response to reduce the vulnerability of the coastline to cyclones and storm surges, both under current conditions as well as under climate change. All these measures are likely to contribute to reducing the vulnerability of Bangladesh to climate change impacts.

The OECD study argued that many actions undertaken to address the baseline or contextual risks in Bangladesh are also synergistic with the so called adaptations that might be required as climate change impacts manifest themselves. Therefore a need to clearly address whether climate change impacts are simply one more reason to lower contextual vulnerability via business as usual economic development activity, or whether adaptation to climate change might require suitable modifications in such projects or highlight the need for entirely new activities. If it needs new activities then it is necessary to identify such activities (Agarwala et al., 2003). It may be worth analyzing those projects further considering location specificity and seasonal dimension.

Although Bangladesh is significantly impacted by current climate variability, and is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, there is no national policy in place yet to comprehensively address climate related risks. The need for a National Policy on Climate Change has been expressed time and again by the civil society of the country since early 1990s. In a recently held National Dialogue on Water and Climate Change, the formulation of a Climate Change Policy for the country was highly recommended.

The National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) appears to be the first attempt to bring different stakeholders, including the government and the civil society, together.

However, one of the key stakeholders, the donors, who will play a vital role in the implementation of the projects and activities that will be identified in

the NAPA document, is left out.

The involvement of donors and development agencies from the very beginning along with other sectoral agencies, will help mainstreaming adaptation to climate change. In addition, up scaling of the win-win measures that are already being implemented in Bangladesh and continuous persuasion with policy makers would help Bangladesh in mainstreaming adaptation to climate change.

It is more relevant to highlight on a brief account of current problems and their magnitudes along with resources and potentialities of the country.

2.58. Geography With an area of about 144,000 sq. km, Bangladesh is situated between latitudes 20°34' and 26°38' north and latitudes 88°01' and 92°41' east. The country is bordered by India on the east, west and north and by the Bay of Bengal on the south. There is also a small strip of frontier with Burma on the southeastern edge.

The land is a deltaic plain with a network of numerous rivers and canals.

Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India. Bangladesh lies in the northeastern part of South Asia between 20° 34' and 26°38' North latitude and 88°01' and 92°41' total : 144,000 sq.km Land:133,910sqkm Water: 10,090 sq. km Land boundaries 4,246km Border Countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 Contiguous zone: 18 nautical miles. Continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles. Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles.

Mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast west point: Indian Ocean 0 highest point: Keokradong 1,230 meters Natural gas, Arable land, Timber Arable land: 73%, permanent crops: 2%, permanent pastures: 5%, forests and woodland: 15%, other: 5% (1993 est.) 31,000 sq. km (1993 est.)

2.59. Demography : Population Growth Projection 2050 : Population may be 200 million by 2035, and 240 million by 2050.

Bangladesh Data Profile 2000 2005 People Population, total Population growth (annual %) Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (% of population)

2006 128.9 million 2.0 49.8

141.8 Million 1.9 ..

144.3 million 1.8 ..

Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 61.5 Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 3.2 Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 66.0 Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000) 92.0 Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) 12.1 Malnutrition prevalence, weight for age (% of children under 5) 47.7 Immunization, measles (% of children ages 12-23 months) 76.0 Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49) ..

Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) 84.0 School enrollment, primary (% gross) 108.9 School enrollment, secondary (% gross) 50.3 School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) 5.8 Ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary education (%) 101.9 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) ..

Environment Surface area (sq. km) 144.0 thousand Forest area (sq. km) 8,840.0 Agricultural land (% of land area) 69.8 CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) 0.2 Improved water source (% of population with access) 74.0 Improved sanitation facilities, urban (% of urban population with access) 53.0 Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita) 145.1 Energy imports, net (% of energy use) 19.0 Electric power consumption (kWh per capita) 103.6

63.9 3.0 54.0 73.0

.. .. .. ..

..

..

..

..

81.0

..

0.1

..

.. .. ..

6.5

.. .. .. ..

..

..

..

144.0 thousand 8,710.0 69.3 ..

..

144.0 thousand .. .. ..

..

..

..

..

.. ..

.. ..

..

..

Economy GNI, Atlas method (current US$) 49.8 billion GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) 390.0 GDP (current US$) 47.1 billion GDP growth (annual %) 5.9 Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) 1.9 Agriculture, value added (% of GDP) 25.5 Industry, value added (% of GDP) 25.3 Services, etc., value added (% of GDP) 49.2 Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) 14.0 Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) 19.2 Gross capital formation (% of GDP) 23.0 Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) ..

Cash surplus/deficit (% of GDP) ..

States and markets Time required to start a business (days) ..

Market capitalization of listed companies (% of GDP) 2.5 Military expenditure (% of GDP) 1.4 Fixed line and mobile phone subscribers (per 1,000 people) 6.0 Internet users (per 1,000 people) 0.8 Roads, paved (% of total roads) ..

High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) 0.1

66.7 billion

69.9 billion

470.0 60.0 billion 6.0 5.1 20.1 27.2 52.6

480.0 62.0 billion 6.7 5.2 19.5 28.1 52.4

16.6

17.8

23.0 24.5 .. ..

24.4 25.0 .. ..

37.0

37. 0

5.1 1.1

5.8 ..

71.0 2.6 ..

.. .. ..

..

..

Global links Merchandise trade (% of GDP) 32.4 Net barter terms of trade (2000 = 100) 100.0 Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP , current US$) 280.4 million Long-term debt (DOD, current US$) 15.2billion Present value of debt (% of GNI) ..

Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and income) 8.6 Official development assistance and official aid (current US$) 1.2 billion

38.6

45.4

82.0

..

802.5million

..

17.9 billion 22.4

.. ..

5.3

..

1.3 billion

..

Workers' remittances as compensation received (US$)

2.0 billion

4.3 billion

Source: World Development Indicators Database, 2007

2.60. Bangladesh Basic Facts Population : 144.3 million (2006) Population living below $1 a day : 36.0% Population living below $2 a day : 82.8 % Gross National Income per capita : $490 Gross Domestic Product per capita : $1,870 Life expectancy : 65.1 years Infant mortality rate : 41 per 1000 live births Under-five mortality rate : 77 per 1000 live births Maternal mortality rate : 320 per 100,000 Equal numbers of girls and boys enroll in primary and secondary schools (Source : BBS, WB and UNDP Human Development Report 2006)

2.61. Urbanization : In 2005 it was estimated that 35 million people (25% of the population) lived in urban areas. This could rise to 80 million by 2030. Dhaka will be among the world’s largest mega cities (DFID, 2007).

There is consensus in Bangladesh on the important developmental priorities and challenges confronting the country.

Among the major issues that different stakeholders identified during consultations recently commissioned by the government included: “lack of physical infrastructure, law and order, organized crime, extortions and economic violence, lack of effective local government and decentralization, quality of education, health, and other social services, lack of coordination among development agencies and institutions, lack of remunerative employment and economic opportunities, lack of social capital at the community level, resulting in low-level of collective action, and lack of democratization of political process.”

As is now widely acknowledged, poverty encompasses deprivation in well-being, not just as measured by income or consumption poverty, but also inferior outcomes in areas like education and health, and in vulnerability and powerlessness as well. In both urban and rural areas, where the poor lack much access to modern amenities and services, they also tend to live in houses of inferior quality. While poverty rates do not appear to be strongly correlated with religion or gender of household head, those female-headed that are widowed, divorced or separated have a considerably higher incidence of poverty relative to others.

2.62. Population Bangladesh is not only the eighth most populous country in the world and one of the poorest, but, among major states, it also has the highest population density – nearly 950 people per square kilometer. Bringing the population growth rate down to an annual average of 1.5 percent during the 1990s (lower than India’s 1.8 percent level and much lower than Pakistan’s 2.5 percent) is a major social achievement. But unless the average fertility rate (now holding steady at around 3.3) drops further, Bangladesh will be home to more than 180 million people in 2025 and to 240 million in 2050. It cannot afford to relax in its efforts to manage population growth.

With half of Bangladesh’s population living below the official poverty line, the scope for direct government action against poverty through transfers to the poor or other direct welfare

5.5 billion

programs is limited. This is especially true, given that the government collects one of the lowest levels of tax revenues in the world (under 10 percent of GDP in FY01). The main impetus for poverty reduction, therefore, must come from higher growth.

2.63 Agriculture : Since 85 percent of Bangladesh’s poor live in rural areas where agriculture is the predominant activity, accelerating growth in agriculture through raising productivity of existing crops and diversification will be crucial.

With the poor being predominantly landless, improvements in the operation of land markets, including tenancy and sales, are necessary to help them strengthen their position in the rural economy. The continued development of livestock and fisheries which are important assets for the landless as well as better management of common property resources in environmentally sustainable ways that benefit them rather than better-off households would be of particular importance to the poor. In addition, purposeful outside assistance can help the agricultural sector improve the yield from crops, especially rice; diversify into cultivation of crops that bring notably higher per-acre revenues than rice and wheat; and through greater attention to research and improving markets.

2.64. Access to Land Poor households typically own less land than the non-poor and are highly represented among the functionally landless (i.e. those owning less than 0.05 acres).

Moreover, variation in land quality is of particular importance as access to irrigation is far from universal. Therefore, while the incidence of poverty is clearly the highest among the landless and marginal land owners, there remains about 22 percent of the population at risk of poverty even in the largest landowning category.

Land and common property resources significant disparities in land ownership separate the poor and non-poor, with tenancy a main route for the poor to access land.

Common property resources are an important source of livelihood for the poor, but access to them is also increasingly a source of conflict.

Promoting agricultural growth by improving land productivity will affect the poor mainly via its impact on food prices, agricultural wages, and linkages with the non-farm sector.

Better defined property rights for land and regulations on common resource management are needed to raise returns on these assets and promote equitable access. Overall policy focus should be on measures to foster change in three areas: improving productivity of existing crops, diversifying crop production, and expanding non-crop agriculture.

The high returns to land ownership, particularly in rural areas, reflect increasing scarcity. Nearly all-available arable land in Bangladesh is already under cultivation, and competing claims from agricultural and non-agricultural sectors have generated rising pressure on a finite supply. Over the years, land ownership distribution has also been changing toward growing landlessness and an increasing number of small and marginal farms At the same time, property rights are poorly defined and so frequently disputed that over four-fifths of rural litigation is related to land and ownership disputes (Rahman, 1998).

As with land, there is a negative association between poverty and access to common property resources such as khas land.

Average per capita expenditures of people living in communities with access to these assets are between 2 to 3 percent higher than

those in less advantaged settlements. While these assets are not as strongly correlated with expenditure levels as land ownership, the poor perceive them as an important source of livelihood (Nabi and Chakrabarty 2000). Not only is overexploitation a mounting risk, however, these commons are also increasingly a source of conflict, as for example between poorer farmers and fish traders.

2.65. Better Defined Property Rights for Land and Regulations on Common Resource Management With pressure on land and common property resources rising, government has an important role to play in defining property rights and clearer regulations on common resource management.

The poor are predominantly landless, and improvements in the operation of land markets, including tenancy as well as sales, are necessary to enable them to strengthen their position in the rural economy.

Clear, enforceable property rights are a fundamental requirement for well-functioning land markets, for using land as collateral in financial markets, and for creating incentives for landowners to undertake long-term investments to improve land quality and productivity. Establishing clearer property rights as through the proposed issuance of ownership certificates is clearly a step in the right direction, though as noted in the recent Center for Policy Dialogue task force report (CPD 2001a), the main challenge will lie in actually implementing reform.

Given poor people’s limited land ownership, the better management of common property resources in environmentally sustainable ways that benefit them, rather than better-off households, is also important. Forest cover has been declining at a rapid rate (3.3 percent per year between 1980 and 1990) and production of river and estuarine fisheries has also decreased by about one-fourth during the past 15 years. Equitable access is threatened by lack of transparency in sales of rights to such public resources and by capture of the commons by rich farmers.

Sustainable and equitable exploitation of natural resources requires improvements in their management and productivity, increased participation in relevant decision making (including through decentralization of authority to local governments and community-based management approaches), and improvements in governance, especially through greater transparency in the allocation of natural resources (World Bank, 2001). These reforms should be carried out in parallel with a streamlining of land records, tenancy acts, and land use policy.

Table : Rural Poverty Incidence by Land Ownership Percentage of Amt. of Land owned Less than 0.05 acres 0.05-0.49 acres 0.50-1.49 acres 1.50-2.49 acres 2.5 + acres Total

64.7 59.4 47.6 35.7 21.8 53.0

Poverty Incidence Population

Poor

Non- Poor

48 13 17 9 12 100%

Source : World Bank 2000

2.66. Housing Conditions: The poor in Bangladesh are also generally worse than for the rest of the population and in rural as compared to urban areas . While 7 percent of overall population has access to tapped water supplies in Bangladesh, only 2 percent of the poor had access to this drinking water

59 15 16 6 5 100%

36 11 20 13 21 100%

source. The vast majority of the rural population relies on tube wells for drinking water supply. Only 38 percent of the poor lived in dwellings with proper toilet facilities compared to 71 percent of the non-poor. Poorer access to drinking water supply and sanitation in turn make it more likely that the poor suffer from worse health than the non-poor.

Table : Housing Conditions by Sector and Poverty Amongst the Housing Characteristic Average number of rooms in dwelling 2.4 Average size o f dwelling (sq. feet) 419 Population with supply water for drinking 32% Population in dwelling with hard roof 93% Population with proper toilet facilities 83% Population living in electrified dwelling 81% Population living in welling with telephone 8% Source: 2000 HIES

Amongst the Population Urban Rural Overall Non-Poor Poor 2.3

2.4

2.8

1.9

364

375

462

287

0.3%

7%

11%

2%

78%

81%

90%

72%

47%

55%

71%

20%

33%

48%

2%

3%

0.3%

38% 17% <0.1%

Somewhat surprisingly, the 2000 HIES data do not show any difference in propensity to be sick across poor and non-poor households, though this in turn could be because less wealthy households are less likely to report illnesses. Objective anthropometric measures of health status derived from the HIES data show clear differences in children’s health outcomes across income levels .Access to services and amenities such as electricity and phones is much lower among the poor compared to the non-poor, as well as among rural residents compared to those in urban areas.

Though the specifics will vary from country to country and region to region, there are four main components to a comprehensive strategy for facilitating sustainable land and natural resource management. These include: 1. Policy and sector work 2. Research and technology development 3. Knowledge sharing and extension 4. Providing incentives, expenditure priorities, and modes of financing.

2.67. Policy and Sector Work Further empirical work is necessary to clarify the private and social costs and benefits of alternative land use systems.

Tradeoffs and synergies need to be identified and quantified where possible. Policy makers need such information when deciding on the relative priorities for the alignment of producer and consumer price incentives, fiscal and financial subsidies, licensing fees and taxation, and the structure of protection in the context of a country’s environmental and social policy objectives.

2.68. Research and Technology Development A revitalization of investments in agricultural and land use research will be needed to underpin the undertaking of SLM strategies and programs at the country and agro ecological zone levels. Emphasis must be given to the adaptation and improvement of technologies associated with agricultural intensification, the management and rehabilitation of forest cover in sensitive watersheds, and more effective water management (to avert salinization and mitigate flooding) on irrigated and bottom lands.

Despite this evidence, however, current trends are not encouraging.

In the wake of the generally successful “Green Revolution” of the 1970s

and 1980s, fiscal and financial resource transfers to most national agricultural research systems and institutes have fallen sharply.

For example, African countries now spend only 0.5 percent of their agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) on research. A significantly increased adaptive effort is required on issues such as nutrient management and monitoring nutrient balances at appropriate scales, development of stress-tolerant varieties, and the rehabilitation of degraded lands.

Investing in research on how to better adapt current land management systems to cope with increasing climate variability and climate change and the associated shocks and stresses, such as drought, flood, pests, and soil salinity, will also result in improved adaptation to climate change.

Geographic information systems (GIS), geo-spatial mapping, and remote sensing technologies are central to achieving a successful transition from traditional environmental and resource management practices to sustainable development because of their integrative quality (linking social, economic, and environmental data) and their place-based quality (addressing relationships among places at local, national, regional, and global levels).

For instance, there is growing recognition by decision makers that problems at the intersection of agriculture and environmental management, climate change, and land vegetative cover change, with their attendant social and economic consequences, will be at the forefront in the new century.

Technological advances in GIS fostering the integration of satellite imagery with other data (such as socioeconomic or health data) are opening new ways to synthesize complex and diverse geographic data sets, creating new opportunities for collaboration among natural and social scientists and decision makers at all levels.

2.69. Knowledge Sharing and Extension For improved land management practices, it will be important to build farmer innovation into national extension programs and into agricultural and natural resource management initiatives.

Experience shows that farmers do not passively wait for extension advice, but actively experiment and innovate with agricultural and natural resource management practices. A major advantage of innovations by farmers is that they are specific and often are readily acceptable to neighboring farmers.

The incorporation of the farmer innovation approach within a systematic venue can significantly improve the performance of agro extension and techno advisory services, particularly in the field of soil and water conservation, where the visual impact of demonstrations can be a powerful way to attract potential end users of new â&#x20AC;&#x153;best practices.â&#x20AC;? Although land users can financially contribute to costs, public funding will be required in the poorer areas to prepare and facilitate such visits .

2.70. Providing Incentives, Expenditure Priorities, and Modes of Financing SLM practices are likely to be adopted where agriculture is important in rural livelihoods, where agricultural land is in short supply, and/or where SLM has the potential to increase yields of high-value crops.

Policies to facilitate SLM are more likely to be successful if they provide tangible benefits to the individual household or community by emphasizing enhanced agricultural productivity,

food security, and income, rather than by controlling land degradation per se. In this context, a policy framework which provides for market access and attractive producer prices is essential to SLM. In addition to offering policy incentives, normally operating at price and cost margins sufficient to redirect the private sector’s utilization of resources in directions deemed socially desirable, achieving SLM will require additional investments in research and technology generation, knowledge dissemination, and the integration of knowledge and policies at appropriate spatial and temporal levels.

The costs of these investments can be considerable in countries where severe degradation has already taken place—often over decades and even centuries—and in those countries that will be hard hit by increasing climate variability and eventual climate change. Thus governments will need to (a) realistically assess the availability of resources, domestic and foreign, then (b) prioritize investments to rehabilitate the most egregiously damaged lands and soils (as measured, primarily, by the opportunity costs of taking no action), (c) develop a realistic phasing of investments, (d) set forth financing plans, and (e) seek agreements with likely beneficiaries in the private sector and civil society, both to participate in program implementation and to share a portion of the costs in accord with agreed mechanisms.

To stimulate the involvement of private investors in land-friendly commercial activities would relieve pressures on the present land use practices in many developing countries are resulting in land, water, and forest degradation, with significant repercussions for the countries’ agriculture sectors, natural resource bases, and eco environmental balances.

Land degradation can be defined as the loss of land productivity through one or more processes, such as reduced soil biological diversity and activity, the loss of soil structure, soil removal due to wind and water erosion, acidification, salinization, waterlogging, soil nutrient mining, and pollution.

Land degradation also results in the loss of ecosystem services which further undermines the sustainability of both managed and natural ecosystems.

Blaikie and Brookfield (1987) observed that land and water degradation may be unintentional and unperceived; it may result from carelessness or from the unavoidable struggle of vulnerable populations for the necessities of survival.

Land degradation is a global phenomenon that endangers the livelihoods of rural farmers indeed, of the population at large as well as a country’s ability to produce crops, livestock, and products from other natural resources.

Population pressure, disparities in access to the more productive lands, and civil strife have all pushed farmers into cultivating ever-steeper slopes for small-scale food crop production. For example, in many African, Central American, and Southeast Asian countries 50 to 70 percent of total agricultural output value comes from hillside farms, a semi-subsistence regime whose practitioners are among the smallest and poorest farming households. Farming on An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plant, animal, and microorganism communities and the nonliving environment interacting as a functional unit.

Examples of ecosystems include natural forests, landscapes with Mixed patterns of human use, and ecosystems intensively managed and modified by humans, such as agricultural lands and urban areas.

Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems.

These include:

1. Provisioning services that provide necessities such as food, water, timber, and fiber 2. Regulating services that affect climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water quality 3. Cultural services that provide recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits 4. Supporting services such as soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling The human species, while buffered against environmental changes by culture and technology, is fundamentally dependent on the flow of ecosystem services ( MEA 2005).

Sloping lands is difficult and the soils are more prone to erosion and degradation than on level land. In many regions, deforestation of hillsides and mountains coupled with increasing soil tillage has led to increased land degradation, soil erosion, and in some cases, landslides. Programs, incentives, and expenditures to mitigate the factors causing land degradation and reverse its more harmful manifestations are important components of SLM. Land degradation may result from policies that distort input markets (land, labor, capital, fertilizer, and machinery) or output markets (agriculture versus other land uses and relative crop prices). Although farmers use a variety of means to maintain the productivity of their lands, land degradation may occur where there is a disparity between private and social costs or when public policy results in less than optimal soil management.

Factors such as insecure tenure, extreme poverty, and lack of access to credit often result in inadequate investment in maintaining soil capital.

The model based on Driving Forces, Pressures, State, Impacts, Responses (DPSIR) that was developed for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD 1993) has been adopted as a framework and policy tool to identify management options for a range of environmental problems.

The model captures the driving forces and pressures largely controlled by human activity and their effects on the environmental system and the state of natural resources.

The DPSIR model is useful for evaluating the seriousness of land degradation, as well as for identifying potential SLM intervention points, and it is currently being used by the multinational Land Degradation Assessment in Dry lands project of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), GEF, and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) (FAO 2005).

Some of the effects of poor land use practices are felt by land users themselves in the form of declining agricultural yields and higher costs to maintain current production levels. It is estimated that land degradation affects approximately 50 percent of agricultural lands on moderate slopes and 80 percent of lands on steep slopes, and that approximately 25 percent of farm households suffer significant soil losses each year (World Bank 1997). While land users often face constraints in addressing land degradation in their fields, it is somewhat reassuring that over half the farms on moderate and steeper slopes have some form of soil conservation (World Bank 1997).

It is important to point out, however, that there is significant uncertainty as to the true extent of degraded lands at regional and global levels (Reij et al. 1996). Nevertheless, the local, regional, and global consequences of land degradation are serious and reasonably well known. Soil conservation may be the most immediate, but equally effective could be measures to stem biodiversity loss, such as reduced grazing pressure, increased water use efficiency, and protection of soil carbon stocks.

Fortunately, in the past four decades, scientific advances and the application of improved knowledge and technologies by some farmers have resulted in significant total and per capita food

increases, reduced food prices and the sparing of new land that otherwise would have been needed to achieve the same level of production (Evenson and Gollin 2003). Hectares, which represents 25 percent more land area than is suitable for cultivation on that continent. Rather than enjoying surpluses of grains, Asia would now be heavily dependent on food imports if crop yields had remained at 1961 levels (Wood 2005).

Although agricultural growth in Africa has been significantly lower than in Asia and Latin America, examples of quantifiable success in agriculture and SLM have also been documented.

Gabre-Madhin and Haggblade (2004) identified major commodity-specific successes, such as breakthroughs in maize breeding across Africa, sustained gains in cassava breeding and control of major pests and plant diseases, successful control of the livestock disease, booming horticultural and flower exports in East and Southern Africa, and increased cotton production and exports in West Africa.

Improved land management led to higher crop yields, often derived from improved fallow management, rotations with leguminous food and cover crop species, the targeted use of rock phosphate to enhance biological, nitrogen fixation, conservation (minimum tillage) farming, and innovative livelihood diversification approaches involving agriculture and community-based wildlife management.

In a study focusing on African dry lands, SLM successes were found to include reforestation of degraded lands, harnessing of indigenous knowledge about soil and water conservation, and area development via the rehabilitation of degraded lands (Reij and Steeds 2003).

Despite the impressive gains in agricultural productivity via crop intensification in most regions, two negative trends persist.

The first relates to the measured land degradation on some intensively cropped lands, the overuse of ground water, excessive nutrient loads in surface and ground water, and increased pesticide use. The second is the continuing expansion of agriculture into existing savanna and forest ecosystems, which often results in negative effects on ecosystem functions .

Both are increasingly important for sustaining rural livelihoods in the face of population pressure and encroachment.

Chapter Three : Development of Registration as a Part of Legal System

3.1. Registration as a Vital Part of Law, Legal System and Judiciary As all types of registration practices are seen as institutional legal services to make formal trustworthy evidence for judiciary, it is essential to know the links among registration laws, legislative body and the judiciary over the centuries.

The universal problem about defining this term is that the process of definition is itself essentially arbitrary. One may use the term to understand "the laws of nature"; or "the laws of morality" etc. If law is given a meaning of "what I choose it to mean" then there is certainly a danger to define it. A good working and practical definition should be that law is a body of rules, whether formally enacted or customary, which a state or community recognizes as binding on its members or subjects.

It may also be said that law is a body of rules which are enforceable in a court of law. The legal system supplies an orderly means for the settlement of disputes in the state. The law is the means by which the disobedience or violence which underpins the power of the state is sublimated into recognition of the legitimacy of the state's authority.

Law and Rights Right means a claim of some interestâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adversed by an individual or a group of individuals which has either moral or legal basis and which is essential for his development in the society. In a sense right is not create by law, it originates itself as an obvious result of mutual interaction between man and society.

Rights are primarily divided into two categoriesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;moral rights and legal rights.

Moral rights are those rights which have their basis on the rule of natural justice and the violation of which results in moral wrong. Legal rights, on the other hand, are those rights which are recognized by the positive law of the country and can be claimed on legal basis and the violation of which results in legal wrong. As mentioned earlier right originates in the society and remains as a moral right so long it is not recognized by law. Whenever a law recognizes it and secures its protection, it transforms into a legal right. All legal rights in this sense are moral rights and the distinction between the two is one of degree rather than of form.

Legal System The best known definition of a legal system comes from Professor Hart.

He listed five factors which had to coexist to create a legal system. These are as follows: (i)Rules which either forbade certain conduct or compelled certain conduct at pain of sanctions; (ii) Rules requiring people to compensate those whom then injured; (iii) Rules stating what needs to be done in certain mechanical' areas of law such as making a contract or making a will; (iv) A system of courts to determine what the rules are, whether they have been broken and what the appropriate sanction is; and (v) A body whose responsibility it is to make rules, and amend or repeal them as necessary.

The above factors seem to be the minimum requirements for a legal system. Considering these in the context of the legal system of Bangladesh, the first three types of rule all exist the first one being the criminal law, and the second two being part of civil law in Bangladesh.

The main purpose of legal system is the administration of justice has three aspects. The first is the institutional aspect which includes courts civil, criminal and special, the judiciary, the judges, the legal profession, advocates, law officers, the Attorney-General, public prosecutors, public pleader, registrars of the court, the jail and police.

Second is the procedural or functional aspect which includes the procedure of the judicial or quasi-judicial dispensation of justice, the procedure of providing remedies through the institutional organs of the legal system. The procedure of investigation, inquiry, filing a suit, taking evidence, steps in appeal, reviews etc all are within the fold of this procedural aspect. The third one relates to all the conceptual components of the legal system and these include, inter alia, the historical development, the rules of judicial precedent, statutory interpretation, legislation, legal reform, legal aid etc.

3.2. Typology of Law All existing laws may be divided into two categories: national or domestic law and international law. Both these categories may be divided into two sub-categories: such as public and private law.

Public Law: Public law determines and regulates the organization and functioning of the state and determines the relationship of the state with its subjects. if one of the parties is the state, the relationship belongs to public law. Thus constitutional law, criminal law, tax law, administrative law etc. are the branches of public law.

Private Law: Private law determines and governs the relations of citizens with each other. In the domain of private law parties are private individuals and the state, taking the position of an arbitrator, through its judicial organ adjudicates the matters in dispute between them. Law of contracts, torts, of property etc. are examples of private law.

Substantive Law and Procedural Law: Both public and private law may be substantive law or procedural (adjective) law. When a particular law defines rights or crimes or any status, it is called substantive law. For example, penal law, law of contract, law of property etc. are substantive laws. When a particular law determines the remedies or outlines the procedures of litigation, it is called procedural law e.g. Civil Procedure Code, Criminal Procedure Code etc. The distinction between the substantive and procedural law is not an always easy and clear-cut. The same law may be procedural as well as substantive.

Figure : Principal Categories of Law and a regular updating and compilation has long been a problem. Usually once a law is changed it is to be published afresh with up to date amendment for the public and government use. However, this practice has not been followed in the country. Once a law is amended, the government publishes the gazette notification which outlines the amendment only. But both for the public. Bar, Bench, various government departments and interest groups a copy of the after-amendment-version of the law is a must.

3.3. Historical Development of Legal Service in South Asia The present legal system of Bangladesh owes its prevails 200year British rule in the Indian Sub-continent although some

elements of it are remnants of pre-British period tracing back to Hindu and Mughal administration. "It passed through various stages and has been gradually developed as a continuous historical process. The process of evolution has been partly indigenous and partly foreign and the legal system of the present day emanates from a 'mixed' system which have structure, legal principles and concepts modeled on both Mughal and English law.

The Indian sub-continent has a known history of over five hundred years with Hindu and Muslim periods which preceded the British period, and each of these early periods had a distinctive legal system of its own.

For better understanding of the pace of this development it would be convenient to divide the history into five periods- Hindu period, Muslim period, British period, Pakistan period and Bangladesh period.

3.4. Hindu Era : Ancient Legal System This period extends for nearly 1500 years before and after the beginning of the Christian era.. As far as the administration of justice is concerned the King was considered the fountain of justice. He was entrusted with the supreme authority of the administration of justice in his kingdom. The essential features of judicial system of this period were as follows:

3.5 Organization of Legal Structure 1. The King's Court: The King's court was the highest court of appeal in the state. In the King's Court the King was advised by learned Brahmins, the Chief Justice and other judges, ministers, elders and representatives of the trading community.

2. The Chief Justice's Court: Next to the King's Court was the Chief Justice's court which consisted of the Chief Justice and a board of judges to assist the Chief Justice. All the judges in the board belonged to three upper castes preferably Brahmins.

3. Special Tribunal: Sometimes separate tribunals with specified territorial jurisdiction used to be formed from among judges who were members of the board of the Chief Justice's court.

4. Town or District Court: In towns and districts courts were run by the government officials to administer justice under the authority of the king.

5. Village Council: The local village councils or Kulani was constituted at village level. This council consisted of a board of five or more members for administration of justice to villagers. The councils dealt with petty civil and criminal matters.

3.6. Muslim Era : Legal System in Medieval India This period starts with the invasion by Turkish Muslims in the Indian Sub-continent in 1100 A.D. The theory of Muslims was based on Quran, their religious book. According to the Quran, sovereignty lies in Allah (God) and the King is His humble servant to carry out His will on the earth. The ruler was regarded as trustee, being the Almighty's chosen agent.

The whole Muslim period in India may be divided into two sub periodsthe Sultanate of Delhi and the Mughal Empire. By the end of twelfth century Muslim Sultanate was established at Delhi by Muhammad Ghor.' This period existed for thirty years

beginning from 1206 till 1526. On the other hand, in 1526 Delhi Sultanate came to an end when Delhi was captured by Zahiruddin Babar. Babar founded the Mughal Empire in India which existed until 1857.

3.7. Legal System under the Sultanate The Sultan or the King was the supreme authority to administer justice in his kingdom. The judicial system under the Sultanate was organized on the basis of administrative divisions. A systemic classification and gradation of the courts existed at the seat of the capital, in Provinces, Districts, Parganahs, and villages.

The powers and jurisdiction of each court were clearly defined.

The courts established at the capital of the Sultanate were as follows: The King's Court, Diwan-e-Mazalim, Diwan-e-RisaIat, Sadre Jehan's court. Chief Justice's court and Diwan-e-Siyasat.

The King's court was presided dver by the Sultan himself. This court exercised both original land appellate jurisdiction in all kinds of cases. It was the highest court of appeal in the realm. In discharging judicial functions the Sultan was assisted by two reputed Muftis highly educated and expert in law.

The court of Diwan-e-Mazalim and court of Diwan-e-RisaIat were the highest courts of criminal and civil appeals respectively.

Though the Sultan nominally presided over these courts, in the absence of the Sultan the Chief Justice (Qazi-ul Quzat) presided over these courts. Quazi-ul Quzat was the actual head of the judiciary and he tried all types of cases. Qaziul Quzat was appointed by the Sultan from amongst the most virtuous of the learned men in his kingdom.

In 1248, Sadre Jahan was appointed by Sultan Nasiruddin.

This post was superior to post of Qazi-ul Quzat. Now he became defacto head of the judiciary. The offices of Sadre Jahan and Chief Justice remained separate for a long period, but these were amalgamated by emperor Ala Uddin. However, these were again separated by Sultan Firoz Tuughlaq.

The court of Diwan-e-Siyat was constituted to decide the cases of rebels and high treason etc. Its main purpose was to deal with criminal prosecutions. Some of the other officers attached to the court of Chief Justice were as under:

1. Mufti: He was selected by the Chief Justice and appointed by the Sultan. He acted as legal expert and in case of difference of opinion between the mufti and judge, the difference was referred to the Sultan for decision

2. Pandit: He was a Brahmin learned in law of Hindu and he acted as expert of law in civil cases of non-Muslims and his position was similar to the Mufti.

3. Mohtasib: He was entrusted with the prosecution for the violation of cannon law.

4. Dadbak: He was the registrar or the clerk of the court and his duty was to ensure attendance of persons summoned by the court. Sometimes he was also entrusted with the task of trying of petty civil cases.

3.8. Provincial Authorities : In each Province (Subah) at the Provincial Headquarters four courts were established, namely Adalat Nazim-e-Subah, Adalat Qazi-e-Subah, Governor's Bench

(Diwan-e-Subah) and Sadre-e- Subah.

1. Adalat Nazim Subah: This court was presided over by the Nazim. In the Province the Sultan was represented by him and like the Sultan he exercised both original and appellate jurisdiction. In original cases he usually sat as single judge.

From his judgment an appeal lay to the Central Appeal.

Court at Delhi. While exercising appellate jurisdiction, the Nazim sat with the Qazi-e-Subah constituting a Bench to hear appeals. From the decision of this Bench, a final second appeal lay before the Central Court at Delhi.

2. Adalat Qazi-e-Subah: This court was presided over by the Chief Qazi of the Province. This court tried all cases of civil and criminal matters. It also heard appeals from the courts of District Qazis. Appeals from this court lay to the Adalat Nazim-e-Subah. This court also had the supervisory jurisdiction over the administration of justice in his province and to see that the Qazis in districts were properly functioning. Qazi-e-Subah was appointed by the Sultan, but selected by the Chief Justice amongst persons who had established reputation for learning and scholarship of law and possessed a high character and was a man of unimpeachable integrity. Four officers namely Mufti, Pandit, Mohtasib and Dadbak were attached with this court too.

3. Diwan-e-Subah: This court had both original and appellate jurisdiction in all revenue matters. It had the final authority in the Province over all cases concerning revenue.

4. Sadre-e-Subah: This was the Chief Ecclesiastical court in the province.

This court dealt with the matters relating to grant of stipend, lands etc.

3.9. District Courts: In each District, at the District Headquarter, allowing courts were established: 1. The District Qazi's Court: This court had the jurisdiction to try all civil and criminal matters. It also heard appeals from the decisions of the Parganah Qazis, Kotwals and village panchayats. This court was presided over by the Qazi who was appointed by the Sadre Jahan on the recommendation of the Qazi-e-Subah. This court was also assisted by same four officials as mentioned above.

2. Faujder Court: This court had jurisdiction to try petty criminal cases concerning security and suspected criminals.

Appeal from this court lay with the court of Nazim-e-Subah.

3. Court of Mir Adils: This court dealt with land revenue matters.

Appeal from this court lay before the Court of Diwan-e-Subah.

4. Court of Kotwals: This court was authorized to try police and municipality cases.

3.10. Parganah's Courts: The Courts of Qazi-e-Parganah and Kotwals were constituted at each Parganah Headquarter. The Court of Kazi-e-Parganah had all powers of a District Kazi in all civil and criminal cases except hearing appeals. The Kotwal was authorized to try petty criminal cases. He was also the principal executive officer of the town.

3.11. Village Courts:

For each group of villages, a panchayat was functioning to look after the executive and judicial functions. The panchayat decided petty civil and criminal cases of purely local nature.

3.12. Legal System under Mughal Administration During the Mughal period (1526-1857) the Mughal emperor was considered the fountain of justice'. The emperor created a separate department of justice (Mahakunia-e-Adalat) to regulate and see that justice was administered properly. The important courts functioning during this period were as follows:

3.13. Central Authorities Three important courts were functioning at the capital city of Delhi. They were as follows: 1. The Emperor's Court: The Emperor's court presided over by the emperor himself, was the highest court of the empire.

This court had jurisdiction to hear both civil and criminal cases. The Emperor while hearing the cases as a court of first instance, was assisted by Daroga-e-Adalat, Mufti and Mir Adil. While hearing appeal the Emperor presided over a Bench consisting of the Chief Justice (Qazi-ul-Quzat) and other Qazis of the Chief Justice's court. The Emperor referred points for opinion regarding authoritative interpretation of law on a particular point to the Chief Justice's court.

2. The Court of Chief Justice: This was the second important court at the capital. This court presided over by the Chief Justice was assisted by two Qazies of great importance who were attached to this court as joint judges. This court had jurisdiction to try original, civil and criminal cases and also to hear appeals from the Provincial courts. It had also supervisory power over the working of the Provincial courts.

3. Chief Revenue Court: This was the third important court in Delhi.

It was the highest court of appeal to decide revenue cases. This court was also assisted by the same four officials as mentioned below.

In each court, as stated above, four officials were attachedDaroga-e-Adalat, mufti, Muhtasib and Mir Adil. Apart from the above-stated three important courts, there were also two courts in Delhi. The court of Qazi-e-Askar was a special court to decide military matters. This court moved from place to place with troops. Another court was the court of Qazi of Delhi which sat in the absence of the Qazi-ul-Quzat to decide local civil and criminal matters.

3.14 Provincial Authorities In each Province there were following three types of courts:

1. The Governor's Court (Adalat-e-Nazim-e-Subah): The Governor or Nazim presided over this court and he had original jurisdiction in air cases arising in the Province. This court had also jurisdiction to hear appeals from the subordinate courts. Further appeal from this court lay to the Emperor's court. This court had also supervisory power over the administration of justice in the Province. One Mufti and a Daroga-e-Adalat were attached to this court.

2. The Provincial Chief Appeal Court (Qazi-i-Subah's Court): This court heard appeals from the decisions of the Qazis of the districts. The powers of Qazi-i-subah were coextensive with those of Governors. This court had original civil and

criminal jurisdiction as well. The officers attached to this court were. Mufti, Mohtasib, Daroga-e-Adalat-e-Subah, MirAdil, Pandit, Sawaneh Nawis and Waqae Nigar.

3. Provincial Chief Revenue Court (Diwan's Court): This court presided over by Diwan-e-Subah had original and appellate jurisdiction in all revenue matters. An appeal from this court lay to the Diwan-e-Ala at the Imperial capital. Four officers attached to this court were- Peshker, Darogha, Treasurer and Cashier.

3.15. District Courts In each district there were following four courts: 1. District Qazi: The chief civil and criminal court of the district was presided over by the Qazi-e-Sarkar. This court had jurisdiction to try all civil and criminal matters. Appeal from this court lay to the Qazi-e-Subah. Qazi-e-Sarkar was the principal judicial officer in the District. Six officers were attached to this court- Darogha-e-Adalat, Mir Adil, Mufti, Pandit, Mohtasib and VakiI-e-Sharayat.

2. Faujdar Adalat: This court presided over by a Faujdar had: jurisdiction to try cases concerning riots and state security.

An appeal lay to the court of Governor from the decisions of this court.

3. Kotwali Court: This court presided over by a Kotwal-e- Shahar decided all petty criminal cases. Appeals from this j court lay to the Qazi-e-Sarker.

4. Amalguzari Kachari: This court presided over by an Amalguzar decided revenue matters. An appeal from this court lay to Diwan-e-Subah's adalat.

3.16. Parganah's Court In each Parganah there were three courts: 1. Qazi-e-Parganah's Court: This court had jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases arising within its original jurisdiction. This court had no appellate jurisdiction. Appeal from this court lay to the court of District Qazi.

2. Court of Kotwal: This court decided all petty criminal cases.

Appeals from this courts' decision lay to the Court of District Qazi.

3. Amin-e-Parganah: This court presided over by an Amin decided all revenue matters. An appeal from this court lay to the District Amalguzar.

3.17. Village Courts In each village two types of courts were working- court of village panchayat and the court of Zaminder. The village panchayat consisted of five persons headed by a headman. The panchayat had the power to decide petty local civil and criminal matters. No appeal was allowed from the decision of a panchayat. In the late Mughal period, Zaminder's courts were empowered to try petty criminal and civil matters.

3.18. Legal Reforms by Lord Cornwallis (1787-1793): In 1781 Elijah Empay who was the Chief Justice of the Calcutta Supreme Court was appointed by the company as the Chief Justice of the Sadar Diwani Adalat as well. After being so appointed Empay introduced some important reforms like the number of Mufassil Diwani Adalat was increased from 6 to 18; a Civil Code was compiled for the guidance of the Sadar Diwani

and Mufassil Diwani Adalat. Before any further improvement could' be done Justice Empay was recalled by the British Parliament to explain his conduct in accepting two posts at the same time and one being subordinate to the Governor-General and Council.

After Lord Cornwallis introduced judicial changes in three phases in 1787, in 1790 and in 1793. After his scheme of 1793 the judicial structure took the following look:

Figure : Legal Structure under Lord Cornwallis.

3.19. Appeal to the Privy Council: It was the Act of Settlement1781 which for the first time made provisions for appeal to the Privy Council from Sadar Diwani Adalat in civil suits valuing Rs.50,000 or more.

3.20. Provincial Court of Appeal It was established in place of four Courts of Circuits in four divisions in the scheme of 1790. The predecessor of this court was the Provincial Diwani Adalat under the plan of 1780. These four appeal courts had jurisdiction to try both criminal and civil suits. Suits were sent to! them by the Government or Sadar Diwani Adalat. They could also entertain original suit which a Mufassil Diwani Adalat referred to them. They also heard appeals from all decisions of the Mufassil Diwani Adalats.

3.21 Magistrate's Courts These were not a separate tire of court. Magisterial powers of the collectors was shifted the Mufassil Diwani Adalat. Thus unlike earlier the Mufassil Diwani Adalat was to exercise dual functions- civil and criminal.

3.22. Registrar's Court This was a subordinate court run by a servant of the company, Registrar's Court established in 1793 had jurisdiction to hear It heard cases up to value of Rs.200 and cases up to Rs.500 during the time of Hastings. Up to Rs.25 the Registrar's court's decision was final and in case of more than Rs. 25 appeal lay to the Provincial Court of Appeal.

3.23. Munsifâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Court This court was established within 10 miles of the residence of the defendant to bring justice nearer to the people and to save them from inconveniences of attending the diwani adalat. This court presided over by tehsilder, landholders, farmers etc. native commissioner heard cases up to Rs.50 in value.

3.24. Reforms by Lord Hastings (1814) Though reforms were made by Sir John Shore in 1795, Lord Wellesley in 1798 and Lord Minto in 1812, the big change was done by Lord Hastings in 1814 which were as follows: Figure : Legal System of Lord Hastings Sadar Amin's Court was established by Wellesley at each district Headquarters was to decide cases up to Rs.100 which was raised up to Rs.150 by Hasting.

Munsifâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Court was established by Wellesley in every thana to decide cases up to Rs.50 which was raised up to Rs.64 by Hastings.

In 1796 the District Magistrates, i.e, Mufassil Diwani Adalat were authorized to employ their assistants in execution of their duties.

In 1807 Lord Minto enhanced the power of the District

Magistrates so as to enable them to award sentences up to six months' imprisonment with a fine not exceeding Rs.200 and in default, a further period of imprisonment not exceeding six months. Thus the entire period of imprisonment under the sentence of a District Magistrate could in no case exceed one year. Cases deserving severe punishment than this had to be referred to the Court of Circuit for trial.

2.25. Reform by Lord Bentick (1828-1835) 1. Provincial Court of Appeal was abolished and the original jurisdiction of the District Diwani Adalat became unlimited.

2. Registrars no longer had any judicial power.

3. A new court of Provincial Sadar Ainin was created with native judges at every district. This court had jurisdiction to try cases up to Rs. 1000-5000.

Sadar Amins were given criminal jurisdiction by Lord Hastings In 1821. The District Magistrates could refer petty criminal cases for trial and punishment to Sadar Amins.

Earlier collectors were devoid of any judicial power.

However, in 1821 Hastings gave collectors magisterial powers. As a result, two types of district magistrates' court appeared: Judge-Magistrates and Collector-Magistrates.

Circuit Courts were abolished and in their place Commissioner of Revenue and Circuit were appointed at each division. They were under the control of the Sadar Nizamat Adalat in their judicial functions and to the Board of Revenue in their revenue duties. These Commissioners had superintendence and control over the magistrates, police, collectors and other executive revenue officers.

Pakistan Period As mentioned earlier, with the adoption of the Constitution of 1956 the highest court in Pakistan became the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the High Courts were retained at provinces as earlier. The subordinate courts were the same as in 1947. After the adoption of the Constitution of 1962 the whole judicial structure was the same as under the Constitution of 1956.

3.26. Development of South Asian Registration Law The system of registration had almost been unknown to the people of Indo Bangladesh subcontinent before the advent of the British in this country, because in the good old days, the people possessed a high sense of morality and all their mutual dealings and transactions were government by lofty ethical principles.

But with the change of time, there was a gradual decline in public morality.

When the British rule, in its inception, was gathering itself into a force the country had been passing through a critical phase.

There had been widespread social and political unrest. The people grabbed the lands for others, forged and fabricated documents and produced them, claiming immunity from payment of land revenue. Cut off from their ancient mooring, the people feel into vices of corruption, forgery and treachery .As such it became extremely difficult to settle the disputes of the rival parties.

With a view to preventing fraud and streamlining the collection of revenue, the British, with the growth of their interests in the country, felt the used of introducing the system of registration.

The law of registration was, therefore, introduction not abruptly but by a gradual process is to attune the people to the new system.

Provincial laws were enacted from time to time providing for the establishment of registry officers. The registration of documents was made optional, though it was provided that certain documents, if registered, would take effect against unregistered documents. Of these provincial laws, the first was the Bengal Statute of 1781 and the most important were Bengal Regulation 36 of 1793, Bombay Regulation 4 of 1802 and Madras Regulation 17 of 1802. There Regulations were drafted on the model of the Yorkshire Regulation Act of the reign of Queen Anne . As regards registration of documents in other provinces, Circulars were issued making suitable provision in that behalf.

As the people began to appreciate its merits, the provincial laws were conveniently replaced by the General laws which were promulgated and made applicable to the whole of British India.

Of the General laws the most important were Act 16 to of 1864.

Act 1865, Act 20 of 1866, Act 8 of 1871, Act 3 of 1877 and Act 161908. By Act 16 of 1864 which came into force on 1st January 1965, the system of compulsory registration was, for the first time, introduced in British India dividing all documents into two classes viz- Cements which were compulsorily remittable, Cements, the registration of which was optional.

It will thus appear the above facts that the Registration Law is divisible into two periods: 1) Era of Provincial laws and optional registration from 1793 tob1864.

2) Era of General laws extending to the whole of British India and compulsory registration from 1865 to 1947.

The subsequent historical development of the law of Registration from 1947 onwards is very short. With the passing of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, British India was partitioned and Pakistan became independent in 1947 and thereafter it was constituted into a sovereign state. After the independence in 1947, the Registration Law of British India continued to be the law of Pakistan in terms of section 18(3) of the Independence Act, 1947, with necessary adaptations as made under the Pakistan (Adaptation of Existing Bangladesh Laws) Order, 1947, and the (Pakistan) Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinances Order, 1949.

After adaptation, further amendments were made in the Registration Act 1908 from time to time and latest amendments were made therein by Pakistan Ordinance XLV of 1962. After liberation the act continued in force as per provision or article 149 of the constitution of the Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Republic of Bangladesh.

The statute of 1781 passed on the 9th January 1991was introduced the settlement of Fort William in Bengal. Its objects were to supply the want of a registry of houses, lands and states within that settlement and to prevent fraud.

Mr. Edward Tiretta, after whom a well-known market in Calcutta is named, Mr. Edward Tiretta was the First Registrar of Lands, Houses, The Record Room and The Registrar of Calcutta. There are several Register-books containing the registration of deeds effected by Mr. Edward Tiretta and his successors who combined in themselves the triple functions of 1). Registrar of Memorials of Deeds , 2). Registrar of Mutations in the Ownership and 3). Surveyor of Lands, Houses And Estates .

By Regulation 36 of 1793 which came into force on 1st January 1796, an office for the registration of deeds was established at the Sadar Station of each Zilla in the cities of Patna, Dacca and Murshidabad. The superintendence of the office

was committed to the Registrar of the court of Dewany Adalat who registered documents.

Regulation 36 of 1793 was passed for appointing a Kaziul-Kazaat or Head Kazi of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and the Kazis stationed in the several districts. Their respective duties were prescribed and they attested documents with their seal and signature.

Regulation 4 of 1824 provided for appointment of Deputy Registrars during the absence of the permanent incumbents owing to sickness or other causes. Regulation 7 of 1932 was passed empowering the Zilla or city judge who had been entrained with the duty of registration, to make over the said duty to the Principal Sadar Ameen of the station.

Act 30 of 1938 provided for the establishment of Sub-Registrar any civil station other than Sadar stations and the appointment superintend such officer.

Act 11 of 1851 was passed providing for the custody of registers of deeds among the records of the Magistrates or Joint Magistrates in the lowerProvinces of Bengal.

By Act 3 of 1859 Cantonment Joint Magistrates were constituted Registers of Deeds. The provision for sending an abstract of every registered document to the Registrar General appears in Act 16 of 1864. Act 20 of 1866 provided for the appointment by the local Government of Registrars and Sub-Registrars only. The provision for the appointment of Deputy Registrars does not appear in this Act. Act 8 of 1871 provided for the abolition of the office of the Registrar-General as an office of record and registry and limited the duties of that officer to inspection and general superintendence under the altered designation of Inspector General of Registration. Section 8 of this Act also provided for the appointment of Inspectors or Registration Office.

After Independence, this Act was adapted in Pakistan in 1949.

Further amendments have since been made therein form time to time and has been brought up to date (vide Pakistan (Adaptation of Existing Pakistan Laws) Order, 1947, Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinance 1949. The Registration (Amendment) Act 1950 (69 of 1950).

The Registration (Amendment) Act 1957 (1 of 1958), Central laws (Statute Reform) Ordinance 1960 (21 of 1960), The Registration Act (Amendment) Ordinance 1961 (32 of 1961), Presidents Order, 1961 (1 of 1962). After liberation this Act continued in force as per provision of Article 149 of the constitution of the peoples Republic of Bangladesh.

3.27. History of Registration in the United Kingdom In earlier periods of our history publicity was considered essential in almost all dealings with property. The transfer of the immediate freehold in possession was made notorious by livery of seisin; the transfer of the remainder or reversion was made equally notorious by the attornment of the tenant of the estate in possession, by which he recognized the new proprietor; the surrender of copyholds, followed by the admission of the copyholder, was an open avowal in the presence of the lord, and before the whole homage, that an old tenant had died or disposed of his interest, and that a new tenant had come into the manor and taken his place; fines and proclamations were public acknowledgements in the Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Courts that an estate which was supposed to belong to one man was in truth the property of another; while easements, such as rights of way and rights of water, were evidenced and kept in existence by the notoriety of continued user and actual enjoyment.

The Statutes of Uses and Enrolments, measures passed in 1536 during the reign of King Henry VIII. They said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;By them the Legislature sought to abolish that secret transfer of land which had begun to prevail by means of private confidences, enforced by the jurisdiction of the Courts of Equity. But the object of these provisions was soon evaded by a subtle construction and

contrivance; and instead of giving publicity and notoriety to equitable transfers, the Statute of Uses was so interpreted as to make even legal conveyances, what they never were before, secret. So obvious were the evils resulting from this change, that from the time of James the First to the present, repeated attempts have been made to remedy them by means of public registration, but made in vain.

It appears that the principle of registration has been constantly recommended by the able lawyers and statesmen; that this principle has been repeatedly recognized by both Houses of Parliament separately, though they have failed to agree in the details of a measure which might pass into a law; that as early as the reign of Charles the Second this uncertainty of titles to estates was deemed to be “one cause of the decay of rents and value of lands”; and that the same conviction, instead of being diminished, has been so much strengthened by subsequent experience, that upwards of twenty bills have within the course of the last twenty years been brought into Parliament for the purpose of establishing systems of registration.

About other registers then in existence e.g. registers of judgements , of annuities and of bills of sale and local deeds registries in Yorkshire and Middlesex : ‘It is important to observe that this institution of registry has always, in each of its several forms, been directed to the attainment of one specific objective of public policy, and founded upon a regard to one broad and distinctly defined interest of the community; namely the security of title and of transactions by means of notoriety and the perpetuation of evidence.’

It is no surprise, in the light of these and other comments in the report, that an outline Bill, prepared by one of the Commissioners and referred to with approval in the report, contains a clear provision for a general right of inspection of the register and of any documents deposited in the register office.

One of the members of the Royal Commission was Sir Richard Bethell, first as Solicitor General and from 1856 as Attorney General in the Liberal government of the day. Some five years later, as Lord Westbury, the Lord Chancellor, he brought the Bill to Parliament which, in due course, became the Land Registry Act 1862.

As a signatory of the 1857 report it must be assumed that Lord Westbury had accepted the principle of an open register. His Bill, nevertheless, was drawn on the basis that the new register would be available for inspection only by, or with the authority of, the registered proprietor.

Apart from one oblique remark by the Conservative front bench spokesman in the House of Lords there appears to have been no reference to this change of direction in the debates in either House.

It may be that the presence in the House of Lords of most of the major landowners of the time had some influence on this aspect of the Bill but that can only be speculation. In any event, neither the register put in place by the 1862 Act nor its successor, established by the Land Transfer Act 1875 and continued by the Land Registration Act 1925, were open to public inspection.

This secrecy, or privacy as we used to call it, became such an entrenched part of our system that it was often put forward as one of the advantages of land registration in England and Wales.

In 1958 Sir George Curtis and Theodore Ruoff, the then Chief Land Registrar and Senior Registrar respectively, had this to say about the subject in the first edition of The Law and Practice of Registered Conveyancing.

‘The Statute of Uses, by the interpretation placed upon it,

enabled legal conveyances to be made in secret and thus was born the English system of conveyancing by deeds kept in private custody to which no one has access save the person to whose property they relate. The framers of the land registration system could do no otherwise than adopt this principle of secrecy and so well did they succeed that today there is greater privacy in the register of title than under the system of unregistered conveyancing, for in the latter case encumbrances , including mortgages, must be registered under the Land Charges Act 1925 in registers open to public inspection, for a fee of one shilling.

There is nothing in their work to suggest that the learned authors did not honestly believe this statement or that they had any ironic intent. However, the 1857 Commissioners deserve at least some of the credit for framing the land registration system and, as we have seen, they deployed the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;subtle construction and contrivanceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the Statute of Uses as an argument for openness, not secrecy.

Chapter Four : Global Challenges and Action for Land Registration and Sustainable Development

An important government activity of all nation states is building and maintaining a land registration system (LRS) with the primary objectives of delivering sustainable development, particularly by supporting an efficient and effective land market to ensure : 1. Growing understanding that equitable justice systems are key to sustainable development 2, Recognition of the need for complementary demand side initiatives to more conventional approaches to justice reform 3. Increased focus 4. Broader governance 5. Decentralization and community driven development 6. Participation , transparency and accountability 7. Security and stability 8. Human rights and development

At same time, ‘missing law’ in development more generally and limited engagement with issue of development causing conflict This includes cadastral surveys to identify and subdivide land, land registry systems to support simple land trading (buying, selling, mortgaging and leasing land) and land information systems to facilitate access to the relevant information, increasingly through an internet enabled e-government environment. For most countries a cadastre is at the core of the LRS providing spatial integrity and unique land parcel identification in support of security of tenure and effective land trading. For many cadastral and land administration officials and for much of society, these are the primary, and in many cases the only roles of the cadastre and LRS. However the role, and particularly the potential of LRS and their core cadastres, rapidly expanded over the last couple of decades and will continue to expand in the future. But what is a land market in a modern economy? Since LRS were developed, land commodities and trading patterns have undergone substantial changes: they are now complex, corporatized and international.

Are our current LRS designed to support a modern land market that trades in complex commodities, such as mortgage backed certificates, water rights, land information, time shares, unit and property trusts, resource rights, financial instruments, insurance products, options, carbon credits, salinity credits, corporate development instruments, and vertical village.

Modern land markets involve a complex and dynamic range of activities, processes and opportunities, and are impacted upon by a wide range of restrictions and responsibilities imposed on land especially since World War II. These restrictions are continually evolving, primarily in response to economic, energy and sustainable development objectives. These developments are made more complicated by changes in information and communications technologies. One commodity in particular land information has the ability to transform the way both governments and the private sector in modern economies do business. The e-land administration concept as part of e-government initiatives is now being replaced by a new vision for spatially enabled land information.

Land information, together with a jurisdiction’s spatial data infrastructure (SDI), now has the potential to transform the way a modern society functions: how tax is collected, how heath services are delivered, how the environment and our cities are managed, how we respond to emergencies and terrorism, and how elections are run. Linked to these transformational technologies, such as Google Earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth, or to location enabled platforms, land information has the potential for spatially enabling governments and societies in ways never imagined. At the same time, the global challenge of sustainable development is causing its own problems and placing new demands on LRS, SDI and the resulting land information.

Land surveyors, lawyers and land administrators are experts in designing, building and managing our land registration systems (LRS). They are experienced in creating, describing and defining land parcels and associated rights. Historically, society required these skills to support an efficient and effective land market in which these rights in land are traded to promote economic development. By the mid nineteenth century, trading involved buying, selling, mortgaging and leasing of rights in land. By the mid twentieth century, land administration and cadastral officials, and associated legal and surveying professionals, assumed that they understood land markets, and that they had

developed appropriate professional skills to serve the needs of those markets. Surveyors who worked from ‘whole to part’ designed the tools to support land markets – the LRS, cadastres, and supporting technical and administrative skills.

Unfortunately these tools were involved in supporting the land trading activities. Designing a land market, of itself, is another question. From the point of view of land administrators, there is little documentation in the literature on how to design and build a land market or even on the development and growth of land markets.

Historically, existing land registration (LR) skills are appropriate for simple land markets which focus on traditional land development and simple land trading. Meanwhile, land markets have evolved dramatically in the last 50 years and are now very complex, with the major wealth creation mechanisms focused on the trading of complex commodities. While the potential expansion of our LRS to support the trading of complex commodities offers many opportunities . one particular commodity - land information – has the potential to significantly change the way societies operate, and how governments and the private sector do business.

The growth of markets in complex commodities is a logical evolution of our people to land relationships, and our evolving cadastral and LRS. The changing people to land relationships, the need to pursue sustainable development and the increasing need to administer complex commodities within an ICT (information and communications technologies) enabled virtual world, offer new opportunities for our land administration systems. However many challenges need to be overcome before these opportunities can be achieved.

Research aimed at understanding and meeting these challenges is undertaken within the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration, Department of Geomatics, University of Melbourne The over arching focus of the Centre’s research projects is spatially enabling government in support of sustainable development. The Centre identified a potential for land information that goes far beyond the land administration endeavor. This potential is called spatially enabling government. One key to achieving this capacity involves using land information in entirely new ways, gathering momentum of technological changes and returning that momentum back to invigorate land administration functions.

This new vision for managing land information to spatially enable governments is called vision include: 1. A collaborative whole of government approach to managing spatial information using spatial data infrastructure (SDI) principles, 2. Better understanding of the role that the LRS plays in integrated land management (land markets, land use planning, land taxation etc), 3. Seamless integration of built and environmental spatial data in order to deliver sustainable development objectives, 4. Improved interoperability between our land information silos through e-land administration, 5. More flexible technology and models to support cadastres, especially to introduce a third dimension of height, and a forth dimension of time, 6. A national geo-coded street address file linked to the cadastre, 7. better management of the complex issues in our expanding multiunit developments and vertical villages, 8. Better management of the ever increasing restrictions and responsibilities relating to land, 9. Incorporation of a marine dimension into both our cadastres and (land) administration systems.

The fundamental idea is to rebuild LRS to support emerging needs of government, business and society to deliver more integrated and effective information, and to use this information throughout government and non-government processes by organizing technical systems in the virtual environment around place or location. To understand these descriptions of a possible invigorated LRS future, it is useful to trace how land registration met the challenges of economic development and social change in the past.

4.1 . Land Management Vision The developed vision for future must be sufficiently flexible to adapt to this changing world of new technology, novel market demands, and sustainable development, as shown in. This vision incorporates and builds upon the above vision of land and can be considered an infrastructure or enabling platform to support spatial enablement of government (Wallace et al. 2006) 1. Services to Country Context 2. Institutional Arrangements 3. Capacity Building 4. Education & Research 5. Facilitating 6. Sustainable Development 7. Economic, Social, Environmental, Governance 8. Enhancing Quality of Life 9. Land Policy Framework 10. Spatially Enabled Land Administration 11. Land Tenure, 12. Land Value, 13. Land Use , 14. Land Development 15. Social Context People to land relationships are dynamic. The land registration and cadastral responses to managing these relationships are also dynamic and continually evolving. For developed countries, a central objective of a LRS is to serve efficient and effective land markets. Because of sustainable development and technology drivers, modern land markets now trade in complex commodities and the companion skills of land surveyors, lawyers and , remain focused on the more traditional processes supporting simple land trading. The growth in complex commodities offers many opportunities for administrators who are prepared to think laterally and more strategically.

The importance of land information has grown over the last few decades. It is now more important and useful to government than merely providing traditional support for security of tenure and simple land trading. LRS, and their core cadastral components, are evolving into an essential infrastructure embracing SDIs, and new technologies to spatially enable governments, and to identify the â&#x20AC;&#x153;whereâ&#x20AC;? for all government decisions, polices and implementation strategies. Eventually, although probably sooner rather than later, spatial enablement of governments and societies will provide links between land administration and sustainable development so that sustainability accounting measures are fed into monitoring and evaluation systems.

This brief account of the future challenges land registration officials to design and build modern land registration and cadastral systems capable of supporting the creation, administration and trading of complex commodities, and providing reliable land information to spatially enable governments and societies in general. Unfortunately, unless LRS

are refocused on delivering transparent and vital land information and enabling platforms, modern economies will have difficulty meeting sustainable development objectives and achieving their economic potential.

As Bangladesh with its 144.3 million population and a land area of 148,393 sq. km. still remains in the bottom of the global development rankings due to its poor economy which is mainly dominated by only two most influencing factors, First, its vast population and second , its land resources. This type of economy can not progress without modern registration system comprising of a major influencing factor like LVT, LIS, GIS, e-conveyancing , records and archives ICT, technology based speedy service , PSI and freedom of information .

Currently the country is undertaking a series of common macroeconomic and structural reforms aimed at laying the foundation for higher and sustained economic and social development. These broad-based reforms focus on improved monetary and fiscal policy, enhanced revenue mobilization, expenditure and budgetary controls, trade liberalization, privatization, civil service reform, as well as specific sectoral reforms.

The main sectors for implementation of development projects are : agriculture, forests, fisheries, livestock, education, health, cottage industries, communication, irrigation and flood protection, family planning promotion, developing local resources, public property, such as roads, bridges, canals, embankments, telephones and electricity lines reviewing the development activities of other agencies encouraging sanitation registration of births, deaths, blind people, beggars and destitute people census, public libraries roads, culverts and bridges, gardens, playgrounds, open places and trees in public areas , ferry ghats ,rest houses and inns, Implementing the development plan assigned by the central government.

Discretionary services include: education and culture social welfare , financial welfare, public health, law and order, prevention of crime, disorder and smuggling, civil status register.

Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus emphasized on the issue citing â&#x20AC;&#x153;The prevailing problems of millions of the Bangladesh people currently facing such as poverty and hunger, employment, infrastructure development, primary health care, primary education, law enforcement and controlling of crimes and offences, disaster and calamities, ethnic extremism, adolescent maternity, torture on women, expansion of the economy, social safety net, social services and social welfare programs..â&#x20AC;?

The high returns to land ownership, particularly in rural areas, reflect increasing scarcity. Nearly all-available arable land in Bangladesh is already under cultivation, and competing claims from agricultural and non-agricultural sectors have generated rising pressure on a finite supply. Over the years, land ownership distribution has also been changing toward growing landlessness and an increasing number of small and marginal farms. At the same time, property rights are poorly defined and so frequently disputed that over four-fifths of rural litigation is related to land and ownership disputes.

As with land, there is a negative association between poverty and access to common property resources such as khas land.

Average per capita expenditures of people living in communities with access to these assets are between 2 to 3 percent higher than those in less advantaged settlements. While these assets are not as strongly correlated with expenditure levels as land ownership, the poor perceive them as an important source of livelihoods.

With pressure on land and common property resources rising, government has an important role to play in defining property rights and clearer regulations on common resource management.

The poor are predominantly landless, and improvements in the operation of land markets, including tenancy as well as sales, are necessary to enable them to strengthen their position in the rural economy. Clear, enforceable property rights are a fundamental requirement for well-functioning land markets, for using land as collateral in financial markets, and for creating incentives for landowners to undertake long-term investments to improve land quality and productivity. Establishing clearer property rights as through the proposed issuance of ownership certificates is clearly a step in the right direction.

The scope for redistributing land to the poor, or of bringing more land under cultivation is limited. Rather, the policy should stress measures to improve land productivity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in order to foster the agricultural growth that has led in the past to higher rural wages to the benefit of the poor as well as to promote rural non farm activities. Increasing agricultural growth is important not only for daily wage laborers, but also for the poor who rely on the non-farm sector for their livelihoods. Because of the numerous forward and backward linkages.

Land management, land administration and land registration in Bangladesh suffers from several problems. Some of these specific problems with suggested actions are as follows: 1. Land Ceiling, Sharecropping: Abolition of absentee land ownership: 2. Absentee land ownership is a barrier towards enhanced productivity of land and labor. Therefore, land should belong to those who are tillers of the soil.

3. Land acquisition: The victim of the land acquisition received much less than the market price of land (general by one third of the market price). Moreover, they had to pay extra money to get compensation. For reducing corruption and sufferings of the people, transparency and accountability of the Land Acquisition Administration should be established 4. Land Registration: The registration authority has some limited responsibility to ensure the real ownership of the land transference.

5. Land Survey and Records: This is a technical process to update the record of ownership of land after a long period of time of 20-25 years. Within this time, land ownership frequently changes hands that are not included later in map.

So land records are not updated regularly. Moreover, people are not generally aware about rules and methods of the survey and the settlement office has no accountability for their activities.

Thus, for those and other related reasons, land record system appears to be the major source of land dispute in Bangladesh.

For resolving the above mentioned problem, survey and ownership record system should be modernized so that GIS or GPS system can be introduced for efficient and regular record keeping and survey. There should be integration amongst various land offices for transparent and efficient survey. There should be a vigilance team including local elected body, civil society organization and women and peasant organization to oversee and make aware the people about survey and record related problems.

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s access to land : Women have very limited and unequal right and access to resources, Particularly land. The majority of women -- both Muslim and Hindu â&#x20AC;&#x201C; face

two types of inequality. According to Sharia Law, a female child in a Muslim family is entitled to only half of what a male child receives from the paternal property. But in practice, the female child rarely gets what she is legally entitled due mainly to values and norms of our society. Hindu women, according to Hindu Laws, do not inherit any land and other properties which more often than not put them in vulnerable condition. Thus, for promoting equity and empowerment of women in relation to land rights, Hindu inheritance law and Muslim Sharia Law should rigorously be reformed.

6. Land rights of the indigenous people: Land grabbers from the mainstream have been gradually grabbing the land of the indigenous people. Ethnic minorities are the ones who have been the victims of illegal land grabbers due to various reasons.

Thus, majority of them are becoming landless and poor.

Moreover, in the name of reserve forest, eco park and tea garden, they are loosing their traditional possession right of land.

To address the above problem, a separate land commission to protect land of the indigenous people should be formed.

Moreover, the constitutional recognition of their identities, Sustainable Land Use: The unbalanced application of the green revolution technology has seriously degraded our soil quality, fertility and environment and bio diversity.

7. Land use policy: The Ministry of Land has adopted the land use policy for improved land management and to mitigate the loss of land. The main features of the policy are given below: 1. Reforming the present land administration system updating the different laws related to the proposed land administration reform.

2) Preventing the alarming loss of agricultural land, which is needed to increase production to meet the food demand of a growing population.

3) Protecting state-owned land which can be used to meet the needs of development project.

4) Preventing soil degradation; 5) Zoning of land for commercial and other purposes; 5) Preventing wasteful use of acquired land; 6) Increasing cropping intensity through optimal use of available agricultural land; 7) Establishing a data bank for khas land, fallow land, acquired land, char land, etc. for proper use.

The need for exploring the issue is to bring positive changes in practice for better success in the communitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; development. As a densely- populated country, Bangladesh needs urgent actions to cope with its rapid population growth with limited land and resources for balanced development outcomes and community improvement. It is also important to know about the factors influencing land value and its differentiation, for example, rapid urban growth, community improvement, communication and transport development, housing trends, industrial growth, infrastructure and utility facilities.

More reliable and clear information can be found through examining the real nature, scope, provisions, arrangements and systems of land use, tenancy rights, transfer and transaction procedure, cost of transaction, profit/loss metrics, impact on livelihoods viz. food,, shelter, education, health and other services, impact on public finance and impact on public services viz. social security options.

Another important reason is to know the current land use trends, policies, processes and regulations, their impacts and need for change.

All the issues, practices, regulation and systems registration,

records and information infrastructure must be examined relating to the increasing value, added value and taxation on land use. It is important to identify the problems and obstacles in adopting major policies and plans for economic development using LVT. To judge and compare the existing legal framework and systems with the international experiences and draw up a decision whether or in what extent the change might be brought.

It is necessary to know different roles of stake holders for example, politicians, executives, civil societies, local governments, academics and researchers to explore, analyze and put a stronger and unified registration set up for policy options and possible outcomes or interventions and their potential impact or results toward strengthening registry institutions in Bangladesh

4.2 . Changing Land Use: Its Causes and Implications There is an emerging consensus that several, interrelated forces drive land management dynamics.

4.3. Growing Demand for Food and Fiber The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population is projected to reach 9 billion in 2050, and the increase will be largely in developing countries. Urban populations in developing countries will also increase, resulting in major supply issues for food and fiber, because although rural populations purchase about 40 percent of their food (approximately 60 percent comes from their fields and forests), urban populations depend on markets for close to 90 percent of their food supply. Rural-to urban migration thus implies a twofold increase in the commercial demand for food and fiber from rural areas. Furthermore, recent changes in the nature of food demand show that a rise in incomes tends to be accompanied by a change in the nature of food demand, with a significant increase in demand for meat products. Far more natural resources are required to produce 1 kilogram of meat than 1 kilogram of grain.

Despite rapid urbanization, it will be another 10â&#x20AC;&#x201C;15 years before urban and rural populations equalize. Most of the 825 million undernourished people in the world today live in the tropics. In many tropical countries, 40â&#x20AC;&#x201C;70 percent of the population still lives in rural areas. Unlike relatively homogenous temperate farming systems, however, tropical systems are highly diverse and largely dominated by small-scale production systems (except in the Cerrado zone of central Brazil). Significant increases in grain production have in some cases been achieved at the expense of the natural resource base (e.g., reduced natural forest area and pollution of surface and ground water).

Although complex by their very nature, mixed-food, livestock, and tree-based systems have in many cases played a vital role in sustaining rural agro ecosystems and protecting the natural resources required for more homogenous grain crop systems.

These systems are increasingly being neglected or converted.

Managing these heterogeneous tropical landscapes involves assessing a range of land, water, biodiversity, and ecosystem service synergies and tradeoffs and is challenging.

The major findings of the recently concluded Millennium Ecosystem Assessment warned that approximately 60 percent of the ecosystem supporting life on Earth was being degraded or used unsustainably and that the consequences of degradation

could grow significantly worse in the next half century (MEA 2005).

4.4 . Economic Forces and Land Management Incentives The Millennium Development Goals specifically target the reduction of poverty. Reardon and Vostiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1995) typology of poverty is explicitly linked to the environment and the sustainable management of land and natural resources. These authors examine the asset portfolio of the rural poor in terms of 1. Natural resources, such as water, ground cover, biodiversity of wild and domestic fauna and flora, and soil 2. Human resources, such as education, health, nutrition, skills, and number of people 3. On-farm resources, such as livestock, farmland, pastures, reservoirs, buildings, equipment, and financial resources 4. Off-farm resources, including local off-farm physical and financial capital 5. Community-owned resources, such as roads, dams, and commons 6. Social and political capital Where markets are absent, underdeveloped, or constrained, asset-specific poverty can influence livelihood activities and investment decisions. Many households that are not considered poor according to the usual consumption oriented definition may have a food surplus above the minimum diet line that is still too small to make key conservation or land intensification investments necessary to prevent land and resource degradation.

In some cases, such households may start cultivating highly marginal lands (conservation-investment poverty).

Land management options are strongly governed by regulatory and incentives policies, as well as public expenditure priorities.

In most countries, these policies and priorities aim to improve access to and the availability of raw materials. Included, for example, are infrastructure development incentives and public expenditures (for access roads, water control facilities, and the like) and land use or land management policies allowing for such things as resource extraction, logging, oil exploration, and urbanization.

These types of policies can either be supportive of or run counter to sustainable resource management, especially with respect to environmental and social goals. Identifying perverse incentives and underlying economic forces that lead to resource degradation is critical for SLM, a key element of which must be implementation of the kinds of incentives that will lead to more efficient land management and optimal output levels.

In practice, the following types of incentives are commonly applied:

4.4.1. Policy-Related Incentives. Generally, policies to stimulate sectoral development often in the form of direct inducements are employed in conjunction with taxes, subsidies, and new laws. Such policies can result in land degradation when they encourage a particular form of land use that excludes other options (for example, monoculture versus mixed cropping and the planting of annual crops versus perennials), when they promote human settlements in ecologically sensitive areas (with, for example, the draining of wetlands or clearing of native forests for agriculture in catchments), or when they fail to account for waste management and nonpoint source pollution.

4.4.2. Market-Based Incentives. The price mechanism strongly influences the relative profitability of land management options, and thus land user decisions on production and consumption levels. If markets are inefficient and prices are distorted, land

and other natural resource endowments may be significantly undervalued, leading to overconsumption and resource degradation.

Thus, artificially low royalties and stumpage fees in forestry, cheap fertilizers and pesticides, and lack of environmental service markets can result in land degradation.

4.4.3. Institutional Arrangements. Institutions set and control the terms and conditions under which natural resources are managed, allocated, and used.

Both local and national-level institutions affect natural resource use. Land degradation can result when local or national institutions favor the interests of a particular group of land users over other users, when local communities are excluded from decision making and participation in management and benefits, and when land and resource tenure arrangements are left unresolved.

Beyond interventions and actions by government and various stakeholders, the conditions on the ground also impact land use choices. The most vulnerable communities are usually in marginal areas that are likely to be further affected by changing global climate. Widespread poverty and the lack of livelihood options usually lead to resource mining and degradation.

Poor infrastructure and lack of markets lock subsistence communities, in particular, in a downward spiral of unsustainable resource extraction and degradation. There are encouraging examples of how policy-driven, science-based land use intensification can deflect pressure from pristine areas (Binswanger et al. 1987; Deininger and Minten 1996). In the Philippines and Vietnam, for example, the adoption of lowland rice intensification technologies appears to have attracted labor from upper watersheds, thereby reducing deforestation (Muller and Zeller 2002; Shively and Pagiola 2004).

In the absence of adequate policies and regulatory frameworks, however, improved technologies and or mechanization can lead to higher agricultural productivity and may fuel deforestation (Angelsen and Kaimowitz 2001; Pichon 1997), for example, soybean expansion in the cerrado and pastures in the Amazon forest.

4.5. Agricultural Intensification in Rain-Fed and Irrigated Systems Sustainable land and natural resource management is fundamental to ensuring adequate food and fiber production. A sustainable and increasingly productive agricultural base is essential for global food security. Farmers use close to 70 percent of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arable and rangelands, and fresh water supplies and are constantly influencing the boundaries of the remaining pristine areas (forests, wetlands, and coasts) on the planet.

In a review of resources and projections for global food prospects to 2030, Crosson and Anderson (1993) highlighted the following as important for sustaining agricultural productivity.

1. Land quality is an important issue among the long-run considerations related to global food supply.

2. The total potential supply of additional cropland will be substantially less than the current supply of farmland.

3. The contribution of increased irrigation water to agricultural production in selected countries will be sizeable, but global supplies of irrigation water will be increasingly constrained.

4. New and more productive varieties of food and other crops developed via advances in accessing genetic material from wild relatives and plant breeding are

likely to contribute to enhanced food supplies.

5. Climate variability will continue, but neither detract from nor enhance food production possibilities.

6. Property rights—clearly specified, well defined, and enforceable are quite important in facilitating good resource management directly or via appropriate policies and incentives.

7. Based on previous yield improvements in cereals and reductions in environmental costs of agriculture, and anticipating major breakthroughs in disease resistance and crop yield potentials, food supplies will be adequate to meet demand.

In the past two decades, more than 70 percent of the increased cereal production in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to have resulted from crop area expansion, whereas other regions have achieved 80 percent of their increased production via yield increases (FAO 2000; Dorward et al. 2004). The current hotspots of deforestation for subsistence and plantation crops are in the Congo and Indonesia, and for ranching and settlement in the addressing the land management problems associated with areal expansion in Africa is a priority, because it is resulting in land degradation at a comparatively faster rate than in other regions.

The most severe incidence of degradation is being felt in Africa’s forest and woodland and in that continent’s savanna-ecosystem services (Scholes and Biggs 2004). Current evidence suggests that climate variability and medium to long term climate change are likely to significantly increase the risk of crop failures due to factors such as drought, flood, expanding pest and pathogen ranges, and increased competition from aggressive and better-adapted invasive weeds.

Although it is estimated that there are probably around 1.8 billion hectares of potential agricultural land still available, mainly in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, significant soil and other biophysical constraints will limit the projected expansion of cultivated lands to around 120 million additional hectares. The likely zones for significant further crop and livestock area expansion, at significant cost to biodiversity and ecosystem services, are the Cerrado zone in Brazil and the Miombo zone in southern Africa .

Despite the impressive increases in agricultural productivity over the past four decades, continuing expansion of agricultural areas, coupled with increasing production risks from climate variability and the negative effects of past land management on ecosystem services, suggests an increased urgency for sustainable productivity gains on existing crop-, pasture and forestlands.

4.6. Global Environmental Change Based on a range of scenarios, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA 2005) projections (with a medium to high level of certainty) show that land use change, primarily associated with the expansion of agriculture, will remain the dominant driver of change in terrestrial and fresh-water ecosystems. An additional driver, closely coupled with land management and intensive agriculture, is nutrient loading, which already has major adverse effects on freshwater ecosystems and coastal regions in both industrial and developing countries.

The major nutrient in question is nitrogen. Three out of four scenarios project (with a medium level of certainty) that global fluxes of nitrogen in coastal ecosystems will increase by 10–20 percent until 2030. The effects of nutrient loading include toxic algae blooms, other human health problems, fish kills, and damage to habitats such as coral reefs. The amount of river nitrogen

will not change in most industrial countries, while a 20â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 30 percent increase is projected for developing countries, particularly in Asia.

A key question is this: To what extent can good land management contribute to sustaining a high level of agricultural productivity in intensive monoculture and mixed crop, livestock, and tree-based systems and maintain environmental services. Integrated soil, nutrient, and water conservation approaches that combine technologies based on biological, chemical, and physical principles could significantly reduce the negative externalities of intensive crop and livestock systems and improve the productivity of lower-yielding but environmentally friendly production systems in more marginal farming areas.

Because preventing land degradation is usually far less expensive and more effective than rehabilitating badly degraded lands, the first priority is to prevent the degradation of currently productive land. The second priority is to rehabilitate moderately degraded lands and then the severely degraded lands via measures that facilitate the recovery of soil biological communities essential to efficient nutrient conservation and soil physical integrity (Uphoff et al. 2006), improve the nutrient status via added fertilizer nutrients if necessary, and increase the amount of organic carbon in soil. Clearly, however, local community and government priorities should take precedence when deciding what needs to be done in any particular location.

Significant land management paradigm change in recent years involves assessment of the impacts of management of land and water at field levels on the larger watershed (catchment) and even landscape.

Because agro ecological landscapes are diverse, farmers and land users have developed a broad set of cropping and natural resource management strategies to cope with the diversity of production and ecological conditions.

4.7. Appropriate Land Management Systems Five broad pathways of agricultural land use change have evolved in developing countries in this century, reflecting different land resource endowments and settlement patterns: 1. Expansion and intensification of irrigated agriculture 2. Intensification of high-quality rain-fed lands 3.Intensification of densely populated marginal lands 4.Expansion of farming into sparsely populated marginal lands 5. The rise of urban and peri-urban farming with accelerated urbanization Agricultural landscapes in the five pathways are typically quite distinct, and they offer quite different risks of resource degradation and opportunities and constraints for intensification, diversification, and land-improving investment.

Further landscape differences and resource management challenges arise from variations in the landâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s settlement history and its past history of degradation; the mix of crop, perennial, and livestock components; and the mix of commercial and subsistence enterprises. For example, Templeton and Scherr (1997) found empirical evidence that the relationship between population growth and resource quality on hills and mountains was influenced by rainfall (mainly by affecting crop-product choice, risks of soil degradation, and land use intensity), topography (by affecting the spatial distribution of production systems), and soil characteristics (through crop choice, cropping frequency, and input use). These factors also affected returns to conservation.

Although agricultural expansion was found to be at least one of

the factors in 96 percent of the cases, shifting cultivation of food crops by smallholders, so often thought to be a major cause, was in fact a relatively minor contributor to deforestation.

Other forms of agricultural expansion, such as permanent cropping or cattle ranching, appear equally or more significant in most regions, though the agro ecological and policy factors influencing this cause of forest loss vary considerably across regions with very different pathways identified for the Amazon, the Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia and even within regions across countries.

Far more influential than shifting cultivation, or indeed any of the proximate causes of deforestation, are the macroeconomic forces that create the incentives to which individuals respond.

Often these forces manifest themselves as shocks that destabilize the lives of poor people, for example, a massive increase in urban unemployment triggering reverse migration into the countryside.

These shocks punctuate longer periods in which social and economic factors play a vital role.

4.8. Factors Influencing Sustainable Land Management Demography, economy, technology, institutions, policies and cultures are main forces to influence and numerous factors involved real world practice. A sample of such factors are cited here.

1. Transport (roads, railroads, etc.), 2. Markets (public and private, e.g., sawmills), 3. Settlements (rural and urban), 4. Public services (water lines, electrical grids, sanitation, etc.), 5. Private companies (hydropower, mining, oil exploration), 6. Permanent cultivation (large-scale vs. smallholder, subsistence vs. commercial), 7. Shifting cultivation (slash and burn vs. traditional ), 8. Cattle ranching (large-scale vs. smallholder), 9. Colonization (incl. transmigration and resettlement projects), 10. Commercial (state-run, private, growth coalition, etc.), 11. Fuel wood (mainly domestic usage), 12. Pole wood (mainly domestic usage), 13. Charcoal production (domestic and industrial uses), 14. Predisposing 15. Land characteristics, (e.g., soil quality, topography, forest fragmentation), 16. Biophysical drivers (triggers, fires, droughts, floods, pests), 17. Social trigger events (e.g., wars, revolutions, social disorders, abrupt displacements, economic shocks, abrupt policy shifts), 18. Natural increments (fertility, mortality)19. Migration (in/out migration), 20. Population density, 21. Population distribution, 22. Life cycle features, 23. Market growth and commercialization, 24. Economic structures, 25. Urbanization and industrialization, 26. Special variables(e.g., price increases,27.comparative cost advantages) 28. Agro-technical change (e.g., in/extensification),29. Applications in the wood sector (e.g., mainly wastage), 30.Agricultural production factors, 31. Formal policies (e.g., on economic development, credits), 32. Policy climate (e.g., corruption, mismanagement), 33. Property rights(e.g., land races, titling),34.Public attitudes, values, and beliefs(e.g., unconcern about forests, frontier mentality),35.Individual and household behavior(e.g., unconcern about forests, rent-seeking, imitation).

4.9. Underlying Causes of Changes in Land Use Trends bring about more gradual changes in the opportunities available to poor rural people, such as the steady growth of the international timber trade or of the demand for livestock products and the steadily expanding ecological and economic â&#x20AC;&#x153;footprintâ&#x20AC;? of distant city markets. The economic integration of forest margins and the continual development of product and labor markets that accompany this process are factors at work in almost all cases.

Strongly associated with the influence of macroeconomic forces is the building of roads. Often paid for by logging companies or through international aid, new roads open up forest areas, first for wood extraction and then for the expansion of agriculture.

New migrants colonize roadsides and use roads to obtain inputs and deliver their produce to markets. By linking forested areas to the broader economy, roads lower costs and increase the returns of conversion, heightening the sensitivity of these areas to changes in macroeconomic conditions.

In this report, we highlight the low- to moderate-input systems that optimize nutrient recyclingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;via residue return, conservation tillage, soil conservation, and protection of riparian zonesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as the recommended baseline upon which to build production systems that may require the increasing use of external inputs. For example, the use of efficient biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) technology by Brazilian soybean farmers results in approximately US$ 200 million annual savings from not using nitrogen fertilizers. Given the fact that the nitrogen use efficiency of fertilizer rarely exceeds 30 percent and excess nitrates can either contaminate ground water or be denitrified to produce nitrous oxideâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a greenhouse gas 310 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (BNF) contributions to high levels of soybean productivity also result in significant environmental benefits.

Land users can foster a variety of environmental services, ranging from regulation of hydrological flows to biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration.

However, land uses that provide such services are rapidly being displaced by uses that do not. A key reason is that land users typically receive no compensation for environmental services they generate for others.

As an example, the link between agricultural practices on hillsides and environmental degradation has clear implications for land use: farmers must be induced to adopt sustainable agricultural systems that favor the production of environmental services while also allowing them to increase their food security and incomes.

Land degradation and its relation to rural poverty remain poorly understood, though the link remains very much in evidence. A downward spiral of land degradation and poverty may be occurring a kind of physical-technical equivalent to the Lewis low-income trap with land degradation causing declining agricultural productivity and worsening poverty, and poverty causing households to further degrade their land.

More recently, soil conservation measures have relied largely on food for work programs as an incentive and have been oriented toward labor-intensive.

4.10. Knowledge Dissemination and Land Policy Constraints Low levels of land productivity and subsequent land and resource degradation can often be traced to inadequate access to the best or most appropriate knowledge required to overcome local constraints. Providing better information to both technology developers and farmers can stimulate the adoption of both soil conservation technologies and improved land management practices. For example, technology developers may lack information about cropping patterns and practices that might serve the priorities of farmers and at the same time contribute to soil conservation. This information could be used to focus technology development efforts.

Farmers are usually aware when degradation threatens their immediate livelihoods. When a lack of concern is shown, it is

often because farmers either have not yet considered degradation a serious longer-term threat or because the resource in question provides only a marginal contribution to farm family livelihoods (Scherr and Hazell 1994; Enters 1998).

In several situations, however, lack of farmer awareness significantly constrains adaptation. The first is when degradation effects, or their causal factors, are not immediately observable by farmers without modern measuring devices. Such situations may occur with soil acidification, micronutrient depletion, changes in micro fauna, or spread of disease vectors.

The second is the case of recent immigrants who are farming in unfamiliar agro environmental conditions or are attempting to employ unfamiliar farming systems. In such instances, external intervention in problem diagnoses, farmer education, and demonstration of the positive effects of resource management change may be needed to trigger an adaptive response.

A third situation occurs when the type of resource degradation involved is not simply a local concern, but rather a concern to outsiders, as may be the case with some types of habitat loss or downstream sedimentation. An adaptive response is unlikely to be triggered without the provision of appropriate incentives, regulatory and conflict interest frameworks, and noncompliance penalties as appropriate.

A fourth situation arises when poor farmers fail to respond because of a short planning horizon or a high discount rate. The empirical evidence as to whether the poor really have high rates of time preference is sketchy, however.

Furthermore, Pagiola (1995) argues that poor farmers often have an even greater willingness to protect or invest their natural resource assets than do the well-off because of their relatively greater dependence on those assets for livelihood security.

Property rights to resources such as land, water, and trees have been found to play a fundamental role in the poverty reductionâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; resource managementâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;environmental management nexus. On the one hand, they govern the patterns of natural resource management and may either impede or facilitate sustainable use, protection, or resource-improving investment.

On the other hand, they determine important aspects of the welfare of individuals, households, and communities who depend on those resources.

Natural resources (land, water, trees, and vegetation), rather than having a single owner commonly involve diverse property rights that may be held by different people, including the rights to access, withdraw, manage, or exclude others from a resource and the right to transmit or alienate rights (Schlager and Ostrom 1992).Men and women, people of different castes, local people or outsiders, and both individuals and the state may have rights to use the resource in different ways: for different crops, grazing, and gathering from land; for irrigating, washing, drinking, or other enterprises from water; and for timber, fruits, leaves, firewood, shade, or other products from trees.

Property rights may be acquired through a variety of means: (a) market purchases; (b) inheritance, transfers, or gifts; (c) labor or other types of investment in improving the resource; (d) adverse possession (squatters rights); (e) grants by the state; and (f) membership in a community (especially in communal or

common property regimes) (Meinzen-Dick et al. 1997).

The property rights held by poor people represent key household and community assets that may provide income opportunities, ensure access to essential household subsistence needs (water, food, fuel, and medicines), and insure against livelihood risk. Poorer groups tend to rely more heavily on customary or informal rights.

Marginal users, such as women and the poor, thus often lose out as a result of policies and processes that privatize and reduce complex bundles of rights into a single unitary right (under many land and water reforms)(Baland and Platteau 1996; Otsuka and Quisumbing 1998).

Property rights also affect long-term agricultural productivity and incentives for resource conservation and investment. For example, more equitable access to natural resources by women has been found not only to improve welfare outcomes for women, but also to increase agricultural productivity, the economic returns to agroforestry, and the use efficiency of water in irrigation projects (Meinzen-Dick et al. 1997). Tenure security, though not necessarily formal titling, is associated with cropland conservation practices and improvements.

Bruce and Mearns (2004) identified the importance of addressing the underlying incentive framework in ways that match the complexity and diversity of local livelihood systems rather than out of concern for sustainability that it is not shared, or is defined very differently, by the resource users themselves. Very often, external change agents must understand what else is needed to foster an enabling environment for sustainable land management (so-called tenure ), which may call for supporting interventions to improve access to alternative forms of capital (human, social, physical, and financial).

So it is taken for granted that the appropriate management solution is to assign property rights to individuals (or to the state). Given the high level of ecological variability and risk, however, livestock producers in such systems need to be able to track available forage or browse for their livestock, which usually requires that they have access to large areas that encompass a diverse range of upland ecological niches scale subdivisions and property rights can greatly reduce the opportunistic tracking strategies needed to cope with resource variability, and thereby increase vulnerability, overgrazing, and land degradation and conflicts.

While monitoring and evaluation methodologies are well established, there cannot be a universal approach to monitoring, for instance, by relying on a single pre-established set of indicators, however comprehensive and encompassing these might be. Rather, a balance among the previously described features must be struck and tailored to the unique set of agro ecological environments, as well as to the discrete specifics of the programs, interventions, and incentives policies being introduced to encourage SLM practices by farmers and communities.

For example, in a study of smallholder farmers using participatory methods in Malawi, Cromwell et al. (2001) identified the following five factors used by farmers in Malawi as the most important indicators of sustainable agriculture: 1. Crop diversification—growing a range of staple crops 2. Access to adequate quantities of good seed—enough seed for timely planting at recommended spacing for all crops 3. Farmland size—enough land to feed one’s family

4. Owning all the necessary farm tools and implements 5. An optimal mix of crops for in-field soil fertility management through intercropping and relay planting Not surprisingly, farmer concerns regarding sustainability of farming and cropping systems differ quite significantly, not only in spatial and temporal scales but also in scope, from the articulated priorities of researchers and policy makers .

4.11. Protecting the Land Resource: Agricultural and Integrated Farming Systems Production practices that emphasize integrated land, plant nutrient, and water management are essential to SLM. The maintenance of native biodiversity can also be an important contributing factor. Biological diversity is required in a structural as well as a functional sense. Native stocks of available plant nutrients need to be managed to avoid having consumption exceed availability and, where necessary, ought to be supplemented from external (organic or chemical) sources in order to sustain system function and productivity.

The strategy of reducing risk by planting several species and crop varieties can stabilize yields over the long term, provide a range of dietary nutrients, and maximize returns with low levels of technology and limited resources. In drought-prone areas using low input regimes with little supplemental water, these characteristics maximize labor efficiency per unit area of land, minimize the risk of catastrophic crop failure due to drought or severe pest attack.

4.12 . Exploiting the Production and Environmental Service Functions of Land In addition to facilitating the production of food, feeds, and industrial crops, natural ecosystems and agro ecosystems also provide a wide variety of â&#x20AC;&#x153;nonmarketâ&#x20AC;? services. The environmental services derived from forest ecosystems typically include : 1. Hydrological benefits: controlling the timing and volume of water flows and protecting water quality 2. Reduced sedimentation: avoiding damage to downstream reservoirs and waterways, thereby safeguarding uses such as hydroelectric power generation, irrigation, recreation, fisheries, and domestic water supplies 3. Disaster mitigation: buffering against floods and landslides 4. Biodiversity conservation 5. Carbon sequestration and sinks for other greenhouse gases such as methane Payments for environmental services (PES) could significantly improve and diversify the income sources of land users, especially in the developing world. There are a variety of existing market-based mechanisms and criteria for rewarding good natural resources management via payments for the resulting environmental services. For trading purposes, the services need to be tangible, scientifically quantified, and in accordance with local legislation (Pagiola et al. 2002).

The payment mechanisms include private deals, public payments, and open trading schemes among local communities, municipalities, companies, and national governments. Economic valuation offers a way to compare the diverse benefits and costs associated with ecosystems by attempting to measure them and expressing them in a common denominatorâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;typically a

monetary unit used . The main framework used is the Total Economic Value approach (Pearce and Warford 1993).

4.13. Property Rights to Land Land, and the interaction of human societies with it, result in many economic, social, political and environmental concerns.

The dialogue between these competing and overlapping concerns requires a land administration system that is able to support the ever changing relationship between humankind and land, to facilitate complex decision making and to support the implementation of those decisions. Therefore, appropriate and effective land administration is of crucial importance for sustainable development.

As previously deliberated (Ting and Williamson 1999), cadastral trends have followed a course mapped by dynamic changes in societies and their increasingly complex attitudes to land as personal security, wealth, as an expendable commodity, as a scarce community resource, in support of environmental survival and so on.

In many western countries, the mobility of people and the rise of capital and commodification of land brought by the Industrial Revolution gave birth to major legal and institutional changes.

The Torrens system of land titling is a good example of the institutional and legal responses to the burgeoning of land markets in the 19th Century.

The last twenty years have seen a trend in many countries towards tempering the raw economic priorities with society's growing awareness and preparedness on environmental (e.g.

Agenda 21) and social (e.g. indigenous rights and issues concerned with women's access to land) priorities.

Undoubtedly, the sharpest dialogue is between the economic and environmental forces. People are both the problem and the solution. The world's population now stands at 7 billion.

According to the United Nations Environment Program's (UNEP) 1999 statistics (United Nations,1999) a). Half of the world's population currently lives in urban areas and within thirty years this will increase to two thirds ; b). By 2025, two-thirds of the world's population will live in water-stressed conditions – with irrigated agriculture accounting for 70-75% of fresh water use; c). Human-induced degradation of the soil has already affected 20% of the world's dry lands and puts the livelihoods of one billion people at risk. d). More than half of the world’s population live within 60km of the shoreline. One third of those coastlines are already damaged by population stress and infrastructure. e). Global emissions of CO2 reached a new high of nearly 23.9 billion tonnes in 1996 nearly four times the 1950 total. f). In 1995, 25 per cent of the world’s 4,630 mammal species and 11 per cent of the 39,675 bird species were at significant risk of extinction. g). Average global per capita income has now passed US$5,000 a year but more than 1 billion people still live on less than US$1 per day.

Interweaved with these crises are matters of poverty and the north-south divide – a tenfold reduction in resource consumption in industrialized countries is a necessary long-term target if adequate resources are to be released for developing countries.

More than two decades ago, a study of the World Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s projects (Williamson 1991) saw a move away from sporadic interventions to encompass broader issues of greater impact for the national economies and the productivity of cities. The major research topics identified in the then World Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Urban Development Division were: a). Municipal finance and management b). Urban infrastructure productivity and willingness to pay for urban services c). Housing markets and housing policy d). Housing finance institutions and policies e). Land management f). Urban environment policy World Bank's Development Report 1989 stated that: "The legal recognition of property rights that is, rights of exclusive use and control over particular resources - gives owners incentives to use resources efficiently. Without the right to exclude others from their land, farmers do not have an incentive to plow, sow, weed and harvest.

Without land tenure, they have no incentive to invest in irrigation or other improvements that would repay the investment over time.

Efficiency can be further served by making property rights transferable."

In most countries real estate accounts for between half and three quarters of national wealth. If ownership is widely dispersed, tenure is secure, and title transfer is easy, real estate can be good collateral for nearly any type of lending.

Unfortunately, these conditions are not always met in developing countries. Land distribution is often skewed, tenure insecure, and title transfer cumbersome. One key to a smoothly functioning system of land tenure is land registers supported by cadastral surveys. In many developing countries like Bangladesh these are still woefully inadequate or missing altogether.

In 1992, the historic UN conference in Rio de Janeiro (The Earth Summit) produced Agenda 21 which stated in its preamble that: Humanity stands at a defining moment in history. We are confronted with a perpetuation of disparities between and within nations, a worsening of poverty, hunger, ill health and illiteracy, and the continuing deterioration of the ecosystems on which we depend for our well being. However, integration of environment and development concerns and greater attention to them will lead to the fulfillment of basic needs, improved living standards for all, better protected and managed ecosystems and a safer, more prosperous future.

No nation can achieve this on its own: but together we can - in a global partnership for sustainable development." Ten years on and seven years after the launch of Agenda 21, the Bathurst Declaration 1999 found that the most serious problems facing the relationship between land and people included: 1. Degradation of land due to unsustainable land use practices; 2. Lack of land for suitable urban development; 3. Lack of security of tenure (which in many societies impacts most severely on women and children); 4. Inequitable access to land by indigenous peoples and minority groups; 5. Access to land by women; 6. Increasing vulnerability to disaster; 7. Destruction of bio-diversity; 8. Lack of adequate planning and of effective land administration; 9. Tensions between environmental conservation and development; and 10. Impact of market forces on traditional economies and tenures.

As the UNEP statistics gravely emphasize, the tensions are sharpening between human behavior and their worsening impact on the environment. This has profound implications for

the survival of future generations. If land administration systems do not respond and expand to meet the challenges of societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s increasingly complex relationship with land, sustainable development will not move beyond rhetoric.

4.14. Background to the Bathurst Declaration The International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) has been concerned about land administration issues since its establishment in the 19th Century. Recent FIG developments include the Statement on the Cadastre 1994 ("the Statement") which set out the meaning and significance of cadastre. While the Statement recognized the breadth of cadastres and their important role in land administration systems, it is technical and descriptive and focuses primarily on land registration and cadastral surveying and mapping.

The 1996 Bogor Declaration on Cadastral Reform widened the focus to concentrate on cadastral issues and land markets and recognized that countries are at different stages of the development of the relationship between their people and their land.

After the Bogor Declaration, a resolution was passed at the 14th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific, held in Bangkok in 1997.

It urged the United Nations, in collaboration with the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), to hold a Global Workshop on Land Tenure and Cadastral Infrastructures in support of Sustainable Development (the Bathurst Workshop).

The Workshop was organized by Ian Williamson in his position as Chairperson of Commission 7 (Cadastre and Land Management), FIG and currently Director, FIG-UN Liaison, and Don Grant in his role as Australian delegate to Commission 7.

They developed the vision for the Workshop and the following international conference in Melbourne where the Declaration was presented and discussed, and were the co- organizers for both initiatives.

Research in the intervening years since the Bogor Declaration has emphasized the implications of not only cadastre, but the widening definition of land administration systems and institutions, to meet the needs of current and future societies in their evolving relationship with their land â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sustainable development being of primary urgency.

The changing humankind-land relationship and current global and local drivers such as sustainable development, urbanization, globalization, economic reform and the information revolution, demand land administration responses and are forcing a new land administration vision or paradigm (Ting and Williamson 1999).

The 25 position papers (UN-FIG 1999) prepared by the international experts for the Bathurst Workshop provided an in depth view of the diverse and complex issues facing land administration systems into the future. These experts came from a range of developed and developing countries and a diversity of disciplines and experience, including surveyors, lawyers, planners, valuers, information technologists, government administrators, academics and representatives from the private sector.

Initially, the outline of the Bathurst Declaration was formulated which included key themes. These themes were designed to be the basis of the Bathurst program. The outline and themes were distributed for comment to all the Bathurst delegates eight

months in advance of the Workshop. Each participant was asked to contribute to a paper on a recommended theme based on the Workshop program. This was designed to ensure that relevant and topical materials would be available as a resource for all delegates to read in preparation for the Workshop.

Each theme was discussed in small workshop groups at the Workshop. During this time issues were identified and discussed, implications for the future were assessed and recommendations were formulated. There were specific workshops on implementation. The findings from the small group workshops were then presented at plenary sessions to allow delegates an opportunity to discuss each of the topics The Bathurst Declaration was presented at the conclusion of the Workshop and was then officially launched at the following three-day Conference on Land Tenure and Cadastral Infrastructures for Sustainable Development held in Melbourne, Australia.

4.15. The Bathurst Declaration The topics discussed in the working groups at the Bathurst Workshop reflect the issues which were considered significant for future land administration systems and sustainable development. They are listed below: (Held in Bathurst, Australia from 18-22 October 1999) 1. The Dynamic Humankind-Land Relationship 2. The Role of Land in Sustainable Development 3. Food, Water and Land 4. Land Tenure and Land Administration 5. The Interface between Markets, Land Registration, Spatial Planning and Valuation 6. Re-engineering Land Administration Systems 7. The full text of the summaries of workshop discussions are posted on the WWW (UN-FIG 1999). The following is a summary of those discussions.

4.15.1 The Dynamic Humankind-Land Relationship The humankind-land relationship is dynamic and change is occurring at a pace faster than at any other time in history.

Global economic, social and technological factors, the need for sustainable development of land, and macro as well as micro economic reform are having a substantial impact on land administration systems.

It was found that during the past century: 1.There has been an exponential increase in the world population and significant changes to regional demographic patterns; 2. There has been a change from predominantly rural societies to urban and peri-urban societies; 3. The concept of rule of law rather than by person has been introduced universally; 4. Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roles in society have been recognized more formally both in law and in the workplace; 5. The cultural, economic and other distinctions separating rural and urban societies have steadily become more and more blurred; 6. Sustainability has emerged as a global issue because our use of the environment, the biosphere and geosphere, has reached a crisis point; and 7. Communications and information technology (IT) have made the globe, potentially, a virtual neighborhood.

The workshop concluded that "most land administration systems today are not adequate to cope with the increasingly complex range of rights, restrictions and responsibilities in

relation to land, which are influenced by such factors as water, indigenous land use, noise and pollution" and "governmental information systems will have to continue their present trend to become increasingly open and public and governments have an important role as umpire, moderator and purveyor". In short, land information and land administration systems need to be reengineered and to evolve to face the increasing complexity of the humankind-land relationship. A new land administration paradigm is required (UN-FIG 1999).

4.15.2. The Role of Land in Sustainable Development From a sustainable development perspective, land has various conflicting features: 1. Land, as a scarce and fragile resource, is an object for environmental protection. There is a need to develop creative thinking about environmental protection.

2. Land is equally an asset for economic and social development, and particularly supporting land markets.

Land has the capacity for wealth generation, for attracting and locating investment, and for opening up vital opportunities for the development of the financial sector. Yet this sometimes has to balanced against the fact that for many communities the “commodification” of the land may not be acceptable and may not support sustainable development.

Resolution of the inherent tensions and conflicts between these two perspectives requires appropriate awareness and understanding of land tenure systems through relevant education and information as well as appropriate land information systems for informed decision-making.(UN-FIG 1999)

4.15.3 Food, Shelter and Land They suffer from hunger on a daily basis, and that several hundred million of the planet’s citizens do not have access to potable water. An estimated 25,000 people die each day due to water quality issues and yet, plans to improve food production to counterbalance local food deficits will require even greater amounts of fresh water diverted to irrigation.

Almost all of the world’s land and water resources available for food production have already been put to use.(UN-FIG 1999) The workshop found that there is an urgent need to develop a much more holistic approach to land and water resource policies and the institutions, industries and professions that had developed around their artificially disjointed treatment.

Well functioning land tenure institutions are necessary for conflict minimization and resolution whilst data infrastructure techniques are the most powerful set of tools the experts can offer an involved public. Also, it was predicted that land administration specialists will be called upon to provide both policy advice and technical inputs to deal with the problem of allocating scarce land and water resources in a fair and equitable manner in the coming decades (UN-FIG 1999).

4.15.4. Land Tenure and Land Registration Recognizing that formal land tenure systems are generally understood in the context of the relationship between land tenure and land administration, the Workshop focused on

issues such as informal tenures, customary tenures and women’s access to land. Informal land tenure is most common in urban areas but can also occur in rural areas. In each instance, different approaches to formalization are needed. The workshop listed some conditions that needed to be considered before formalization and these can be summarized as: 1. Availability of suitable land for settlement; 2. The demand for formalization must come from the people themselves; 3. Government should satisfy itself that the land is appropriate and that the legal requirements can be met.

4. Customary tenure was agreed to prevail in many parts of the world and could include: 5. Communal rather than individual rights; 6. A range of land ownership and land use rights; 7. Spiritual and intellectual components; and 8. Exclusive rights and responsibilities, or, sharing by two or more groups in relation to some areas of land or water.

Apart from the necessity to identify the land and waters over which indigenous groups enjoy occupation or have interests, there needs to be proper mechanisms in each national legal system to resolve land claims. Creative methods of documentation were discussed. Information is again important for customary tenure as conceived that it should include: 1. An adequate description of the areas of land and water (whether by reference to a general boundary or otherwise) that accords with customary concepts of the area under customary tenure; 2. Accepted land-related transactions; 3. A summary of the customary tenure rights, responsibilities and restrictions in relation to each area of land and water; and 4. A description of each group of people who have customary tenure rights, responsibilities and restrictions in relation to each area of land or water.

Specific discussion was focused on women’s access to land. This is of particular concern because although women are 50% of the world’s population, they own less than 1% of the world’s wealth.

The workshop adopted the Beijing Declaration’s statement that women should have equal right to inherit, buy, possess, use and sell property, and made specific recommendations on how a land administration system (UN-FIG 1999) needed to be structured and information flows facilitated in such a way as to achieve those aims.

There was acknowledgement that the changing humankind-land relationship and society’s priorities would require changes in land registration systems (UN-FIG 1999): 1. Land registration systems need to be expanded in order to provide information for land market activities, for public and private land management and for customary and informal tenures, in order to support sustainable development; 2. The laws concerned with information in the land registration system may need to be adapted to current technological developments, for instance, in order to facilitate electronic conveyancing ; 3. The statutory survey requirements on the location of pegs, boundaries and parcels need to be adapted to more flexible circumstances depending on the character of the information and the use of the information for different purposes; and 4. Land administration systems need to be re-engineered to accommodate other forms of information which may not be parcel based.

4.15.5 . The Interface between Markets, Registration, Spatial Planning and Valuation

Land markets are made up of a constantly developing portfolio of legal interests and transaction types, including both direct and derivative interests. The general rationale for land markets is that, under appropriate institutional frameworks, they will tend systematically to move land towards the most economically efficient ownership and use. The range of types of interests and transactions in land is typically related to the level of sophistication of the related functions in the economy, particularly in the context of the financial services and related professional sectors.

There are several key requirements for a properly functioning market: an appropriate legal framework aimed at minimizing risk and uncertainty over issues of ownership and use, registration of interests in land and spatial land use planning.

Land registration and the provision of related information as the basis of land transactions underpin the efficient operation of the land market by two main mechanisms: greater security for those interested in transacting on that property and reduction of the costs in both time and money by simplifying the legal and other procedures. Again this could be expected to increase the value of registered land by reducing the friction in the market.

Spatial planning may encompass a very wide range of activities and of potential interventions. There are sound arguments supporting the move towards greater local responsibility in spatial planning, and the development of more effective planning processes based on improved access to information and application of the principles of good governance and economic management.

Valuations of rights in land, whether personal or professional, are the driving force in the functioning of the real estate market.

An integrated perspective of the interface between land markets, land registration, spatial planning and valuation indicates that society, through processes of good governance enabled by access to appropriate and reliable information, sets minimum requirements in terms of environmental standards and expectations, and of social tolerances. Within these boundaries different societies develop different solutions to support and enable private and public access to land and other resources through a framework of land registration, spatial planning and valuation.

4.15.6. Re-engineering Land Registration Systems Many land administration systems need to be re-engineered.

Examples include many land administration, cadastral and land titling projects around the world which are still based on a relatively narrow land administration paradigm centered on land registration and cadastral surveying and mapping. But efficient and effective land information infrastructures are now required to meet the information demands for successful implementation of sustainable development.

The extent of the challenge to capture, process, maintain, analyze, integrate and distribute land related information varies from country to country. Land administration systems need to be more service oriented and to meet the requirements of a greater variety of users. Increasingly there is a land information focus which dominates land administration systems rather than the traditional land market focus.

In re-engineering systems, attention needs to be paid to an increasing complexity of legal rights, restrictions and responsibilities and to educating the public about the

opportunities created by the greater availability of data.

Land administration systems are increasingly required to handle vast amounts of data. However, the installation of hardware and software systems should be based upon a careful analysis of current and future information flows and the need to maintain land and property records. When information systems are conceptually well designed they will become a critically important component of land administration infrastructures.

In many countries, there is growing co-operation in land administration between the public and private sectors. Clear management systems and institutional arrangements are necessary to efficiently administer land related data sets and to ensure continuing financial support. There is a need for accountability and transparency to ensure the availability, accessibility and quality of basic data sets.

In the context of developing countries, moving away from a sole focus on the cadastre as the only source of information and having other information to be part of the land administration infrastructure will allow: 1. Improved administration of rural areas (formalization).

2. Regularization of informal settlements and the management of these areas over time.

3. An increase in the amount of information available. There is a critical shortage of land information for decision makers in developing countries.

4. Improved conflict management over land. Land administration infrastructure is stretching beyond cadastre and should provide land information to those involved in land disputes.

5. Diversification of tenure types. A range of new tenure types that are not parcel 6. Based could be facilitated by an expanded land administration infrastructure, such 7. As informal settlement occupancy claims, indigenous and customary rights, water rights, and overlapping rights.

In updating existing systems there needs to be a focus on user requirements. Users demand transparency, efficiency, speed, equitable access, data quality, interoperability, and value for money and service. In meeting these demands, most existing systems will need to be re-engineered. This means a new land administration paradigm is required to support sustainable development.

4.16 . The Workshop Findings As a result of the above discussions the Workshop summarized the findings which are reproduced below (UN-FIG, 1999). Based on the discussions and findings, the Workshop made a number of recommendations which are summarized .

The Workshop took note of several of the major economic, social, technological and environmental challenges leading into the new millennium: rapid urbanization; environmental degradation; the changing role of government in society; widening economic inequity and an increase in poverty and food shortages; and the economic and social challenges associated with increasing globalization.

The availability of reliable information about land and its resources emerged as a vital issue in managing these challenges.

If relevant and good decisions are to be made by public authorities, private resource users or community bodies, they must be based on sound information about the land and environment in order to contribute to sustainable development.

This in turn requires the articulation of principles for the development and operation of land information and cadastral systems, as well as land registration systems, which give effect to the principle of sustainable development.

The property rights in land do not in principle carry with them a right to neglect or destroy the land. The concept of property (including ownership and other proprietary interests) embraces social and environmental responsibility as well as relevant rights to benefit from the property. The registration of property in land is thus simultaneously a record of who is presumed to bear this responsibility and who is presumed to enjoy the benefit of relevant rights. The extent of responsibility is to be assessed by understanding the social and environmental location of the land in the light of available information and is subject to express laws and practices of the appropriate jurisdiction.

Laws should, as far as possible, be interpreted to express the international concept of sustainability. Nations should be encouraged to review these laws to ensure that the concept of sustainability is integrated into all basic rights, responsibilities, procedures and transactions.

Effective land administration is essential to meet these challenges. In this context, property may be viewed as the rights and responsibilities that individuals and groups of individuals have to access, use, develop and transfer land and related resources (such as water, forests and soils). Land administration may be built around the concept of individual and shared, communal, commercial and private rights. The focus may be on leasehold tenures or so-called freehold tenures. What is important is that the rights and responsibilities are formally recognized and secured.

Lack of secure property rights in the land will inhibit investments in housing, sustainable food production and access to credit, hinder good governance and the emergence of civic societies, reinforce social exclusion and poverty, undermine long term planning, and distort prices of land and services. Without effective access to land and property, market economies are unable to evolve and the goals of sustainable development cannot be realized.

In recognition of the fundamental role of property and access to land in responding to the challenges of sustainable development, the Bathurst Workshop delegates addressed the urgent need to strengthen the policies, institutions and infrastructure necessary for effective access to land and property. Beyond this, the Bathurst Workshop called on the international community to support an ambitious, long term program of positive action in order to significantly reduce the numbers of people around the world who do not have secure access to land and property rights.

The Workshop fully realized that there is no hope of success unless a comprehensive and rigorous action agenda is formulated and implemented. The agenda must be practical, achievable and assessable. The preparation of such an agenda will require extensive work on the part of the international community (and will build on such initiatives as the Habitat Global Campaign for Secure Tenure) and will need to consider a wide variety of policy, institutional and structural issues.

Any action agenda will first need to address the policy issues associated with building and sustaining effective land administration. Core principles must be articulated that promote

equal access to property for all people while respecting the sensitivity to local needs and requirements.

Policies must be formulated that ensure that the processes for formalizing and subsequently transferring property rights are as simple and efficient as possible. From the outset, the policy agenda must ensure that there is a balanced and integrated approach to addressing the requirements of both urban and rural society, to dealing both with land and other resources (including water, forests and soils). Every effort should be made to encourage the full and active participation of local communities in formulating and implementing the policy agenda. Of special importance will be the need to construct land registration institutions that effectively address the constantly evolving requirements of the community.

Land administration institutions, in this context, mean the â&#x20AC;&#x153;rules of the gameâ&#x20AC;?. These include the laws and regulations necessary for creating property rights (and the associated restrictions and requirements imposed by the state or the community), for registering and subsequently transferring them, for resolving disputes, for taxation purposes, and the equitable resumption of these rights. They must be responsive to local requirements and conditions, and be capable of evolving over time to deal with different needs and priorities. As well, these institutions must be open and transparent.

These ambitious goals will not be achieved unless there is a commitment to designing and implementing effective land registration infrastructures (nobal) These may be described as the organizations, standards, processes, information and dissemination systems and technologies required to support the allocation, transfer, dealing and use of land. One of the major challenges will be to build an infrastructure that is sufficiently robust to, amongst other things, effectively support the goal of enhancing security and access to credit, while at the same time being sufficiently simple and efficient so as to promote and sustain widespread participation.

The processes for formalizing property rights will necessarily involve significant community participation whilst the subsequent registration and transfer process will have to be capable of an evolving response to changing community requirements. Information technology will play an increasingly important role both in constructing the necessary infrastructure and in providing effective citizen access to information. Finally, there must be total commitment to the maintenance and upgrading of the land registration infrastructure.

4.17. Recommendations from Bathurst The Workshop, in confirming the Bogor Declaration on Cadastral Reform, extended the professional debate on desirable land registration and recognizing that the community of nations has committed themselves to the various United Nations Global Plans of Action arising out of the UN Summits over the last decade, made a total of 20 recommendations. The main principles of the recommendations may be summarized as: 1. Confirming the imperative for land administration to play a role in facilitating and supporting the complex decision making that is integral to sustainable development; 2. Recognizing the necessity for land administration to evolve beyond traditional cadastral paradigms to embrace fresh understanding of the relationship between land, property and rights and the need for initiatives like decision-support systems, spatial data infrastructures etc ;

3. Acknowledging the imperative to respond creatively to differing whether to specific groups of disadvantage within or between nations; 4. Embracing the inter-relationship between good governance, civil society and land administration for sustainable development, and the need for accountability and benchmarking/performance indicators; 5. Re-iterating the need for legal, institutional and technological reforms to fulfill the call for inclusive decision-making and a allocation/preservation issues; 6. Urging the importance of an inter-disciplinary approach to land administration and therefore the responsibility of nations to address the need for appropriate human resource development.

The Bathurst Workshop’s key recommendations included: 1. Providing effective legal security of tenure and access to property for all men and women, including indigenous peoples, those living in poverty and other disadvantaged groups; 2. Promoting the land administration reforms essential for sustainable development and facilitating full and equal access for men and women to land-related economic opportunities, such as credit and natural resources; 3. Investing in the necessary land administration infrastructure and in the dissemination of land information required to achieve these reforms; 4. Halving the number of people around the world who do not have effective access to secure property rights in land by the Year 2010.

4.18. Future Action Presentations on the Bathurst Declaration and its recommendations for action made in the year 2000 to the UN’s Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific in Malaysia, the UN’s Commission for Sustainable Development (UNCSD8) in New York and to the General Assembly of the FIG in Prague. Also, within weeks of the launch of the Declaration, it had been widely circulated to many countries and a number of key United Nations agencies which have started to act on its recommendations. (Ting, L. and Williamson, I., 1999, Land administration and cadastral trends: the impact of the changing humankind-land relationship and major global drivers. In Proceedings of International Conference on Land Tenure and Cadastral Infrastructures for Sustainable Development, (Melbourne, Australia UN-FIG).

4.19. The Bathurst Declaration on Land Registration for Sustainable Development Almost all societies are currently undergoing rapid change brought about by a diverse range of factors that include growing population pressures on the land, especially in urban areas. The world’s population has already reached six billion people. The poor are becoming increasingly concentrated in slums and squatter settlements in our ever-expanding cities. The gender inequities in access to economic and social opportunities are becoming more evident. Within 30 years, two thirds of the world’s population will live in cities. Fresh water availability is now approaching crisis point.

At present consumption levels, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in water stressed conditions by the year 2025. The challenge is not only to meet world population needs for food, shelter and quality of life, but also to ensure that future generations can also have their needs met.

Insecure property rights inhibit use and investment in rural and

urban land. They hinder good governance and the emergence of engaged civil society. Uncoordinated development, poor planning and management of land and its use, and the increasing vulnerability of populations to disaster and environmental degradation all compound the difficulties of meeting this challenge. Without effective access to property, economies are unable to progress and the goal of sustainable development cannot be realized.

The world is, however, changing. Growing awareness of the issues, better understanding of the consequences of actions, and greater capacity to secure and use relevant information are helping to bring about the necessary changes. These issues are forcing the re-engineering of land administration systems to ensure that they support sustainable development and efficient land markets. Land administration frameworks will be forced to respond rapidly to these unprecedented changes.

The joint United Nations and International Federation of Surveyors Bathurst Workshop on Land Tenure and Cadastral Infrastructures for Sustainable Development has responded to this challenge. Land administration institutions and infrastructures will have to evolve and adapt their often inadequate and narrow focus to meet a wide range of new needs and technology, and a continually changing institutional environment. They also need to adapt continually to complex emerging humankind-land relationships at the same time as changing relationships between people and governments. These conditions should lead to improved systems of governance.

The Bathurst Workshop examined the major issues relevant to strengthening land policies, institutions and infrastructures and, in particular identified the following: 1. Future humankind/land relationships, 2. The role of land in sustainable development, 3. Food, water and land policies, 4. Land tenure and land administration systems, 5. How land markets, land registration, spatial planning and valuation interact, and 6. Re-engineering land administration systems.

For each of these key areas, the Workshop reviewed the existing situation within the rapidly changing land administration environment. It investigated and provided recommendations as to how land tenures, land administration institutions and infrastructures and cadastral systems should evolve to enable the challenges of change in the 21st century to be met.

The Bathurst Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable Development calls for a commitment to providing effective legal security of tenure and access to property for all men and women, including indigenous peoples and those living in poverty or other disadvantaged groups. It identifies the need for the promotion of institutional reforms to facilitate sustainable development and for investing in the necessary land administration infrastructure. This gives people full and equal access to land-related economic opportunities. most significantly, the Declaration justifies and calls for a commitment on the part of the international community and governments to halve the number of people around the world who do not have effective access to secure property rights in land by the Year 2010.

To realize this commitment, the Workshop proposes a set of recommendations. The policy and institutional reform recommendations must ensure that there is a balanced and

integrated approach to addressing all tenure relationships in both urban and rural society. Full and active participation by local communities in formulating and implementing the reforms is recommended. The need to develop land administration infrastructures that effectively address the constantly evolving requirements of the community is critical. Finally, information technology is seen as playing an increasingly important role in developing the necessary infrastructure and in providing effective citizen access to it. Sustainable development is not attainable without sound land administration.

4.20. The Bathurst Declaration Recommendations (In Detail) Given that more than half the people in most developing countries currently do not have access to secure property rights in land and given the concerns about the sustainability of development around the globe and the growing urban crisis, the Bathurst Workshop recommends a global commitment to: 1. Providing effective legal security of tenure and access to property for all men and women, including indigenous peoples, those living in poverty and other disadvantaged groups; 2. Promoting the land registration reforms essential for sustainable development and facilitating full and equal access for men and women to land-related economic opportunities, such as credit and natural resources; 3. Investing in the necessary land registration infrastructure and in the dissemination of land information required to achieve these reforms; 4. Halving the number of people around the world who do not have effective access to secure property rights in land by the Year 2010.

The Workshop in confirming the Bogor Declaration, extending the professional debate on desirable land administration and recognizing that the community of nations has committed themselves to the various United Nations Global Plans of Action arising out of the UN Summits over the last decade, recommends the following: 5. Encourage nations, international organizations, NGOs, policy makers, administrators and other interested parties to adopt and promote the Bathurst Declaration in support of sustainable development.

6. Encourage all those involved in land registration to recognize the relationships and inter-dependence between different aspects of land and property. In particular there is need for functional cooperation and coordination between surveying and mapping, the cadastre, valuation, physical planning, land reform, land consolidation and land registration institutions.

7. Encourage the flow of information relating to land and property between different government agencies and between these agencies and the public. Whilst access to data, its collection, custody and updating should be facilitated at a local level, the overall land information infrastructure should be recognized as belonging to a national uniform service to promote sharing within and between nations.

8. Improve security of tenure, access to land and to land registration systems through policy, institutional reforms and appropriate tools with special attention paid to gender, indigenous populations, the poor and other disadvantaged groups. In many nations, this will entail particular efforts in areas under customary or informal tenure and in urban areas where population growth is fast and deficiencies are most prevalent.

9. Recognize that good land registration can be achieved incrementally using relatively simple, inexpensive, user-driven systems that deliver what is most needed for sustainable development.

10. Recognize that the unacceptable rise in the incidents of violent dispute over property rights can be reduced through good land tenure institutions that are founded on quality land

information data. Good land information underpins good governance. Where conflict arises, there must be inexpensive land dispute resolution mechanisms in place that are readily accessible to all parties concerned.

11. Encourage national and local government bodies to document and manage their own land and property assets.

12. Recognize that land markets operate within a range of land tenures of which freehold is but one. It is important to facilitate the efficient operation of land markets through appropriate regulatory frameworks that address environmental and social concerns.

13. In order to increase knowledge of the global situation of land registration and land tenure, the United Nations undertake a study of global land administration issues such as the range of tenure issues, gender, urban agglomeration, land disputes, problems and indicators with a view to producing a global atlas and related documentation. Much of the needed data are already available in different UN databases.

14. Recognizing the difficulties in interpretation of the many land registration related terms, develop a readily accessible thesaurus, translated into appropriate languages, to facilitate a better understanding of the terminology used. Further, on the basis of selected criteria, use this to prepare examples of best practice in the field of land registration. This can be done using work already completed by FIG and FAO. 15. In view of the crucial importance of human resources in the management of land, ensure that there is sustained education and training in land administration. In particular, international agencies should seek to develop multi-disciplinary, multinational training courses in land registration and make these available at the local level through the use of modern information technology.

16. International and national agencies, NGOs and other interested parties to arrange workshops and conduct studies with regard to such matters as the quality of access to land and information, gender issues, customary law and indigenous rights, land tenure systems, interaction between land and water rights, maritime cadastres, and the management of land administration systems.

17. In order to coordinate foreign assistance, countries seeking help should play a more active role in the coordination of aid and prepare a country profile analysis, describing the status of land registration and the need for improvements. Based on this the countries should then prepare a master plan to which all land registration, initiatives and projects should adhere.

Land rights are social conventions that regulate the distribution of the benefits that accrue from specific uses of a certain piece of land. A number of arguments support public provision of such rights. First, the high fixed cost of the institutional infrastructure needed to establish and maintain land rights favors public provision, or at least regulation. Second, the benefits of being able to exchange land rights will be realized only in cases where such rights are standardized and can be easily and independently verified.

Finally, without central provision, households and entrepreneurs will be forced to spend resources to defend their claims to property, for example, through guards, fences, and so on, which is not only socially wasteful, but also disproportionately disadvantages the poor, who will be the least able to afford such expenditures.

4.21. Desirable Characteristics of Property Rights to Land Property rights to land need to have a horizon long enough to provide investment incentives and be defined in a way that makes them easy to observe, enforce, and exchange. They need to be administered and enforced by institutions that have both

legal backing and social legitimacy and are accessible by and accountable to the holders of property rights. Even if property rights to land are assigned to a group, the rights and duties of individuals within this group, and the way in which they can be modified and will be enforced, have to be clear. Finally, as the precision with which property rights will be defined will generally increase in line with rising resource values, the institutions administering property rights need to be flexible enough to evolve over time in response to changing requirements.

4.22 . Duration of Reform As one of the main effects of property rights is to increase incentives for investment, the duration for which such rights are awarded needs at least to match the time frame during which returns from possible investments may accrue. Clearly this depends on the potential for investment, which is higher in urban than in rural areas. While indefinite property rights are the best option, giving long-term rights that can be renewed automatically is an alternative. Given the long time spans involved, attention to the way in which such rights can be inherited is particularly warranted, and has often proven to be critical to enhance womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to control land on their own.

4.23. Modalities of Demarcation and Transfer Property rights to land should be defined in a way that makes them easy to identify and exchange at a cost that is low compared with the value of the underlying land. With limited land values, low-cost mechanisms of identifying boundaries, such as physical marks (hedges, rivers, and trees) that are recognized by the community, will generally suffice, while higher-value resources will require more precise and costly means of demarcation. Similarly, where land is relatively plentiful and transactions are infrequent, low-cost mechanisms to record transactions, such as witnessing by community elders, will be appropriate. More formal mechanisms will normally be adopted once transactions become more frequent and start to extend beyond traditional community and kinship boundaries.

4.24. Enforcement Institutions The key advantage of formal, as compared with informal, property rights is that those holding formal rights can call on the power of the state to enforce their rights. For this to be feasible, the institutions involved need to enjoy legal backing as well as social legitimacy, including accountability to and accessibility by the local population. Yet in many countries, especially in Africa, the gap between legality and legitimacy has been a major source of friction, something that is illustrated by the fact that often more than 90 percent of land remains outside the existing legal system.

Failure to give legal backing to land registration institutions that enjoy social legitimacy can undermine their ability to draw on anything more than informal mechanisms for enforcement. By contrast, institutions that are legal but do not enjoy social recognition may make little difference to the lives of ordinary people, and have therefore often proven to be highly ineffective. Bringing legality and legitimacy together is a major challenge for policy that cannot be solved in the abstract.

4.25. Subject of Rights Whether it is more appropriate to give property rights to individuals or to a group will depend largely on the nature of

the resource and on existing social arrangements. Group rights will be more appropriate in situations characterized by economies of scale in resource management or if externalities exist that can be managed at the level of the group but not the individual. Group ownership is also often adopted in situations where risk is high and markets for insurance are imperfect or where the resource in question is abundant and the payoff from any land-related investment that individuals could undertake on their own is low.

Even if these conditions apply, group rights will be the option of choice only if the group to which such rights are assigned has a clear definition of its membership; if the responsibilities of individuals within the group are well identified; if mechanisms for internal management and enforcement, for example, the imposition of sanctions, are available; and if there is a clear understanding of the ways in which decisions to modify rules can be made.

4.26. Evolution over Time Unless there are clear externalities that can be dealt with most effectively by groups, the relative advantage of group, as compared with individual, land rights will generally decrease in the course of development because of a number of factors.

Technical progress reduces the risk of crop failure while at the same time increasing the potential payoff from investments; development of the non farm economy provides access to more predictable income streams; and greater access to physical infrastructure reduces not only the risk, but also the cost, of publicly providing property rights.

Thus one would expect to see a move toward more individualized forms of property rights with economic development. At the same time, historical evidence suggests that transformation of property toward increased individualization is not automatic. To the contrary, it will be affected by political and economic factors, and thus will often coincide with major conflicts, upheavals, or power struggles.

Exogenous demographic changes, especially in the absence of economic development, will increase the scarcity and value of land. This can challenge traditional authorities and institutions that previously had unquestioned authority over land allocation and dispute resolution. If they coincide with land claims by outsiders and are overlaid with race and ethnicity issues, such situations can lead to serious crises of governance, including civil war.

Even neglecting broader non economic impacts and possible indirect effects, the direct costs of land conflicts that may arise in this context are high and are borne mostly by the poor, who are generally least able to afford them. Land conflicts often generate large, negative, external effects. In the extreme, they can undermine the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s authority and effectiveness by leading to the creation of a multiplicity of parallel institutions, as illustrated by the fact that unresolved land conflicts have in some cases escalated to become a significant contributor to state failure.

To avoid such consequences, the institutions managing land rights will need to be able to re-interpret traditions and social norms authoritatively and in a way that protects the poor and vulnerable from abuse of their rights by those with political power and economic resources. This requires attention to legal provisions that can instantly eliminate traditional rights or the rights of specific groups, such as women or herders.

Even where an appropriate legal and regulatory basis is in place, operational mechanisms for putting laws into practice in a way that

protects vulnerable members of society and precludes the elimination of secondary rights will be important. Seemingly simple alterations of the property rights regime can have far-reaching impacts on the poor.

4.27. Empirical Evidence on the Impact of Tenure Security In many countries of the developing world, insecure land tenure prevents large parts of the population from realizing the economic and non economic benefits, such as greater investment incentives, transferability of land, improved credit market access, more sustainable management of resources, and independence from discretionary interference by bureaucrats, that are normally associated with secure property rights to land.

For example, more than 50 percent of the peri-urban population in Africa and more than 40 percent in Asia live under informal tenure and therefore have highly insecure land rights. While no such figures are available for rural areas, many rural land users are reported to make considerable investments in land as a way to establish ownership and increase their perceived level of tenure security. This illustrates not only that tenure security is highly valued, but also that in many contexts existing land administration systems fail to provide secure tenure. We discuss first the economic and then the non economic benefits of more secure tenure.

A first benefit from increased tenure security that can easily be measured is the increase in land usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; investment incentives.

Some studies have reported a doubling of investment, and values for land with more secure tenure are reported to be between 30 and 80 percent higher than those for land where there is a higher probability of losing it.

Transferability of land will greatly increase this effect, something that will be especially important in situations where the scope for transacting land between less and more productive producers has increased, for example, formal title, will also reduce the time and resources individuals have to spend trying to secure because of development of the nonagricultural economy and rural-urban migration.

Higher levels of tenure security, not necessarily their land rights, thereby allowing them to invest these resources elsewhere. For example, in Peru the formalization of land rights increased the supply of labor to the market by more than 50 percent. Where effective demand for credit exists, giving formal title to land can help producers gain access to credit and improve the functioning of financial markets.

It has long been noted that the impact of such credit access may be differentiated by the size of landholdings, and therefore that attention to the anticipated equity effects will be required. In situations where the credit effect associated with title is unlikely to materialize in the near future, a more gradual and lower-cost approach to securing land rights and improving tenure security, with the possibility of upgrading once the need arises, will allow for provision of most, if not all, the benefits from increased tenure security at lower cost. While targeting efforts aimed at increasing tenure security for the poor will therefore automatically lead to greater equity, two additional issues are of interest.

First, the ability to make decisions about the allocation of land is a key element of political power wielded by traditional authorities or modern bureaucrats. Devolving some of this authority to democratic decision making within the group or to individuals can greatly improve governance as illustrated by the example of Mexico, where beneficiaries

mentioned improved governance as a key benefit of property rights reforms introduced after 1992.

Second, ensuring secure land tenure will be of particular relevance for groups that were traditionally discriminated against. In addition to being warranted based on basic considerations of equity, attention to women’s land rights will have far-reaching economic consequences where women are the main cultivators, where out-migration is high, where control of productive activities is differentiated by gender, or where high levels of adult mortality and unclear inheritance regulations could undermine women’s livelihood in case of their husbands’ death.

The importance of doing so is reinforced by strong evidence suggesting that the way in which assets are distributed within the household will affect spending patterns. Greater control of assets by women often translates into higher levels of spending on children’s education, health, and food. Similarly, even though the significance of land for indigenous peoples and herders goes beyond economics, even its economic impact has often been underestimated.

Transferring property rights to indigenous communities, especially if combined with technical assistance, can allow them to manage these better or to derive greater benefits from the resources associated with their land. For herders, different countries have developed promising approaches to resource tenure and management that recognize the central role of mobility and risk management on an ecological scale that may transcend traditional boundaries.

4.28. Removing Barriers to Sustainable Land Registration Around the world, land continues to degrade, with natural resources—biodiversity, forests, soil, vegetation, water changing for the worse. This leads to the loss of arable soil and forests, affecting both economic and ecological functions. Often, the underlying causes of land degradation are complex, and solutions require both systemic and systematic approaches. In this environment, countries face barriers to implementing sustainable land management processes.

The challenge for policymakers is to make informed decisions about the use of natural resources without jeopardizing the resilience of the ecosystems. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) funds activities to remove barriers to the adoption of sustainable land management practices by helping countries develop institutional and human resource capacities, strengthen policy and regulatory environments, promote economic incentives, and disseminate lessons learned and best practices.

4.29. Building Institutional and Governance Capacity Limited individual, institutional, and systemic capacities frequently undermine a developing country’s commitment to instituting sustainable land management. At the national and regional levels, government institutions and ministries often lack personnel with technical or policy skills. At the same time, inter-institutional and inter-sectoral coordination and cooperation is lacking as is local-level empowerment.

Further, good governance strategies for natural resource management are generally weak or nonexistent. Extension services—the link between the national and local levels—often suffer from

budgetary cuts and low capacities. In some developing countries, legislation is based on top-down command and control regulations that rely on compliance and enforcement.

In others, the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inability to enforce the law properly often leads to perverse behavior by local land users. In these cases, laws and regulations are often poorly understood, ineffectively enforced, and subject to varying interpretations.

To tackle these challenges, GEF assistance is helping countries remove institutional and governance barriers. The GEF also supports incorporating sustainable land management principles into institutional and governance structures.

4.30. Strengthening Economic and Financial Capacity Many developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing states, lack the financial resources to change land management policies and practices. With insufficient budgetary allocations, the goal of sustainable land management remains elusive because it often conflicts with priorities related to poverty reduction, epidemics, peacekeeping, and economic growth. In many developing countries, rural development priorities for increasing gross domestic product and exports often clash with those that promote sustainable rural development. This situation can result in perverse economic incentives and unbalanced and sector-focused subsidies that lead to unsustainable land use practices.

4.31. Global Action for Sustainable Land Management The GEF promotes the mainstreaming of environmental concerns into production programs and policies, as well as into cross-cutting sectors, such as economic planning and territory management. With GEF assistance, regular sector budgets become available to promote environmentally sound management of a countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural resources. At the local level, the GEF supports small credit schemes for farmers and herders and lifts barriers faced by small and medium enterprises.

4.32. Increasing Social Capacity Poverty and illiteracy are important causes of land and environmental degradation. Therefore, people can be a major asset in preventing and reversing land degradation if they are healthy, politically motivated, and economically empowered to care for the land. The GEF supports activities that promote environmental education as a priority in achieving sustainable development goals. These programs provide opportunities to explore linkages among population dynamics, land use change, and environmental impact.

4.33. Strengthening Technological and Knowledge Capacities At the local level, the stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; knowledge of sustainable land management practices relies on time-tested traditional techniques and knowledge that has been transferred through generations. In some cases, what might have been a sustainable land use practice in the past may not be viable anymore. New technologies and information on how to adapt traditional technologies to the new challenges are key priorities.

For example, many farmers in developing countries live and work in isolation, without access to data and information that are essential for choosing the right crop variety, estimating the right amount of irrigation water, and preparing for a potential natural disaster.

The GEF supports improved access to clear and easily understandable informationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;such as new land management techniques, information on new and more resilient crop varieties, access to early warning systems, and data trends on the local climate. Such information helps local communities make informed decisions on how to use their land in the best way to remove barriers for sustainable land management by: 1. Harmonizing planning procedures and improving coordination among line agencies to improve cross-sectoral reviews of proposed investments and environmentally friendly alternatives, 2. Expanding the participation of local governments and other stakeholders (private sector and local residents) in decentralized natural resource planning and management, providing access to information on proposed activities, and ensuring full involvement in the environmental review process, 3. Setting up an environmental information and monitoring system, 4. Identifying hazard-prone and environmentally risky areas as well as alternative sites that are more suitable for proposed development investments, 5. identifying and managing the risks of planned and unplanned development, 6. Assessing, identifying, and promoting sustainable land management options and technologies through local practice, adaptation, experimentation, and dissemination.

4.34. Ways to Increase Tenure Security The findings described in the previous section imply that governments have a role to play in providing secure tenure to owners and users of land. Even though formal title will increase tenure security in many situations, experience indicates that it is not always necessary, and often is not a sufficient condition for optimum use of the land resource. The goal of providing tenure security for the long term, administered in a cost-effective way through institutions that combine legality with social legitimacy, can be achieved in a variety of ways depending on the situation.

4.35. Customary Land In customary systems, legal recognition of existing rights and institutions, subject to minimum conditions, is generally more effective than premature attempts at establishing formalized structures. Legally recognizing customary land rights subject to a determination of membership and the codification or establishment of internal rules and mechanisms for conflict resolution can greatly enhance occupantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; security.

Demarcation of the boundaries of community land can remove the threat of encroachment by outsiders while drawing on well-defined procedures within the community to assign and manage rights within the group. Conflicts historically often erupt first in conjunction with land transfers, especially to outsiders. Where such transfers occur and are socially accepted, the terms should be recorded in writing to avoid ambiguity that could subsequently lead to land-related conflict.

4.36. State Land Occupants on state land have often made considerable efforts to increase their level of security, in some cases through significant investments, but often remain vulnerable to eviction threats.

Because of their limited land rights they generally cannot make full use of the land they occupy. Giving them legal rights and regularizing their possession is therefore important, along with ensuring that appropriate means are in place for resolving any conflicts that may arise in the process. In many situations, political or other considerations may preclude the award of full private property rights.

If existing institutions can credibly commit to lease contracts, giving users secure, transferable, long term lease rights will permit the realization of most, if not all, the investment benefits associated with higher levels of tenure security.

In these cases, the recognition of long-term, peaceful occupation in good faith (adverse possession) and the award of long-term land leases with provisions for automatic renewal will be the most desirable option. If the leases awarded by state institutions are not credible, measures to increase tenure security or, alternatively, full privatization, will be required to give users sufficient security of tenure and the associated benefits. An indicator of limited credibility of leases is that even where there is strong, effective demand for credit, financial institutions will not accept long-term leases as collateral.

4.37. Individual Title Where, after considering the arguments advanced earlier, formal and individual ownership title will be the option of choice, inefficiencies in the land administration institutions responsible for demarcation of boundaries, registration and record keeping, adjudication of rights, and resolution of conflict can still preclude realization of many of the benefits of secure tenure.

If these institutions are not working well or are poorly coordinated, inefficient, or corrupt, transaction costs will be high, thereby reducing the level of transactions below what would be socially optimal, and in many cases excluding the poor completely.

In the extreme lack of clarity about who is responsible for specific areas or infighting between institutions has evolved into a major source of insecurity that has undermined the value and authority of titles distributed during systematic interventions. In such situations, institutional reform, including improved coordination within the government and with the private sector, will be a precondition for the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to deliver property rights effectively.

If no previous records exist, or where these are seriously out of date, a strong case for systematic, first-time registration can be made on the grounds that a systematic approach, combined with wide publicity and legal assistance to ensure that everybody is informed, provides the best way to ensure social control and prevent land grabbing by powerful individuals, which would be not only inequitable, but also inefficient.

In addition, interventions should be designed so that they are fiscally sustainable and so that the costs involved do not prevent individuals from subsequent registration of land transactions.

Although it is often not necessary to have uniform standards for land administration throughout the whole country, coverage should aim to be comprehensive. Even though most countries mandate equality of men and women before the law in principle,

the procedures used by land administration institutions often discriminate against women, either explicitly or implicitly.

4.38. Land Transactions Land transactions can play an important role by allowing those who are productive, but are either landless or own little land, to access land. Land markets also facilitate the exchange of land as the off-farm economy develops and, where the conditions for doing so exist, provide a basis for the use of land as collateral in credit markets.

Capital market imperfections and policy distortions have, however, prevented land sales markets from contributing to increased levels of productivity or reduced poverty in many instances. This has led some observers to take a negative stance on any type of land market activity and to support government intervention, despite the considerable scope of rental markets and the evidence on limited effectiveness of government intervention in such markets.

4.39. Conceptual Foundations To understand why in some cases land transactions may fail to contribute to improving productivity and equity, it is necessary to review the conceptual foundations that underlie the operation of land markets and how some of the market imperfections frequently encountered in rural areas of the developing world will have a differential impact on land rental and sales.

4.40 .Basic Elements A large literature has demonstrated that un mechanized agriculture generally does not exhibit economies of scale in production, even though economies of scale from marketing may in some cases be transferred back to the production stage.

At the same time, the need to closely supervise hired laborers implies that owner-operated farms are more efficient than those that rely predominantly on large numbers of permanent wage workers.

However, credit rationing and the scope to use collateral as one means to overcome imperfections that are inherent to credit markets will favor farmers who own larger amounts of land. In environments where access to credit is important, this can lead to the appearance of a positive relationship between farm size and productivity, possibly counteracting the supervision cost advantage of small owner-operated farms. These factors will have different implications for land rental as compared with sales markets.

4.41. Rental Markets Rental markets are characterized by low transaction costs, and in most cases where rent is paid on an annual basis require only a limited initial capital outlay. This, together with participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to adjust contract terms so as to overcome market failures in capital and other markets, implies that rental is a more flexible and versatile means of transferring land from less to more productive producers than sales. Renting is thus more likely to improve overall productivity and, in addition, can provide a stepping stone for tenants to accumulate experience and possibly make the transition to land ownership at a later stage.

The importance of tenure security for rental markets is illustrated by the fact that where land tenure is perceived to be insecure, long-term contracts are unlikely to be entered into. The literature has long pointed out that rental arrangements based

on fixed rather than share rents are more likely to maximize productivity.

Poor producers may, however, not be offered fixed rent contracts because of the risk of default. In these circumstances, sharecropping has emerged as a second-best solution.

Hypothetically, sharecropping contracts could be associated with sizeable inefficiencies, implying that government action could improve efficiency. In practice, the efficiency losses associated with sharecropping contracts were found to be relatively small, and improving on them through government intervention has proven to be difficult, if not impossible.

Given that the contracting parties have considerable flexibility to adjust contract parameters so as to avoid inefficiencies, for example, by entering into long-term relationships or through close supervision, the general view is that prohibiting sharecropping or other forms of rental contracts is unlikely to improve productivity.

The welfare impact of rental contracts depends on the terms of the contract, which in turn are affected by the outside options open particularly to the weaker party. Efforts to expand the range of options available to tenants, for instance, via access to infrastructure and non agricultural labor markets, are likely to have a more beneficial impact on land rental market outcomes and rural productivity than prohibiting certain options.

4.42. Sales Markets Transfer of land use rights through rental markets can go a long way toward improving productivity and welfare in rural economies. At the same time, the ability to transfer ownership of land will be required to use land as collateral in credit markets, and thus to provide the basis for low-cost operation of financial markets. This advantage comes at the cost that sales markets will be more affected than rental markets by imperfections in credit markets as well as by other distortions, such as subsidies to agriculture.

Activity in land sales markets will depend on participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expectations regarding future price movements, creating a potential for asset price bubbles that are not justified by the underlying productive value, as well as a tendency toward speculative land acquisition by the wealthy in anticipation of major capital gains.

Ample historical evidence also shows that in risky environments where small landowners do not have access to credit markets, distress sales of land by the poor can occur, with consequent negative equity and efficiency impacts. The impact of such distress sales is magnified by the fact that where, as in most rural areas, land sales markets are thin, land prices can fluctuate considerably over time.

High transaction costs associated with land sales, which are often further increased by government intervention, can result in the segmentation of such markets whereby certain strata deal only with each other or sales remain entirely informal. All these factors imply that land acquisition by the poor through the land sales market will be difficult, and that as a consequence, the potential for productivity-enhancing land redistribution through sales markets is likely to be very limited.

Empirical Evidence The general conclusions discussed in the foregoing section, and

the importance of government policies in shaping the outcomes from land sales markets that can be observed in practice, are supported by empirical evidence from different regions of the world.

4.43 . Industrial Countries and Eastern Europe In many industrial nations high levels of activity in rental markets, which cover more than 70 percent of cultivated land in some countries, illustrate that land rental is far from archaic.

Indeed, because of lower capital requirements, many producers prefer to rent rather than to buy land.

The fact that well functioning , though often strongly regulated, rental markets in most industrial countries allow households to enter into long term contracts that do not appear to be associated with a visible reduction of investment incentives, demonstrates the flexibility and possible advantages of land rental. It also highlights that long-term security of tenure is critical to achieve such outcomes.

In countries of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), land rental was particularly important in the initial phases of the transition to a market economy, and continues to be relevant for facilitating access to land by younger producers and for consolidating operational holdings in situations where the ownership structure is highly fragmented.

The potential for rental markets is particularly high where land plots were restituted to original owners who had little intention of becoming involved in farming, but where macro economic uncertainty and shallow financial markets slowed the development of land sales markets. Land rentals are also important to achieve market-based consolidation in countries that distributed extremely small plots of land. Long-term leases are not common in Eastern Europe and the CIS because of tenure insecurity.

Short-term leases of public land are widely applied to privatize enterprise land owned by local governments in Eastern Europe, but doing so may be highly inefficient. The reason is that the need to renew these periodically encourages rent seeking and causes insecurity about contract terms that is likely to undermine the scope for long-term investment on such lands.

In this case, sales or other means of transferring ownership would be preferable to rental. Developing true lease markets is also difficult where land was privatized only in share form, and where a combination of high risk, scant market development, and limited knowledge about their property rights prevents owners from making the most effective use of their endowments or establishing operations different from the former collectives.

The fragmentation of ownership and operational holdings caused by restitution implies that there may be considerable scope for land sales markets to bring about an ownership distribution that more closely matches the operational distribution of land.

Furthermore, the high number of landowners in some of these situations increases the transaction costs of rental markets, and in some cases has reportedly led to preferences for sale rather than rental. However, in the absence of long-term credit, and with an uncertain overall economic outlook, the level of activity in land sales markets remains limited, implying that most of the adjustments of operational holding sizes are arrived at through rental.

4.44. Africa

The current differences in land market activity across African countries can often be directly traced to past policy interventions.

Rental markets, including long-term transactions that are in many respects equivalent to sales, are extremely active in West Africa, even though they mostly remain informal.

Land transfers are more limited in East and southern Africa, where colonial policy had outlawed them for a long time.

Recent studies suggest that activity in rental markets can nevertheless increase relatively quickly once the opportunities to engage in such activity exist. In most empirical settings rental markets improved efficiency as well as equity, and evidence from Ethiopia indicates that restrictions on the operation of rental markets also tend to undermine the emergence of nonfarm enterprises. This would imply that eliminating remaining restrictions on the operation of rental markets could make a critical contribution not only to better land utilization, but also to accelerated development of the broader rural economy.

While the cross-country variation in activity in land sales markets is even wider than in the case of rental markets, evidence points toward the rising importance of informal land sales in peri-urban locations and in areas with potential for high value crops. Although long-term land transactions are often recognized by communities, failure to formalize them creates opportunities to raise doubts about their legality at a later time, something that has often given rise to serious conflict. Greater efforts to formalize transactions at the local level could therefore have a beneficial impact, especially where the buyers are from different ethnic groups or are migrants.

4.45. Asia Most South Asian countries have legislation restricting land rentals to avoid exploitation of tenants by landlords. Although such laws may have provided advantages to sitting tenants, they are likely to have a negative impact on the ability of the landless to obtain land through the market, as well as on landownersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; incentives to undertake land-related investment. The case for gradual abolition of such restrictions is strengthened by the example of China and Vietnam, where rental markets transfer land to more productive and land-poor producers in a way that is more effective than what was achieved by administrative reallocation.

Evidence from Southeast Asian countries also illustrates that active markets in use rights can develop quickly as the availability of nonagricultural labor increases. Indeed, broader economic development provides considerable potential for the development of land rental markets that in many instances has not yet been fully tapped or developed.

In most of Asia, markets for long-term use rights have developed only recently. The scant empirical evidence available suggests that such markets will generally help to improve both equity and efficiency, except in situations where credit markets do not work well and shocks may therefore force households into distress sales of land. The threat of government expropriation without compensation is reported to lead to a large number of informal land sales by individuals who hope to use such sales as an opportunity to recoup at least a small part of the real value of the land.

Land sales markets in Asia, especially at the rural urban fringe, are subject to a variety of restrictions. For example, in many peri -urban areas restrictions on conversion from

agricultural to urban land limit the availability of such land for settlement and lead to high prices, which may put such land out of the reach of large portions of the population.

4.46. Latin America In Latin America, a perception of weak property rights and a history of land rental market restrictions imply that rental markets are less effective than one might expect in transforming a highly unequal distribution of land ownership into a more egalitarian operational distribution. Even though evidence suggests that land rental is more effective in bringing land into productive use than government programs, weak and insecure property rights, together with high transaction costs, continue to limit the scope for exchange, in particular, long-term contracts, in many countries. As a consequence, markets remain segmented and thin, and transactions are often limited to close relatives, where private enforcement without recourse to formal authorities is possible.

4.47. Policy Implications To realize the full benefits that can accrue from rental markets, governments need to ensure that tenure security is high enough to facilitate long-term contracts and eliminate unjustified restrictions on the operation of such markets. Limitations on the operation of land sales markets may, in some cases, be justified on theoretical grounds. In practice, efforts to implement such restrictions have almost invariably weakened property rights, with the result that the unintended negative consequences of sales market restrictions have often far outweighed the positive impacts they were intended to achieve. With few exceptions in the case of rapid structural change, there is little to recommend such restrictions as an effective tool for policy.

4.48 .Rental Markets Short-term rental contracts will provide only limited incentives for users to undertake land-related investment. For longer-term contracts to be feasible, long duration of land rights and high levels of tenure security are critical, and finding ways to ensure such tenure security is a key policy issue. Another constraint on land rental markets has been the imposition of rent ceilings or the award of implicit ownership rights to tenants.

While effectively implemented tenancy regulation can benefit sitting tenants, implementing such regulation is costly, and may therefore not be an efficient way of transferring resources to the poor, even in the short term. In the longer term, tenancy restrictions will reduce the supply of land available to the rental market and undermine investment, directly hurting the poor.

Evidence from countries that have eliminated such restrictions suggests that doing so can not only improve access to land via rental markets, but can also increase householdsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; participation in the non farm labor market and, by reducing the discretionary power of bureaucrats, improve governance. A key policy issue is therefore how to sequence the elimination of such restrictions in a way that does not undermine equity.

4.49. Sales Markets Credit market imperfections will affect the functioning of sales markets and may lead to situations where government

intervention could, in a hypothetical world of perfect implementation, lead to outcomes that would improve efficiency and equity. Implementing such interventions has, however, proved to be exceedingly difficult in practice.

In the vast majority of cases, restrictions on land sales markets have undermined tenure security and ended up making things worse than they were at the outset. Restrictions on the transferability of land imposed by a central authority have generally limited credit access and often only pushed such transactions into informality.

Except in situations of rapid economic transition, they are unlikely to be justified.

Local communities are more likely to be able to appreciate the costs of limiting the transferability of land to outsiders or the benefits of eliminating such restrictions than central government institutions.

As long as such decisions are reached in a transparent way and can be enforced, allowing communities to decide on whether to maintain or drop the restrictions on land transactions with outsiders that generally characterize customary land tenure systems may be more effective than imposing central restrictions that are difficult or impossible to enforce.

Land ownership ceilings have generally been ineffective as a means to facilitate the breakup of large farms, and instead have led to red tape, spurious subdivisions, and corruption.

Where they were low, they have apparently had a negative impact on investment and landownersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to access credit, as in the Philippines. The only situation where they can be justified is where high enough land ceilings may help to limit the speculative acquisition of land, something that may be relevant in some CIS countries.

High levels of fragmentation caused either by successive subdivision in the course of inheritance or by the desire to award at least one plot of a specific quality or use type to each producer in the process of land distribution, are often thought to lead to inefficiencies in agricultural production. The magnitude and importance of such inefficiencies increase as agricultural production becomes more mechanized. Dealing with fragmentation based on individual initiative will incur high transaction costs. This provided the justification for governments to adopt programs to complement market mechanisms in an effort to facilitate more rapid consolidation of holdings at lower costs.

Although significant monetary and non monetary benefits are reported from Western Europe, such programs have often been costly and slow.

Evidence from China highlights that in environments where administrative capacity is limited, programs aiming at consolidation can run into great difficulties and fail to yield the expected benefits. Rigorous evaluation of the costs and benefits of different approaches to consolidation in Eastern Europe would be desirable, and will be required before wider adoption of such measures can be recommended.

4.50. Socially Desirable Land Use Decentralized transactions based on secure land rights are likely to be more conducive to efficiency and equity while offering less scope for corruption and other undesirable side effects than administrative intervention, especially as the number of exchanges increases and the contractual arrangements become more complex.

At the same time, governments have a clear role to play in a number of respects. Governments need to help establish the legal and institutional frameworks within which land markets can function and create a policy environment that rewards transactions that will increase productivity and welfare rather than the opposite. Even though the need to do so is particularly obvious in the case of farm restructuring in Central and Eastern European (CEE) and CIS countries, devolution of authority over state land has also emerged as a critical issue in many other contexts.

Where the land distribution is highly unequal and large amounts of productive land are unutilized or underutilized, governments may find it necessary to deal with fundamental issues related to the distribution of asset endowments that markets will not be able to address.

In view of the large number of failed attempts at doing so in a way that increased efficiency and equity, drawing lessons from experience would be particularly relevant.

Finally, governments have a number of fiscal and regulatory instruments at their disposal to provide incentives for land use that maximize social welfare, for example, by helping to internalize effects that are external to individual land users.

Their shortage of administrative capacity notwithstanding, many developing countries rely disproportionately on a regulatory rather than a fiscal approach, often with the result of encouraging discretionary bureaucratic behavior.

Awareness of the rationale, mechanisms, and most appropriate level for intervention can help promote an approach that could produce more satisfactory outcomes, both in terms of compliance and in terms of reducing the red tape with which private entrepreneurs have to deal.

The process of reform was affected by a number of factors.

First, many of the production units performed important social functions, and viable local governments to take over these functions have emerged only slowly.

Second, establishing the infrastructure and supporting institutions needed to facilitate the smooth operation of other markets is a process that requires time.

Finally, the magnitude of the transition and the large number of interests affected implies that progress toward a stable post transition equilibrium is unlikely to be smooth and linear. Indeed, rather than being based on economic considerations, the specific modalities of farm restructuring were determined by a political process.

Most CEE countries adopted restitution of land, while the majority of CIS countries and Albania opted for equal distribution of land to farm members. The distribution of physically demarcated plots, as adopted in Albania, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Moldova, was slower and caused considerable fragmentation, whereas the distribution of land shares that could be taken out of the collective under specified procedures allowed quick privatization, but led to hardly any change in the production structure.

The experience of farm restructuring illustrates that it is impossible to divorce land tenure from broader policy and institutional issues and access to local as well as global markets.

Most of the economic benefits of titling have initially been concentrated in urban areas, where credit markets were much faster to emerge than in rural ones.

The malfunctioning of rural output and factor markets in a risky environment has in many cases prevented households from leaving former collective. Improvements in the legal and institutional environment will therefore be critical.

To ensure a gradual improvement in the functioning of rural markets, including those for land, establishing a correspondence between land shares and physical property and eliminating implicit and explicit restrictions on land rental will be important.

4.51. Land Reform The fact that in many countries the current land ownership distribution has its origins in discriminatory policies rather than in market forces has long provided a justification for adopting policies aimed at land reform. The record of such policies is mixed.

Land reforms have been very successful in Asia (Japan, Republic of Korea, Taiwan [China]), and positive impacts have been reported from some African countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe in the early phases of their post independence land reforms. At the same time, land reforms in Latin America, other Asian countries, and more recently South Africa, failed to live up to their objectives and remain incomplete in many respects.

A key reason for such limited impact was that reforms were often guided by short-term political objectives, or that implementation responded more to plannersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conceptions than to the needs of beneficiaries, often limiting the reformsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sustainability and their impact on poverty.

Where extreme inequality in land distribution and underutilization of vast tracts of productive land co-exist with deep rural poverty, a case for redistributive measures to increase access to land by the poor can be made, both politically and from an economic perspective. Even in such cases, a number of different instruments (ranging from expropriation with compensation to activation of rental markets) to effect the transfer of land will normally be available.

To ensure success of the reform and productive use of the land, land reform needs to be combined with other programs at the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disposal. Access to non land assets and working capital and a conducive policy environment are essential. Those benefiting from land reform need to be able to access output markets as well as credit, the selection of beneficiaries needs to be transparent and participatory, and attention needs to be paid to the fiscal viability of land reform efforts.

Governments are more likely to meet these challenges if they use the mechanisms at their disposal in concert and with the objective of maximizing synergies between them. This also implies a need to integrate land reform into the broader context of economic and social policies aimed at development and poverty reduction, and to implement programs in a decentralized way with maximum participation by potential beneficiaries and at least some grant element. Given the continuing relevance of the issue, the often heated political debate surrounding it, and the lack of quantitative evidence on some more recent approaches, rigorous, open, and participatory evaluation of ongoing experiences is particularly important.

4.52. Land Conflict Increasing scarcity of land in the presence of high rates of population growth, possibly along with a historical legacy of

discrimination and highly unequal land access, implies that many historical and contemporary conflicts have their roots in struggles over land. This suggests a special role for land policy in many post conflict settings. An ability to deal with land claims by women and refugees, to use land as part of a strategy to provide economic opportunities to demobilized soldiers, and to resolve conflicts and overlapping claims to land in a legitimate manner will greatly increase the scope for post conflict reconciliation and speedy recovery of the productive sector, a key for subsequent economic growth.

Failure to put in place the necessary mechanisms can keep conflicts simmering, either openly or under the surface, with high social and economic costs. In such situations, subsequent transactions can lead to rapid multiplication of the conflict potential, which in some rural areas can result in generalized insecurity of land tenure that jeopardizes the broader rule of law.

Although empirical evidence is limited, even comparatively â&#x20AC;&#x153;minorâ&#x20AC;? conflict over land can significantly reduce productivity and, as it is likely to affect the poor disproportionately, equity. Such conflicts are more likely in situations of rapid demographic or economic transition.

Where this is an issue, existing institutions must have the authority and legitimacy to re-interpret rules and thereby prevent relatively minor conflicts from evolving into large-scale confrontation. Instead of opening up parallel channels for conflict resolution, something that has often contributed to increasing rather than reducing the incidence of land-related conflict, building on informal institutions that have social legitimacy and can deal with conflicts at low cost may be preferable.

4.53. Land Taxation Local governmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lack of adequate sources of own revenue may not only affect their financial viability, but also limit their responsiveness and accountability to the local population.

Land taxes have long been identified as a source of own revenue for local governments that is associated with minimal distortions, the use of which can at the same time encourage more intensive land use.

Even though the extent to which land taxes are used varies widely across countries, actual revenues are generally well below their potential. Reasons for this include deficient incentive structures and neglect of capacity building with respect to assessment and administration, in addition to the political difficulty of having significant land taxes.

The high visibility of land taxes implies that establishing them may be difficult politically, especially in settings where landlords still wield considerable political power.

In addition to democratic election of local governments and administrative support to the different aspects of tax collection, schemes to encourage fiscal responsibility and tax collection at the local level, for example, by matching local taxes collected with central funds, can help to design and subsequently collect land taxes appropriately.

This can have a significant impact on incentives for effective land use, local government revenues, types and levels of public services provided, and governance.

4.54. State Land Ownership Governments should have the right of compulsory land acquisition, with compensation, for the broader public benefit.

At the same time, the way in which many developing country governments exercise this right, especially for urban expansion, undermines tenure security and, because often little or no compensation is paid, also has negative impacts on equity and transparency.

In a number of cases, anticipation of expropriation without compensation has led landowners to sell their land in informal markets at low prices, thereby not only forcing them to part with a key asset at a fraction of its real value, but also encouraging unplanned development and urban sprawl that will make subsequent provision of services by the government harder and more costly. Limiting the scope for such uncontrolled exercise of bureaucratic power is a precondition for transparent decentralization and improved tenure security in many peri-urban areas.

The state, especially in developing countries, often lacks the capacity needed to manage land and bring it to its best use. Nevertheless, surprisingly large tracts of land continue to be under state ownership and management. In peri-urban areas, this can imply that unoccupied land of high potential lies idle while investment is held up by bureaucratic red tape and nontransparent processes of decision making that can attract corruption. Experience demonstrates that transferring effective control of such land to the private sector could benefit local governments, increase investment, and improve equity.

Where public land has been occupied by poor people in good faith for a long time and significant improvements have been made, such rights should be recognized and formalized at a nominal cost to avoid negative equity outcomes. In cases where valuable urban land owned and managed by the state lies unoccupied, auctioning it off to the highest bidder will be the option of choice, especially if the proceeds can be used to compensate original landowners or to provide land and services to the poor at the urban fringes at much lower cost.

4.55. Land Use Regulation Even though direct management of land through government agencies has rarely been effective, there is a clear role for government to ensure that resources that embody broader social and cultural values and benefits, such as landscapes, biodiversity, historic sites, and cultural values, will not be irreversibly destroyed by myopic individual actions.

Furthermore, public action is warranted to reduce undesirable externalities and nuisances, provide incentives for the maintenance of positive external effects such as hydrological balances, and facilitate cost-effective provision of government services. Ensuring that these goals can be met requires paying attention to the nature of property rights and to the ability to adopt specific regulations. External environmental effects can often be internalized if property rights are designed in a way that encourages prudent management of natural resources, for example, by awarding property rights to groups that jointly benefit from optimum resource use, by strengthening the capacity of these groups for collective action, or by making award of property rights either to individuals or to groups subject to certain restrictions or rewards for desirable behavior.

With the exception of interventions to obtain environmental benefits, regulatory action to avoid negative externalities from land use is more likely to be justified in urban and peri-urban than in rural areas. The two questions that need to be answered in this context are whether such measures should be imposed by central

or local authorities and how specific interventions should be designed.

Zoning and other land use regulations should be established based on a clear assessment of the capacity needed to implement them, the costs of doing so, and the way in which both costs and benefits will be distributed.

Failure to do so has often implied that centrally imposed regulations could either not be implemented with existing capacity, that doing so was associated with high costs that were predominantly borne by the poor, or that they degenerated into a source of rent-seeking.

Too little thought has often been given to providing mechanisms that would allow local communities to deal with such externalities in a more decentralized, and therefore a less costly, way. To facilitate this, it is essential that local governments have sufficient capacity and be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches. A gradual devolution of responsibility for land use regulation to local governments, if coupled with capacity building, could make a significant contribution to efforts toward more effective decentralization.

4.56. Land in the Broader Policy Context Land policy addresses structural issues that, in the longer term, will affect the ability of the poor to take advantage of the economic opportunities opened up by broad macroeconomic changes.

Measures to increase land tenure security, reduce the transaction costs of transferring land rights, and establish a regulatory framework to prevent undesirable externalities do, however, cut across traditional boundaries. As a consequence, institutional responsibilities are often dispersed among ministries such as those responsible for the environment, land reform, and urban planning, many of which do not have strong capacity.

To overcome the compartmentalization that may result from such arrangements, it will be essential to have a long-term vision and to include land issues in the framework of a development strategy that has broad backing, as well as being supported and coordinated by a high political level. The extent to which goals are achieved should be monitored independently, and the results compared with those achieved by other government programs aimed at poverty reduction and economic development.

Land policy issues are complex, country-specific, of a long-term nature, and often controversial politically. Even though specific interventions in the land policy area can make society better off, such measures may be challenged by vested interests that derive benefits from the status quo.

To prevent stalemate or inaction, proper sequencing of reforms and attention to their political economy will be critical. To make reforms feasible, strong local capacity, an open and broadly based policy dialogue, carefully chosen and evaluated pilots, and sharing of experience across countries will be essential, and can also help build capacity for policy formulation.

4.57 Challenges for Land Registration and Sustainable Development FACT: Some 262 million people were affected by climate disasters annually from 2000 to 2004, over 98% of them in the developing world An important government activity of all nation states is building and maintaining a land registration system (LRS) with the primary objectives of delivering sustainable development,

particularly by supporting an efficient and effective land market to ensure: 1. Growing understanding that equitable justice systems are key to sustainable development 2. Recognition of the need for complementary demand side initiatives to more conventional approaches to justice reform 3. Increased focus 4. Broader governance 5. Decentralization and community driven development 6. Participation, transparency and accountability 7. Security and stability Human rights and development 8. At same time, ‘missing law’ in development more generally and limited engagement with issue of development causing conflict This includes cadastral surveys to identify and subdivide land, land registry systems to support simple land trading (buying, selling, mortgaging and leasing land) and land information systems to facilitate access to the relevant information, increasingly through an internet enabled e-government environment.

For most countries a cadastre is at the core of the LRS providing spatial integrity and unique land parcel identification in support of security of tenure and effective land trading. For many cadastral and land administration officials and for much of society, these are the primary, and in many cases the only roles of the cadastre and LRS. However the role, and particularly the potential of LRS and their core cadastres, rapidly expanded over the last couple of decades and will continue to expand in the future. But what is a land market in a modern economy? Since LRS were developed, land commodities and trading patterns have undergone substantial changes: they are now complex, corporatized and international.

All the current LRS designed to support a modern land market that trades in complex commodities, such as mortgage backed certificates, water rights, land information, time shares, unit and property trusts, resource rights, financial instruments, insurance products, options, carbon credits, salinity credits, corporate development instruments, and vertical village.

Modern land markets involve a complex and dynamic range of activities, processes and opportunities, and are impacted upon by a wide range of restrictions and responsibilities imposed on land especially since WW II. These restrictions are continually evolving, primarily in response to economic, energy and sustainable development objectives. These developments are made more complicated by changes in information and communications technologies. One commodity in particular land information - has the ability to transform the way both governments and the private sector in modern economies do business.

The e-land administration concept as part of e-government initiatives is now being replaced by a new vision for spatially enabled land information. Land information, together with a jurisdiction’s spatial data infrastructure (SDI), now has the potential to transform the way a modern society functions: how tax is collected, how heath services are delivered, how the environment and our cities are managed, how we respond to emergencies and terrorism, and how elections are run.

Linked to these transformational technologies, such as Google Earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth, or to location enabled platforms, land information has the potential for spatially enabling governments and societies in ways never imagined. At the same time, the global challenge of sustainable development is causing its own

problems and placing new demands on LRS, SDI and the resulting land information.

Land surveyors, lawyers and land administrators are experts in designing, building and managing our land registration systems (LRS). They are experienced in creating, describing and defining land parcels and associated rights. Historically, society required these skills to support an efficient and effective land market in which these rights in land are traded to promote economic development. By the mid nineteenth century, trading involved buying, selling, mortgaging and leasing of rights in land.

By the mid twentieth century, land administration and cadastral officials, and associated legal and surveying professionals, assumed that they understood land markets, and that they had developed appropriate professional skills to serve the needs of those markets. Surveyors who worked from whole to part designed the tools to support land markets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the LRS, cadastres, and supporting technical and administrative skills.

Unfortunately these tools were involved in supporting the land trading activities. Designing a land market, of itself, is another question. From the point of view of land administrators, there is little documentation in the literature on how to design and build a land market or even on the development and growth of land markets.

Historically, existing land registration (LR) skills are appropriate for simple land markets which focus on traditional land development and simple land trading. Meanwhile, land markets have evolved dramatically in the last 50 years and are now very complex, with the major wealth creation mechanisms focused on the trading of complex commodities. While the potential expansion of our LRS to support the trading of complex commodities offers many opportunities one particular commodity - land information â&#x20AC;&#x201C; has the potential to significantly change the way societies operate, and how governments and the private sector do business.

The growth of markets in complex commodities is a logical evolution of our people to land relationships, and our evolving cadastral and LRS. The changing people to land relationships, the need to pursue sustainable development and the increasing need to administer complex commodities within an ICT (information and communications technologies) enabled virtual world, offer new opportunities for our land administration systems. However many challenges need to be overcome before these opportunities can be achieved.

Research aimed at understanding and meeting these challenges is undertaken within the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration, Department of Geomatics, University of Melbourne The over arching focus of the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research projects is spatially enabling government in support of sustainable development. The Centre identified a potential for land information that goes far beyond the land administration endeavor.

This potential is called spatially enabling government. One key to achieving this capacity involves using land information in entirely new ways, gathering momentum of technological changes and returning that momentum back to invigorate land administration functions.

This new vision for managing land information to spatially enable governments is called vision include: 1. A collaborative whole of government approach to managing spatial information using spatial data infrastructure (SDI) principles,

2. Better understanding of the role that the LRS plays in integrated land management (land markets, land use planning, land taxation etc), 3. Seamless integration of built and environmental spatial data in order to deliver sustainable development objectives, 4. Improved interoperability between our land information silos through e-land administration, 5. More flexible technology and models to support cadastres, especially to introduce a third dimension of height, and a forth dimension of time, 6. A national geo-coded street address file linked to the cadastre, 7. Better management of the complex issues in our expanding multi-unit developments and vertical villages, 8. Better management of the ever increasing restrictions and responsibilities relating to land, 9. Incorporation of a marine dimension into both our cadastres and (land) administration systems.

The fundamental idea is to rebuild LRS to support emerging needs of government, business and society to deliver more integrated and effective information, and to use this information throughout government and non-government processes by organizing technical systems in the virtual environment around place or location. To understand these descriptions of a possible invigorated LRS future, it is useful to trace how land registration met the challenges of economic development and social change.

4.58. The Importance of the Cadastre Digital information about land is central to the policy framework of modern land administration and sustainability accounting (Williamson et al. 2006). The cadastre, or the large scale, land parcel map related to parcel indices, is the vital information layer of an integrated land management system, and, in future, will underpin information systems of modern governments.

While some developed countries do without a formal â&#x20AC;&#x153;cadastreâ&#x20AC;?, most generate digital parcel maps (digital cadastral data base-DCDB) reflecting land allocation patterns, uses and subdivision patterns, and even addresses and photographs. A countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DCDB is its core information layer.

It is destined for a much broader role as fundamental government Infrastructure equivalent to a major highway or railway, though it was originally created on behalf of taxpayers merely for better internal administration of taxation, and, more recently, titling of land. Without these digital facilities, modern governments cannot understand the built environment of cities, manage land competently, utilize computer capacity to assist policy making, or retrieve significant value out of land.

The greatest potential of the DCDB lies with the information industry at large, as the principal means of translating geographic coordinates and spatial descriptors of land parcels into meaningful descriptions of places that everybody can understand. Land parcels describe the way people physically use and think about their land. The familiar configuration of parcel based descriptions in the DCDB ensures people-friendly identification of precise locations of impact of private ownership and, more vitally, of government, business and community policies, regulations and actions. In cadastres supported by professional surveyors, the descriptions have the added advantage of being legally authoritative.

While having a cadastre is not mandatory for a LRS, all modern economies recognize its importance, and either incorporate a cadastre or its key components in their LRS. For example, LRS did not evolve from a traditional cadastral focus as did their

European counterparts, but their cadastres are equal to, and sometimes improve upon, the classic European approach.

The cadastral concept simple and clearly shows the textual and spatial components, which are the focus of land surveyors, land registry and cadastral officials.

The cadastre provides a spatial integrity and unique identification for land parcels within a LRS. However, while the cadastral concept is simple, implementation is difficult and complex, especially when linked to a national geo-coded street address database. After ten years, the model remains a useful depiction of a cadastre.

However, it needs to be extended to incorporate the evolving and complex rights, restrictions and responsibilities operating in a modern society concerned to deliver sustainable development. It also does not show the important roles for the cadastre in supporting integrated land management, or in providing critically important land information to enable the creation of a virtual environment, the more practical level, e-government, and eventually a spatially enabled government.

4.59. The Cadastral Concept Historically, an economic paradigm drove land markets; however this has now been significantly tempered by environmental, and more recently, by social paradigms. Simply, the people to land relationships in any society are not stable, but are continually evolving. In turn, Western nations developed land administration or cadastral responses to evolutionary changes in people to land relationships over the last 300 years.

The original focus on land taxation expanded to support land markets, then land use planning, and, over the last decade or so, to provide a multi-purpose role supporting sustainable development objectives (Ting and Williamson 1999).

Even within this evolution, LRS must continue to service the 19th century economic paradigm by defining simple land commodities and supporting simple trading patterns (buying, selling, leasing and mortgaging), particularly by providing a remarkably secure parcel titling system, an easy and relatively cheap land transfer system, and reliable parcel definition through attainable surveying standards (World Bank , 2005).

Major innovations of the Torrens system of land registration and strata titles are copied in many other countries. However, because of the pace of change, the capacity of LRS to meet market needs diminished. The land market of, say, 1940, is unrecognizable in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s modern market. After World War II, new trading opportunities and new products were invented.

Vertical villages, time shares, mortgage backed certificates used in the secondary mortgage market, insurance based products (including deposit bonds), land information, property and unit trusts, and many more commodities now offer investment and participation opportunities to millions, either directly or through investment or super annuation schemes, trusts and property investment vehicles. Meanwhile, the controls and restrictions over land became multi-purpose, and aimed at ensuring safety standards, durable building structures, adequate service provision, business standards, social and land use planning, and sustainable development. The replication of land related systems in resource and water contexts is demanding new flexibilities in our approaches to land administration (Wallace and Williamson 2006).

In Australia, the combination of new management styles, computerization of activities, creation of data bases containing a wealth of land information, and improved interoperability of valuation, planning, address, spatial and registration information allowed much more flexibility. However, Australian LRS remain creatures of their historical state and territory formation.

They do not service national level trading, and are especially inept in servicing the trading of new commodities that Australians continue to invent as they unbundle land.

Moreover, modern societies, which are responding to the needs of sustainable development, are now required to administer a complex system of overlapping rights, restrictions and responsibilities relating to land , existing land administration and cadastral systems do not service this need.

4.60. The Formalization of Tenures The situation is just as complex at the other end of the economic spectrum when land use of traditionally organized societies needs to be reflected in a LRS. Modern societies are also now realizing that many rights, restrictions and responsibilities relating to land exist without formalization by governments for various policy or political reasons. This does not mean these rights, restrictions and responsibilities do not exist, but that they have not been formalized in recognizable land administration or equivalent frameworks.

The process of formalizing tenure and rights, restrictions and responsibilities in land is to create understanding of both formal and informal rights is important as we move to develop land administration and cadastral systems that are sensitive to sustainable development objectives.

Change management processes and adaptation of formal systems always lag behind reality: all mature systems will simultaneously sustain both informal and highly formalized rights while they adjust to absorb emerging interests. Frequently, some rights will be deliberately held in informal systems: one of the largest and most significant commercial management tools in Australia, the trust, remains beyond the land administration infrastructure and relies on formalities generated by client-based practices of lawyers and accountants, held in their filing drawers.

Other rights involve minimal formalization for different reasons.

Residential leases, too common and too short term to warrant much administrative action, are traditionally organized outside LRS. These rent-based distribution systems nevertheless remain potentially within the purview of modern LRS, policy makers and administrators, as illustrated by Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development of a geo-referenced national address file (GNAF).

Indeed the development of spatial, as distinct from survey, Information provides the timeliest reminder that information about land is potentially one of the most remarkable commodities in the modern land market.

4.61. The Changing Nature of Ownership The rapid growth of restrictions on land in modern societies is paralleled by a change in the nature of land ownership. Nations are building genuine partnerships between communities and land owners, so that environmental and business controls are more mutual endeavors. Rather than approach controls as

restrictions, the nature of ownership is redesigned to define opportunities of owners within a framework of responsible land uses for delivery of environmental and other gains.

This stewardship concept is familiar to Europeans long used to the historical, social and environmental importance of land. For the Europeans, the social responsibilities of land owners have a much longer heritage, with the exemplar provision in the German Constitution insisting on the land owner’s social role.

The nature of land use in The Netherlands, given much of the land mass is below sea level, presupposes high levels of community cooperation, and integrates land ownership responsibilities into the broader common good.

The long history of rural villages in Denmark and public support for the Danes who live in rural areas also encourages collaboration (Williamson et al. 2006). The Australian mining industry provides typical examples of collaborative engagement of local people, aboriginal owners and the broader public.

The Australian National Water Initiative and the National Land and Water Resources Audit reinforce the realization that activities of one land owner affect others. The development of market based instruments (MBI), such as Eco-Tenders and Bush -Tenders, is an Australian attempt to build environmental consequences into land management. Australia’s initiatives in “unbundling” of land to create separate, tradable commodities, including water titles, are now built into existing LAS as far as possible. The processes, however, are far from integrated. As yet a comprehensive analysis of the impact of unbundling land interests on property theory and comprehensive land management is not available.

Whatever the mechanism, modern land ownership has taken on social and environmental consequences, at odds with the idea of an absolute property owner. Australia and European approaches to land management are inherently different. While Europe is generally approaching land management as a comprehensive and holistic challenge requiring strong government information and administration systems, Australia is creating layers of separate commodities out of land and adapting existing LRS as much as possible to accommodate this trading, without an overarching national administrative approach. In these varying national contexts, the one commonality, the need for land information to drive land management in support of sustainable development, will remain the universal land administration driver of the future.

4.62. Land Markets The land market of 1940 is un recognizable in today’s modern market . Modern land markets evolved from systems for simple land trading to trading complex commodities. New trading opportunities and new products were, and continue to be invented.

The controls and restrictions over land became multipurpose with an increasing focus on achieving sustainable development objectives. As with simple commodities such as land parcels, all commodities require quantification and precise definition (de Soto 2000). While LRS have not yet incorporated the administration of complex commodities to a significant degree, these modern complex land markets offer many opportunities for land administrators and associated professionals, if they are prepared to think laterally and

capitalize on their traditional measurement, legal, technical and land management skills.

This complexity is compounded by the “unbundling of rights in land” (i.e. water, carbon credits, salinity credits, biota etc), thereby adding to the range of complex commodities available for trading. For example, the replication of land related systems in resource and water contexts is demanding new flexibilities in our approaches to land administration (Wallace and Williamson 2006).

These emerging demands will stimulate different approaches to using cadastral information. Our understanding of the evolution of land markets is limited, but it must be developed if land administrators are going to maximize the potential of trading in complex commodities by developing appropriate land administration systems (Wallace and Williamson 2006).

4.63. The Importance of Spatial Data Infrastructures All LRS require some form of spatial data infrastructure (SDI) to provide the spatial integrity for rights, restrictions and responsibilities relating to land, and the resulting land information.

However, the concept of an SDI continues to evolve. In simple terms, it is as an enabling platform linking data producers, providers and value adders to data users. SDIs are crucial tools to facilitate use of spatial data and spatial information systems. They allow data sharing, and enable users to save resources, time and effort when acquiring new datasets.

Many nations and jurisdictions are investing in development of these platforms and infrastructures to enable their stakeholders to adopt compatible approaches to creation of distributed virtual systems.

Two drivers are evident: the need to organize information to better support decision-making; and elimination of expensive duplication.

The success of these systems depends on collaboration between all parties and their design to support efficient access, retrieval and delivery of spatial information.

The steps to develop an SDI model vary, depending on a country’s background and needs. However, it is important that countries develop and follow a roadmap for SDI implementation. Aspects identified in the roadmap include the development of an SDI vision, the required improvements in national capacity, the integration of different spatial datasets, the establishment of partnerships, and the financial support for an SDI. A vision within the SDI initiative is essential for sectors involved within an SDI project and for the general public.

The SDI vision helps people to understand the government’s objectives and work towards them. Unfortunately many land administrator’s under-estimate the importance of SDIs in building efficient and effective LAS. They focus on the immediate administrative needs and tasks to provide security of tenure and the support for simple land trading, a narrow focus that restricts the ability of LRS organizations to contribute to the whole of government and wider society through spatial enablement.

4.64. SDI as an Enabling Platform Effective use of spatial information requires the optimization of SDIs to support spatial information system design and applications, and subsequent business uses. Initially SDIs were implemented as a mechanism to facilitate access and sharing of

spatial data hosted in distributed GISs. Users, however, now require precise spatial information in real time about real world objects, and the ability to develop and implement cross-jurisdictional and interagency solutions to meet priorities, such as emergency management, natural resource management, water rights trading, and animal, pest and disease controls.

To achieve this, the concept of an SDI is moving to a new business model, in which the SDI promotes partnerships of spatial information organizations (public/private), allowing access to a wider scope of data and services, of greater size and complexity than they could individually provide.

SDI as an enabling platform can be viewed as an infrastructure linking people to data (Rajabifard et al. 2006) through linking data users and providers on the basis of the common goal of data sharing (Figure 8). However, there is a need to move beyond a simple understanding of SDI, and to create a common rail gauge to support initiatives aimed at solving cross-jurisdictional and national issues. This SDI will be the main gateway through which to discover, access and communicate spatially enabled data and information about the jurisdiction.

According to Masser et al. (2006), the development of SDIs over the last 15 years, and the vision of spatially enabled government, has many parallels, but there are also important differences. The challenge is to develop an effective SDI that will support the vast majority of society, who are not spatially aware, in a transparent manner.

All types of participating organizations (including governments, industries, and academic) can thus gain access to a wider share of the information market. This is done by organizations providing access to their own spatial data and services, and in return, becoming contributors, and hence gaining access to the next generation of different and more complex services. The vision is to facilitate the integration of existing government spatial data initiatives for access and delivery of data and information.

This environment will be more than just the representation of feature based structures of the world. It will also include the administration and institutional aspects of these features, enabling both technical and institutional aspects to be incorporated into decision-making. Following this direction, in Australia, for example, researchers have defined an enabling platform called Virtual Australia (Rajabifard et al. 2006).

The concept and delivery of Virtual Australia aims to enable government and other users from all industries and information sectors to access both spatial information (generally held by governments) and applications which utilize spatial information (developed by the private sector and governments).

4.65. SDI and Sustainable Development While SDIs play an essential role in supporting LRS, they also have a wider role in supporting sustainable development objectives. Achievement of sustainable development is not possible without a comprehensive understanding of the changing natural environment, and monitoring the impact of human activities by integrating the virtual representations of the built and natural environments. Despite the significance of data integration however, many jurisdictions fragment institutional arrangements and data custodianship in the built and natural information areas.

For example, the land administration, cadastral or land titles office (which has a key role in providing built environment, people-relevant, data) is often separated from state or national mapping organizations responsible for managing the natural environment data.

Fragmentation among data custodians produces diverse approaches to data acquisition, data models, maintenance and sharing. Many countries attempt to address these inconsistencies through development of national SDIs. However, a framework and associated tools to facilitate integration of multi-sourced data are also needed.

(Mohammadi et al. 2006) An SDI can provide the institutional, administrative, and technical basis to ensure the national consistency of content to meet user needs in the context of sustainable development.

4.66. The Potential of Land Registration Systems This brief review of the evolution of cadastres, LRS, SDIs, and land markets shows that the traditional concept of cadastral parcels representing the built environmental landscape is being replaced by a complex arrangement of over-lapping tenures reflecting a wide range of rights, restrictions and responsibilities, and that a new range of complex commodities, building on this trend is emerging. To a large extent these developments are driven by the desire of societies to better meet sustainable development objectives. There is no reason to believe that these trends will not continue as all societies better appreciate the needs to manage the environment for future generations and to deliver stable tenure and equity in land distribution.

While the growth of complex commodities offers huge potential for cadastral systems to play a greater role in delivering sustainable development objectives, and supporting the trading of these complex commodities in particular, one complex commodity, land information, is capable of transforming the way government and the private sector do business.

The potential offered by land information in a virtual world in spatially enabling government is so large, it is difficult to contemplate. We are starting to glimpse this potential in initiatives such as Google Earth and Microsoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Virtual Earth as previously mentioned, but this is barely a start. which shows the transformation of land registration and cadastral systems over the last three decades. Five stages in the evolution of our cadastral systems from a technology perspective. The first stage recognizes that historically cadastral systems were manually operated with all maps and indexes in hard copy. At this stage, the cadastre focused on security of tenure and simple land trading.

4.67 .The Role of Land Registration in Spatially Enabling Government Most governments already have considerable infrastructure and administrative systems for better management of land and resources. Basic information creating processes are cadastral surveying that identifies land; its supporting digital cadastral database (DCDB) that provides the spatial integrity and unique land parcel identification; registering land that supports simple land trading (buying, selling, mortgaging and leasing land); running land information systems (LIS) for land development, valuation and land use planning; and geographic information systems (GIS) that provide mapping and resource information.

For modern governments at all stages of development, one question is how best to integrate these processes, especially to offer them in an Internet enabled e-Government environment.

Twenty years ago, each process and collection of information was distinct and separate. Two changes in the world at large challenged this silo approach.

First, thanks to improvements in technology, the infrastructure available to support modern land and resource management now spans three distinct environments: the natural, the built and the virtual environments.

Second, the pressures on managers created by increased populations, environmental degradation, water scarcity and climate change, require governments to have more accurate and comprehensive information than ever before.

Governments can be regarded as spatially enabled when they treat location and spatial information as common goods made available to citizens and businesses to encourage creativity and product development, and use ”place” or location as a means of organizing their information, and even their activities.

The vision of a spatially enabled government involves establishing an enabling infrastructure to facilitate this use of place or location to organize information about activities of people and businesses, and about government actions, decisions and polices.

Central to spatial enablement as a process is spatial enablement of information in LRS. Given the potential of new technologies, once the infrastructure is built, use of place or location will facilitate the evaluation and analysis of both spatial and non spatial relationships between people, business transactions and government.

An infrastructure capable of supporting spatial enablement of governments and societies includes technical, institutional, legal, social, and knowledge transfer issues. All of these need to be identified.

In Australia and other countries at similar levels of development, given current technologies, the path to spatial enablement could involve the steps identified earlier. For other countries with different institutions, laws, and information technologies, the appropriate steps will be different. Whatever the steps in a nation’s path, the need to improve availability of information to inform policy decisions remains universal.

10 Tools to spatially enable Australian governments for sustainable development 1. Use of spatial information--Major departments and agencies use maps and visualizations to present information and permit interactive interrogation. Australia already has significant expertise.

2. Spatial information availability policy--Spatial information is available as a common good on free or low cost basis, encouraging innovation throughout government, private sector and community users.

3. Cadastre as the fundamental layer of information--The cadastre is the primary source of technical, accurate, large scale, digital information about how land is used. It must be converted into an authoritative register of spatial land information .

4. Easily understood mechanism for using spatial enablement throughout agencies--Spatially enabled land information from the cadastre, land and resource registries, land planning and valuation, flows through to tax offices, emergency services, health services, census offices, service utilities and so on, by consistent geo-coding or other means, for example, Australia’s

geo-coded national address file (GNAF), Netherlands Kadaster compliance with XML-compatible data for a multi-national system, in International Spatial Infrastructure project (INSPIRE) of EU. 5. A national and widely implemented land information policy-Whole of government land information policy aims to ensure that basic land information, especially the cadastre, is both spatially enabled and authoritative.

6. Interoperability of spatial information - Australian SDI--A National SDI provides the web-enabling platform, and solutions to interoperability of information about natural and built environments, and coordination of terrestrial, coastal and marine information.

7. Interoperability of all government information and services--All government information becomes interoperable, initially via geocoding and related IT systems, (not just geo-coded land information as at 2006), in sufficiently flexible arrays to take advantage of technical and institutional innovations.

8. Service delivery through e-Government---Government services, not merely information, are provided through spatially enabled, web enabled or portable instrument enabled, and interactive, systems.

9. Use of â&#x20AC;&#x153;placeâ&#x20AC;? to organize information, services and activities--Government organizes information and activities around unique geocodes, and other spatial information relating to places and locations, in addition to, or in place of, unique business file numbers, identification numbers, dates and so on, that now populate standard relational databases and object recognition systems in object oriented architectures, emerging into service oriented architectures. This involves reorganization of government activities, from local, state and national levels and introduction of new legal, technical and organizational frameworks. New business models are invented.

10. Monitoring and evaluation

4.68 .The Role of Land Registration in Supporting Sustainable Development These developments and drivers will introduce complexity into the design of LRS as they adapt to assist delivery of a broader range of public policy and economic goals, the most important of which is sustainable development. Re-engineering LRS to support sustainable development objects is a major change in direction for traditional LRS and is a significant challenge (Enemark et al. 2005).

These global trends to move LRS down this path, and the national and historical methods used to incorporate sustainable development objectives into national LRS were examined in an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) in Melbourne in December, 2005 with leading stakeholders and land policy experts from Australia and Europe (Williamson et al. 2006).

Distinctions between approaches used in modern European democracies and in Australia were identified. The European approach showed more integration between the standard LRS activities and measures of sustainability. Australian policy was more fractured, partly due to federation and the constitutional distribution of powers. In contrast, Australian LRS pioneering lay in incorporating market based instruments (MBI) and complex commodities into LRS, and revitalization of land information through inventive Web based initiatives.

This account of the future challenges land registration officials to design and build modern land registration and cadastral systems capable of supporting the creation, administration and trading of complex commodities, and providing reliable land information

to spatially enable governments and societies in general.

Unfortunately, unless LRS are refocused on delivering transparent and vital land information and enabling platforms, modern economies will have difficulty meeting sustainable development objectives and achieving their economic potential.

All the issues, practices, regulation and systems registration, records and information infrastructure must be examined relating to the increasing value, added value and taxation on land use. It is important to identify the problems and obstacles in adopting major policies and plans for economic development using LVT. To judge and compare the existing legal framework and systems with the international experiences and draw up a decision whether or in what extent the change might be brought.

It is necessary to know different roles of stake holders for example, politicians, executives, civil societies, local governments, academics and researchers to explore, analyze and put a stronger and unified registration set up for policy options and possible outcomes or interventions and their potential impact or results toward strengthening registry institutions in Bangladesh

Chapter Five : Records and Archives Management in Registration

5.1.Records and Archives Management Records management is about controlling records within a comprehensive regime made up of policies, procedures, systems, processes and behaviors. Together they ensure that reliable evidence of actions and decisions is kept and remains available for reference and use when needed, and that the organization benefits from effective management of one of its key assets, its records.

Records management operates at different levels. At a personal and local level it is about individuals keeping adequate records of their daily work such as filing correspondence, policies and other key documents, managing their emails, keeping notes of meetings, and so on, and doing so in such a way that the records they keep can be found and used when needed, by themselves or others. But records management also operates at a more strategic level: 1. A senior executive should be specifically responsible for records management in the organization

2. Decisions must be made about what records should be kept following due process.

3. IT equipment and software for keeping and storing records may need to be acquired and maintained 4. Staff need training and easy access to guidance 5. access and disposal need to be managed and monitored.

Records management involves a range of activities and tasks.

Many of them are already done by staff as part of their daily work and simply require common sense and adherence to standard operating procedures. But strategic decisions are likely to require more specialized knowledge and expertise and, if this is not available in-house, the organization may need to draw on external expertise, e.g. by buying in consultancy when needed.

Records management does not exist in isolation.

It connects to functions such as management of personal information for compliance with the Data Protection Act, information security, and information assurance. Records management is most successful when these connections are recognized in internal arrangements.

5.2. Organizations That Keep Records Local authorities keep records about the way in which they carry out their statutory and other functions, the people to whom they provide services and others with whom they deal, their policies, procedures and decisions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; about everything that matters to them and that staff need to do their jobs. Staff keep these records as part of their daily work.

Banks keep records about their customers, their loan rates, their shareholders, their properties â&#x20AC;&#x201C; again, about everything that matters to them and that staff need to do their jobs. As with local authorities, staffs keep these records as part of their daily works.

5.3 .Registration and Record Management Organizations with good records management practices benefit in many ways. Good records and information management benefits those requesting information because it provides some assurance that the information provided will be complete and reliable. It benefits those holding the requested information because it enables them to locate and retrieve it easily within the statutory timescales or to explain why it is not held.

Access rights are of limited value if information cannot be found when requested or, when found, cannot be relied upon as authoritative.

The other benefits of good records management. They include: 1. Ensuring that authoritative information about past activities can be found and used for current business 2. Supporting compliance with other legislation and rules 3. More effective use of resources â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for example, disposing of records that are no longer needed frees up space within buildings and information systems and saves staff time.

Some risks that that can arise from poor records management. They include: 4. Poor decisions based on inadequate or incomplete information 5. Financial loss because reliable evidence is not available 6. Reputational damage because of criticism by the Information Commissioner for failing to comply with the information legislation he regulates 7. Failure to handle confidential information with the required level of security 8. Failure to protect information vital to the continued functioning of the organization 9. Costs incurred because records are being kept for longer than they are needed or staff wasting time considering issues

previously addressed and resolved.

All of these can lead to loss of reputation with damaging effects on public trust. Taken together, these benefits and risks provide good reasons to ensure that effective records management is in place.

5.4. Data Administration Policy A NIST report stresses the need for organizations to adopt a data administration policy that integrates the management and retrieval of information about electronic records as well as the management of the electronic records themselves.

Information about electronic records usually consists of information about the system that produced the records, descriptions of the data elements that make up electronic records as well as definitions of the relations among the various data elements.

Data elements might also include records disposition instructions, status (draft or final version), and archival descriptive information while relationship definitions might include access permissions and cross-references. When framed within the specifications of the Information Resource Dictionary System (IRDS), this information about electronic records (sometimes referred to as "metadata") provides a powerful tool for maintaining intellectual control of descriptive information in a system independent format.

The concept of a data dictionary is not new. In fact, every complex data base supports some sort of data dictionary, which defines data structures and data definitions. Usually, a data dictionary is in a proprietary form that makes it either system or software dependent. However, the growing use of SQL (Structured Query Language) as a data base language for relational data bases suggests that there is an alternative, at least in the short-run, to IRDS. Several major data base vendors, including Ingres, DB2, and Oracle, among others, currently offer products that conform to the SQL standard. The net effect is to resolve low-level data definition problems and to make possible relatively easy data transfer between conforming SQL relational data base systems.

SQL is a powerful tool for facilitating the portability of relational data bases but it does not offer the robustness of an IRDS, especially in terms of potential evidential value archivists and researchers may be interested in capturing in data base applications. SQL focuses upon only one dimension of complex data bases - relational data bases - and a SQL data dictionary typically defines only the data structures of tables.

IRDS as it is presently conceived is not limited to any single kind of data base application nor to data structures of tables. In fact, IRDS seems ideally suited for a wide range of metadata structures that generally fall under the archival headings of documentation and finding aids. As Federal agencies increasingly rely upon SQL for portability of data base applications (queries and data), it is likely that SQL will become a de facto data transfer standard for relational data bases.

During this same period of time, software implementations of IRDS are likely to emerge that potentially could provide both to Federal agencies and to NARA powerful tools for describing the systems context of electronic records as well as the records themselves.

A major obstacle to implementing an IRDS data administration approach is the absence of IRDS software conforming to the standard, although several firms have indicated they are developing products. As noted earlier, NIST

has developed limited prototype IRDS software that can be used for testing. The prototype software has substantial limitations, however, and its utility would be largely limited to proof of concept testing.

NARA implementation of an IRDS data administration policy has major implications for the Center for Electronic Records' efforts to develop a single, coherent system for dealing with accessioned electronic data files. If IRDS emerges as a widely implemented and robust standard that satisfies archival requirements for description and control of accessioned electronic records and NARA implements an IRDS data administration policy, the Center for Electronic Records would have to migrate from the system being developed to one that is IRDS driven.

The data administration policy that NIST recommends also would require agencies to generate IRDSs that can be transferred and integrated into the NARA IRDS (or multiple IRDSs).

Although the IRDS standard appears sufficiently flexible to serve both programmatic and long-term storage and retrieval needs, this is uncharted area and it is unclear exactly how this would work in practice. Even more to the point, mandating use of an IRDS to transfer electronic records could be counter-productive for agencies who currently use SQL conforming data bases.

5.5. Information Objectivity Objectivity involves a focus on ensuring accurate, reliable, and unbiased information. Objectivity is achieved: 1. As a matter of presentation, by ensuring that information products are presented in an accurate, clear, complete, and unbiased manner; and 2. As a matter of substance, by using reliable sources, sound analytical and editorial techniques, and by having qualified people prepare information products that are carefully reviewed.

3. Use of reliable sources The base of all information about the programs, services, organization, and management on data produced by the responsible unit depends on regulations .

Information that disseminates on a program, service, or product is derived from data maintained by the unit with administrative responsibility for that program, service, or product.

The management and administrative data are maintained in the Performance Measurement Reporting System (PMRS). The PMRS measures our programs' performance in delivering goods and services to our customers, and is the official source for statistical information .

Data is reported by different units, and only the units who originally entered the data change any data values. Management regularly checks the data for quality and the Office of the Inspector General on a routine basis audits the data and processes. Staff producing information products based on this data are knowledgeable about the content and limitations of this data and maintain a working relationship with the staff who create, update, and submit this data.

a). Preparation of information products

The base of information contained in information products on data derived from reliable sources. The staff are knowledgeable about the data sources that we use, and we apply sound archival, analytical, or statistical techniques, when needed, depending on the data being addressed.

To prepare information about archival records using standard techniques for description of the different forms of archival materials archival description is used to describe the organization, content, context, and location of archival materials. To make an effort not to introduce bias or subjectivity into the descriptions of archival records, it is important to leave analysis of the records to the researcher.

Qualified staff review our information products to ensure that the information and any analysis are valid, complete, unbiased, objective, and relevant. Subject matter experts outside of the originating unit may also review those information products that are considered to be more complex, to provide additional perspective and expertise.

b). Editorial review for accuracy and clarity of information in publications Edit and proofread our information products before release to ensure clarity and coherence of the final product. Edit text to ensure that the product is easy to read and grammatically correct, thoughts flow logically, and information is worded concisely and clearly. Edit tables and charts to ensure that they clearly and accurately illustrate and support points made in the text, and include short but descriptive titles.

c). Policy for correcting errors Detect an error before information is disseminated, then correct the error or include a correction notice, if necessary. If information has already been disseminated, correct or include a notice of the correction with subsequent publication of the information. The unit that originally issued an information product on the web site tracks and records any correction to it. When appropriate, post correction notices on the web site as well as posting the corrected information.

5.6. Information Integrity Integrity refers to the security of information from unauthorized access or revision to ensure that information is not compromised through corruption or falsification. To ensure the integrity of our information, we are implementing controls that have been identified as representing sound security practices as required by the Government Information Security Act with the goal of providing coverage to all major components of information security.

The authority is subject to statutory requirements to protect the information that we gather and maintain. These requirements are contained in the following documents: 1. Computer Security Act of 1987

2. Office of Management and Budget Circulars 3. Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) and 4. Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (FMFIA)

5.7. Public Land Surveys and Settlement in the U.S During the period 1785-87, the Seven Ranges of Ohio became the first tract of public land surveyed under the new rectangular land survey system. This system, which was institutionalized in 1812 by the establishment of the General Land Office, has been of immense importance in shaping the cultural landscape of the public domain lands that lie outside of the Thirteen Original States, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas.

The surveys produced a large body of township plats and field notes, records that have great geographical, historical, and legal value.

Presently there are township plats and field notes for Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, Wisconsin, and parts of several other States. Other records of the General Land Office and its successor, the Bureau of Land Management (RG 49), include general state maps; plats of private land claims, mineral claims, and town sites and maps showing rights-of-way for transportation and communication lines.

5.8. Indian Affairs Maps showing information about the Indians of the United States can be found among the records of many agencies, but the largest concentration is the central map file of the Bureau of Indian Affairs . This body of over 16,000 maps, covering the period 1800-1939, includes items pertaining to Indian treaties, removal policy, reservations, settlements, and land use.

Because of the vast extent of the Indian lands and the great variety of maps compiled or used by the Bureau, this file also contains much incidental information about other aspects of the physical, cultural, and historical geography of the United States.

5.9. Hydrography and Navigation Among the cartographic records are thousands of nautical charts of the U.S. coastline published by the former Coast and Geodetic Survey and charts of foreign waters published by the former Hydrographic Office (superseded by the Naval Oceanographic Office and the Defense Mapping Agency). These published nautical chart series span the period from the 1840's to the present. The Hydrographic Office records include original nineteenth-century manuscript survey sheets of the coasts of Mexico, Central America, and islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.

5.10. Topography and Natural Resources A large body of cartographic records pertains to the topography of the United States and the conservation and development of its natural resources. One of the most frequently used series dates from the establishment of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1879 and consists of that agency's topographic quadrangle maps covering virtually the entire country . Other maps from the U.S. Geological Survey relate to the classification of public lands and

to investigations of geological, mineral, and water resources.

Several thousand county and regional soil classification and soil erosion maps have been produced since 1900 by the Soil Conservation Service and its predecessors (RG 114).

Since its inception in 1881, the Forest Service has produced numerous maps relating to national forests and timber and range management (RG 95). The National Park Service (RG 79) created maps of all of the national parks and monuments, including many in the vicinity of the District of Columbia. Other map files relating to natural resources are among the records of the U.S. Bureau of Mines (RG 70), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (RG 22), the Bureau of Reclamation (RG 115), the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (RG 83), and the National Resources Planning Board (RG 187).

5.11. Census Mapping Although Federal census schedules date from 1790, the preparation of enumeration district maps did not occur until 1880. These records, prepared on a decennial basis, include maps of counties, cities, towns, and unincorporated settlements, showing boundaries of the districts covered by the census-takers (enumerators). Population counts for each district and, in some cases, information about farm dwellings and farm population are contained in accompanying bound volumes of verbal descriptions of the boundaries of each district. Other map files of the Bureau of the Census (RG 29) and the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (RG 83) contain manuscript and published maps relating to population changes, immigration, and, beginning with the 1840 census of agriculture, such agricultural statistics as crop and livestock distributions.

5.12. Exploration and Scientific Surveys The Lewis and Clark Expedition was the earliest, and in many ways the most significant, of the great government-sponsored expeditions. There were many other expeditions, however, and each made its contribution to filling in the map of the West or providing information about overseas areas considered vital to the interests of the United States. The files of the Office of the Chief of Engineers in Record Group (RG) 77 and the Archives File of the Hydrographic Office (RG 37) contain the most important collections of Federal explorers' maps, many of which made major contributions to geographic knowledge.

Prominent among Federal explorers who continued the work of Lewis and Clark were Zebulon M. Pike, Stephen H. Long, Joseph N. Nicollet, B.L.E. Bonneville, Charles Wilkes, John Rodgers, John C. Fremont, and Gouverneur K. Warren. During the two decades before the Civil War, Fremont and Warren, members of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, led expeditions that resulted in mapping much of the western part of the United States. After the Civil War, increasingly complex surveying and mapping projects were carried out by field parties under the supervision of Ferdinand V. Hayden, Clarence King, George M. Wheeler, and John Wesley Powell. The end of the era of preliminary exploration of the United States was symbolized by the establishment in 1879 of the U.S. Geological Survey as the government's central mapping agency.

5.13. Urban Development The Federal Government's concern with urban areas, beginning with its interest in the site and development of the nation's

capital, is reflected in the holdings of the Section. Particularly noteworthy are plans of U.S. and foreign cities dating from the late eighteenth century to the present; enumeration district maps and boundary descriptions of U.S. cities from 1890 to 1970; and real property surveys of major U.S. cities undertaken during the Depression. Other special-purpose maps relate to urban site and situation, urban growth, and the economic and social interaction between metropolitan areas.

5.14. Maps of Foreign Countries Because the mapping needs in the early years of the federal government were greatest in the domestic sphere, its production of maps of foreign territory was limited to areas of government involvement, such as treaties with foreign governments, foreign wars, and exploration. These maps show topography, settlement, land use, transportation and communication routes, and other physical and cultural phenomena.

Some 20,000 maps and aerial photographs pertain to the delineation of the U.S. boundaries with Canada and Mexico, mostly showing areas immediately adjacent to the borders. The records of the American Commission To Negotiate Peace (RG 256), the U.S. delegation at the Versailles Conference of 1919, include 1,100 maps covering areas in Europe and other parts of the world that show social, linguistic, and economic statistics compiled to aid in the postwar geopolitical restructuring of boundaries. Similar social and economic maps for the World War II period exist among the records of several diplomatic and wartime agencies.

The largest series of maps covering foreign areas consists of topographic maps of various scales published by the Army Map Service beginning in 1942. These maps cover many areas of the world, and the mapping continues today under the successor, the Defense Mapping Agency (RG 456).

5.15 .Military Campaigns Maps and charts have always played an important role in the planning and execution of military operations, and military maps, nautical charts, and fortification plans form a significant part of the holdings in the Section. These documents are found in records of the Offices of the Chief of Engineers (RG 77), the Adjutant General (RG 94), and the Quartermaster General (RG 92); the Office of Strategic Services (RG 226); the Army Map Service (RG 77); and the Hydrographic Office (RG 37).

Although they vary in style, composition, and technique, all of the documents reflect the time and purpose for which they were created. Major battles and minor skirmishes are depicted in time frames that range from minutes to daily order of battle to historical summaries of entire campaigns. Subjects are as disparate as German espionage activities in Mexico during World War I to analysis of soil and rock composition on the Normandy beaches during World War II. The earliest documentation consists of a few period maps for Queen Anne's War and for the French and Indian War and a few hundred maps for the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

The 8,000 Civil War maps constitute the largest collection of such maps, and the extensive manuscript mapping of the Indian campaigns, Mexican War, and Spanish-American War form a unique and significant body of records. Twentieth-century records begin with the Boxer Rebellion, extend to U.S.

intervention in the Caribbean and Central America, and expand to some 25,000 maps and aerial photographs for World War I. World War II mapping is worldwide for military operations on land, at sea, and in the air, and covers various aspects of the military campaigns from intelligence gathering and planning to execution and historical analysis. Coverage of recent military actions in Korea and Vietnam is limited primarily to topographic mapping published by the Army Map Service and the Defense Mapping Agency.

5.16. Architectural and Engineering Drawings Among the records of the Section are several major series of architectural and engineering drawings created by civilian and military agencies.

Some 28,000 plans of public buildings across the United States, such as post offices, courthouses, and customhouses, were accumulated by the Public Buildings Service and its predecessors (RG 121) beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. Such federal agencies as the former Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital (RG 42), the National Capital Planning Commission (RG 328), the Commission of Fine Arts (RG 66), and the Department of the Interior have accumulated drawings that document the many government buildings, monuments, and parks in the District of Columbia and the surrounding areas of Virginia and Maryland.

The records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital include original proposals for the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. The large and growing plans files of the National Park Service (RG 79) contain hundreds of drawings of the most prominent monuments in the District of Columbia as well as early plans of national parks across the country. The records of the U.S. Coast Guard's former Bureau of Lighthouses include several thousand drawings of lighthouses and life-saving stations in the United States, the earliest of which were designed in the 1830s. Plans of vessels are also among the records of the Coast Guard (RG 26). Over 100,000 original drawings submitted to the Patent and Trademark Office (RG 241) with applications for Federal patents between 1790 and 1870 are another type of holding in the Section.

Among military records the most heavily researched architectural drawings consist of plans of Army forts, hospitals, coastal defense batteries, and other military reservations.

Created primarily by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Quartermaster General's Office, these fortification plans date from the earliest years of the country to the World War II period and constitute the largest such file in existence in the United States.

The Corps of Engineers records also include large-scale engineering drawings of structures such as bridges, dams, and locks as well as plans of dredge boats used in river navigation projects. Numerous plans document U.S. Navy and Marine bases and facilities throughout the United States, the Carribean, and the Pacific from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century (RG 71). There are also thousands of U.S. Navy ship plans dating from the early-nineteenth century to the 1950's (RG 19) and U.S. Navy aircraft and airship plans from about 1916 to 1962 (RG 72).

5.17. Aerial Photography

Aerial photography became an important part of the mapmaking process in the twentieth century. Aerial photographs provide a straightforward depiction of the physical and cultural landscape of an area at a given time. When skillfully interpreted, these aerial images supply geographers, historians, ecologists, geologists, urban planners, archaeologists, and other professionals with a pictorial basis often critical to their studies.

Increasingly, members of the legal profession have used aerial photography in the settlement of cases involving property disputes, riparian rights, and transportation rights-of-way.

Recently, genealogists have used aerial photography to identify and locate ancestral sites.

The federal government became significantly involved in the systematic acquisition of aerial photography in the 1930's. Until that time, no comprehensive collection of aerial imagery of the United States existed. The Department of Agriculture, given the responsibility for crop determination and soil erosion, created many of the earliest aerial coverages. The result was an extensive collection of vertical (mapping) aerial imagery covering approximately 90 percent of the contiguous United States.

This large-scale aerial photography, which was taken between 1935 and 1954, forms a unique collection within the millions of aerial photographic images held by the Cartographic and Architectural Section. Because one of the best ways to exploit aerial photography in research is through comparison of images from various dates, the Section has accessioned an extensive collection of military-flown imagery of the United States dating from about 1940 to 1960. This collection provides coverages of Alaska and Hawaii as well as most of the contiguous United States.

World War II brought a rapid acceleration in the use of aerial photography of foreign areas for both military operations and mapping purposes. The Section holds World War II aerial images covering parts of the European, Mediterranean, and Pacific Theaters of Operation, taken by units of the U.S. and Allied Air Forces. Included are both vertical mapping photography and oblique reconnaissance photography. The Section also holds approximately 1.2 million prints of aerial photographs taken by the Germany military. Coverages are widespread--Europe (from the British Isles to the Ural Mountains), the Middle East, and North Africa are included in this collection.

Many of the prints are annotated to indicate military installations and defenses; other prints are marked to show potential bombing targets. While the scale and quality of the photographs in this collection vary considerably, the imagery provides unique wartime coverages of many of the contested areas. A smaller collection (about 37,000 images), taken by the Japanese military between about 1933 and 1945, consists of aerial photography of parts of China, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The Section also maintains custody of satellite photographs for 1960-1972 from the CORONA project--the United States first satellite reconnaissance program.

5.18. Reference Services Maps and Plans It is important to remember that NARA's holdings relate primarily to official functions of the federal government and that records are arranged by the federal offices that created or

accumulated them. Maps that predate the federal government and nineteenth-century maps of areas outside the United States are rare among the Cartographic and Architectural Section (NWCSC) holdings.

In order to request a search of the maps and charts, researchers need to provide NWCSC with a subject, geographic area, and time period. In order to request a search of the architectural or engineering drawings, one must provide the Section with the name of the structure or equipment as well as its location and time period of use. Please bear in mind that the Section's architectural and engineering drawings relate almost exclusively to structures and equipment built by or for the federal government.

5.19. Information Quality Guidelines The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), USA provides information to the public about archival records, NARA programs and services, NARA organization and management, and the activities of the Federal Government through the Office of the Federal Register.

The mission is to ensure ready access to the essential evidence that documents the rights of American citizens, the actions of Federal officials, and the national experience.

The information products are used by governments, historians, journalists, professional researchers, educators, and the general public. NARA information products are used to: 1. Discover the documentation of the rights of American citizens, the actions of Federal officials and agencies, and the national experience; 2. learn about programs and services provided by NARA; 3. determine NARA's organization, achievements, activities, goals and products; and 4. find information on Federal agency rules, regulations, proposed rules, and notices.

Quality of Information It must be most appropriate to the nature and timeliness of the information to be disseminated. The specific quality standards that NARA adopts in a particular case will be appropriate for the category of information being disseminated.

We develop the information that we disseminate from reliable sources and use generally accepted methods for data collection, archival description, and editorial preparation. We thoroughly review information before we disseminate it.

The guidelines describe procedures that we use to assure the quality of our information products, including their utility, objectivity, and integrity.

5.20. Influential Information Under OMB's guidelines, "influential scientific, financial, or statistical information" means that the agency can reasonably determine that dissemination of the information will have or does have a clear and substantial impact on important public policies or important private sector decisions. There is an added level of scrutiny afforded to influential information, to include the need to ensure that it is reproducible. While the information in NARA's archival holdings, records centers, and the Office of

the Federal Register's legal publications--which are exempted from these guidelines--could be influential, NARA does not disseminate influential information in our own information products.

Utility involves the usefulness of the information to its intended users. Utility is achieved by staying informed of information needs and developing new information products, and revising and updating existing information products when appropriate.

Through internal analyses of information requirements, the work of internal committees, and outreach activities, NARA keeps abreast of information needs. Based on internal product reviews, consultation with users, and in response to changing needs and emphases, we enhance the content of existing information products, introduce new products, and discontinue others. When new information products are proposed, the proposals are reviewed and evaluated by qualified staff.

They regularly review existing information products to ensure that they remain relevant and address current information needs.

The information products are disseminated in the format or formats that make the information most useful and accessible for users. They write them in compliance with the President's June 1, 1998 Memorandum on Plain Language in Government Writing and the NARA Style Guide to ensure that they will be useful to all.

5.21. Standards And

Life Cycle System Design : The US Experience

Implicit in many of the NIST recommendations is the notion that life cycle information management and related standards and regulatory concerns must be considered at the time of system design. This reflects a widely held view that an archives and records management component (standards, regulations, and guidelines) should be formally incorporated into life cycle systems design and included in the Federal Information Process Standards (FIPS) Publication 101, which covers life cycle system design.

This particular topic was discussed at some length at the Easton Conference on "Electronic Records: A Strategic Plan for the 1990s" and in fact one working group proposed that this become a major NARA initiative. This focus is also a concern of several state archives programs. There is a broader context in which implementing archives and records management regulations into life cycle systems design must be considered.

The Federal Information Resources Management Regulation (FIRMR) requires that records management concerns be addressed in the system design stage. However, guidelines for Federal agency use have not been developed. NARA recognizes the need for additional guidance in this area.

NARA will take the lead in developing these guidelines through the interagency working group on functional requirements for electronic records management and archive which will identify the critical areas in the FIPS Life Cycle Systems Design where specific standards, regulations, and guidelines for archives and records management could be incorporated. Based upon the recommendations of this working group, NARA will issue guidelines in a NARA Bulletin and which requested that NIST incorporate the guidelines into the existing FIPS on Life Cycle Systems Design. Other non-Federal organizations could adopt these guidelines or use the recommendations to develop their own guidelines.

Many of the issues discussed in the NIST report and this Technical Information Paper cut across individual NARA Office

programs and responsibilities. It is unlikely that adequate resolution of these issues as well as full achievement of the various NARA Actions can occur without substantial participation of all appropriate NARA Offices integrating the proposed NARA strategy into various Office programs.

Achieving this integration helps to ensure that appropriate NARA Offices fully utilize the full range of new information technologies.

Through NARA-wide coordination of the guidelines, standards, and policies developed for electronic records, NARA will enhance its ability to derive solutions to the full range of archival and records management problems posed by electronic records. To be sure, the issues of data administration policy and data base and document transfer standards for electronic records extend far beyond internal NARA concerns.

Other Federal agencies, state agencies, and the research community will be affected or influenced by NARA's policies, actions, and guidelines. It is important that they too both understand and support NARA's activities and priorities regarding a policy and standards for electronic document and data base transfer. In order to promote this understanding and support, NARA must share information, must seek the opinions and ideas of those not directly involved in the activities described in this strategy, and must remain flexible in responding to newly emerging developments that this strategy may not presently contemplate.

On the other hand, such a program should scrupulously avoid presenting a policy and standards as panaceas or as "easy" solutions. There is a great deal that NARA must learn before attempting to provide comprehensive guidance. Over the first year or so, this program, therefore, must focus primarily on information sharing.

The Archivist establishes a NARA working group composed of representatives from appropriate NARA Offices to coordinate the implementation of the various activities as well as related initiatives involving electronic records described in this Technical Information Paper. This working group will periodically report to the Archivist and the Offices on its progress. In order to share NARA's plans and activities with the broader archives, records management, and user communities, NARA will periodically report to them on its progress.

In addition, from time to time NARA will organize special meetings and briefings to share information about its plans and priorities with such organizations as the Society of American Archivists, the National Association of Government Administrators and Archivists, and the Association of Records.

5.22. Archival Standard This standard provides general guidance for the preparation of archival descriptions. It is to be used in conjunction with existing national standards or as the basis for the development of national standards.

The purpose of archival description is to identify and explain the context and content of archival material in order to promote its accessibility. This is achieved by creating accurate and appropriate representations and by organizing them in accordance with predetermined models. Description-related processes may begin at or before records creation and Continue throughout the life of the records.

These processes make it possible to institute the intellectual controls necessary for reliable, authentic, meaningful and accessible descriptive records to be carried forward through time. Specific elements of information about archival materials

are recorded at every phase of their management (e.g., creation, appraisal, accessioning, conservation, arrangement) if the material is to be on the one hand securely preserved and controlled, and on the other hand made accessible at the proper time to all who have a right to consult it.

Archival description in the widest sense of the term covers every element of information no matter at what stage of management it is identified or established.

At every stage the information about the material remains dynamic and may be subject to amendment in the light of further knowledge of its content or the context of its creation.

Computerized information systems in particular may serve to integrate or select elements of information as required, and to update or amend them. While the focus of these rules is the description of archival materials after the point at which they have been selected for preservation, they may also be applied at earlier phases.

This standard contains general rules for archival description that may be applied irrespective of the form or medium of the archival material. The rules contained in this standard do not give guidance on the description of special materials such as seals, sound recordings, or maps. Manuals setting out descriptive rules for such materials already exist. This standard should be used in conjunction with these manuals to enable appropriate description of special materials.

This set of general rules for archival description is part of a process that will a. ensure the creation of consistent, appropriate, and self explanatory descriptions; b. facilitate the retrieval andexchange of information about archival material; c. enable the sharing of authority data; and make possible the integration of descriptions from different locations into a unified information system.

The rules accomplish these purposes by identifying and defining twenty six elements that may be combined to constitute the description of an archival entity. The structure and content of the information in each of these elements should be formulated in accordance with applicable national rules. As general rules, these are intended to be broadly applicable to descriptions of archives regardless of the nature or extent of the unit of description.

However, the standard does not define output formats, or the ways in which these elements are presented, for example, in inventories, catalogues, lists, etc. Archival descriptive standards are based on accepted theoretical principles. For example, the principle that archival description proceeds from the general to the specific is the practical consequence of the principle of respect des fonds. This principle must be articulated if a generally applicable structure and system of archival description is to be built which is not dependent on the finding aids of any given repository, whether in a manual or automated environment.

One may find a hierarchical model of the levels of arrangement for the fonds and its constituent parts. There are levels of description, with differing degrees of detail, appropriate to each level of arrangement. For example, a fonds may be described as a whole in a single description or represented as a whole and in its parts at various levels of description. The fonds forms the broadest level of description; the parts form subsequent levels, whose description is often only meaningful when seen in the context of the description of the whole of the fonds.

Thus, there may be a fonds-level description, a series-level description, a file level description and/or an item-level description. Intermediate

levels, such as a sub-fonds or sub-series, may be expected. Each of these levels may be further subdivided according to the complexity of the administrative structure and/or functions of the organization which generated the archival material and the organization of the material.

The model represents the complex relationships between creator(s) and the units of description, regardless of level, as expressed in the boxes representing authority records according to ISAAR(CPF) and the links between them and the boxes representing the units of description of the fonds and its parts. Each rule consists of : a. The name of the element of description governed by the rule; b. A statement of the purpose of incorporating the element in a description; c. A statement of the general rule (or rules) applicable to the element; and d. Where applicable, examples illustrating implementation of the rule(s).

The rules are organized into seven areas of descriptive information: 1. Identity Statement Area (where essential information is conveyed to identify the unit of description) 2. Context Area (where information is conveyed about the origin and custody of the unit of description) 3. Content and Structure Area (where information is conveyed about the subject matter and arrangement of the unit of description) 4. Condition of Access and Use Area (where information is conveyed about the availability of the unit of description) 5. Allied Materials Area (where information is conveyed about materials having an important relationship to the unit of description) 6. Note Area (where specialized information and information that cannot be accommodated in any of the other areas may be conveyed).

7. Description Control Area (where information is conveyed on how, when and by whom the archival description was prepared).

All elements covered by these general rules are available for use, but only a subset need be used in any given description. A very few elements are considered essential for international exchange of descriptive information: a. reference code; b. title; c. creator; d. date(s); e. extent of the unit of description; and f. level of description.

Examples throughout the text of ISAD(G) are illustrative and not prescriptive. They illuminate the provisions of the rules to which they are attached, rather than extend those provisions. Do not take the examples, or the form in which they are presented as instructions. To clarify the context, each example is followed by an indication of the level of description to which it pertains in italic and in parentheses. On the next line, the name of the institution that holds the material which the example illustrates and/or supplied the example is indicated, also in italic. Further explanatory note(s) may follow, also in italic, preceded by the word.

The extent to which a given archival description will incorporate more than the essential elements of information will vary depending on the nature of the unit of description. Access points are based upon the elements of description. The value of access points is enhanced through authority control.

Because of the importance of access points for retrieval, a separate ICA standard, International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families: ISAAR(CPF), has been developed. ISAAR(CPF) gives general rules for the establishment of archival authority records that describe the corporate bodies, persons, and families that may be named as

creators in descriptions of archival documents Vocabularies and conventions to be used with other access points should be developed nationally, or separately for each language.

The following ISO/IEEE standards are useful when developing and maintaining controlled vocabularies: 1. ISO 5963 Documentation — Methods for examining documents, determining their subject, and selecting indexing terms, 2. ISO 2788 Documentation — Guidelines for the establishment and development of monolingual thesaurus and 3. ISO 999 Information and documentation — Guidelines for the content, organization and presentation of indexes, form and structure, 4. ISO 15489-1:2001 Information and documentation – Records Management (Part 1) 5. PD ISO/TR 15489-2:2001 Information and documentation –Records Management (Part 2) 6. IEEE Std. 730–2002, IEEE Standard for Software Quality Assurance Plans 7. IEEE Std. 828-2005, IEEE Standard for Software Configuration Management Plans 8. IEEE Std. 829–1998, IEEE Standard for Software Test Documentation 9. IEEE Std. 830-1998, Recommended Practice for Software Requirements Specifications 10. IEEE Std. 610.12-1990, IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology 11. IEEE Std. 1012-2004, IEEE Standard for Software Verification and Validation 12. IEEE Std. 1016-1998, IEEE Recommended Practices Software Design Descriptions 13. IEEE Std. 1028-1997, IEEE Standard for Software 14. IEEE Std. 1061- 1998, IEEE Standard for a Software Quality Metrics Methodology 15. IEEE Std. 1062-1998, IEEE Recommended Practice for Software Acquisition 16. IEEE Std. 1063-2001, IEEE Standard for Software User Documentation 17. IEEE Std. 1233-1998, IEEE Guide for Developing System Requirements Specifications 18.IEEE Std. 1540-2001, IEEE Standard for Software Life Cycle Processes – Risk Management 19.IEEE/Electronic Industries Alliances (EIA) 12207.2-1997, 20. IEEE/EIA Guide, Industry Implementation, (ISO), 21. IEC 12207:1995, (ISO/IEC 12207) Standard for Information Technology – Software life cycle processes – Implementation Considerations 22. IEEE/EIA J-STD-016 Standard for Information Technology, Software Life Cycle Processes, Software Development, Acquirer - Supplier Agreement 23. ISO 15939, Software Engineering – Software Measurement Process 24, ISO 15504-7:1998 - Information Technology – Software Process Assessment – Part 7: Guide for use in process improvement 25. ISO 14721:2003 - Reference Model for an Open Archival More resources on information quality and standard include : Information System, Governance, Control and Audit for Information and Related Technology, Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-18, Guide for Developing Security Plans for Information Technology Systems, NIST Special Publication 800-37, Guide for the Security Certification and Accreditation of Federal Information Systems .

5.23. Record Management: The Case of NARA, US Since becoming Archivist of the United States, one of the top priorities has been to revitalize the electronic records programs of the National Archives. In 1988, they established the Center for Electronic Records and initiated projects to identify the critical issues that electronic records pose for Federal agencies, the National Archives, and the archival community at large.

Clearly, hardware and software dependence has been and continues to be one of these critical issues. In the opinion of NARA experts, the ideal solution for this issue would be to preserve electronic records of permanent value without their being dependent upon a specific computer for processing or on specific computer programs for understanding and use.

Several years ago a widespread concern over the incompatibilities between different computer systems gave rise

to an international effort to achieve connectivity between incompatible computer systems by developing and implementing international standards. Called the Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model (OSI), this effort seemed to offer a cost-effective vehicle for achieving portability of electronic records, an issue of great concern to the archives and records management communities.

To bring this issue into focus, the National Archives and Records Administration contracted with the National Bureau of Standards (now known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology) to investigate the role of standards in the creation, processing, storage, access, and preservation of electronic records. Last year, NIST delivered a report to the National Archives on its findings and recommendations. Although the report recognizes that the National Archives faces numerous difficulties with existing electronic records, its more than 100 recommendations focus largely upon the future.

In order to address more immediate needs and based upon information in the NIST Report, the National Archives has developed its own short term strategy for dealing with issues of records management and archival standards for electronic records over the next several years.

This Technical Information Paper delineates the approach the National Archives will take over the next several years. While this Technical Information Paper draws heavily from the NIST study, the approach the National Archives takes reflects both the complexity and ambiguity inherent in the development and adoption of standards for electronic records management and archives.

The National Archives will undertake several important activities that support the development and use of standards for electronic records management and archives. These activities include evaluation of software products supporting data base and document transfer, identification of the functional requirements for the life cycle management of electronic records, and additional joint activities with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

A key point implicit in this Technical Information Paper is that the creation, processing, storage, access, and permanent retention of electronic records is not the exclusive concern of the National Archives. To be sure, all three branches of the Federal Government, state and local governments, the user community, and the manufacturers of electronic records management and archives hardware and software must continue to inform themselves and each other of their respective needs and concerns.

For this reason, the Technical Information Paper is widely disseminated in the records and information management and archives communities. As these activities unfold, the National Archives will organize periodic briefings on standards and issue updates to this Technical Information Paper.

The goal was to share information and to develop a common agenda that serves the needs of the archives and records management communities.

In September 1987, the National Archives and Records Administration contracted with the National Computer Systems Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, formerly the National Bureau of Standards) to evaluate the role of standards in the creation, processing, storage, access, and permanent storage of electronic records.

In May of 1989 NIST delivered to the National Archives a report containing more than 100 recommendations, most of which address anticipated future problems of electronic records rather than the known problems of past and present electronic records.

The NIST recommendations to NARA generally can be subsumed under the following: 1. Adopt a policy for the representation, transfer, access, and permanent storage of electronic records defined in terms of national and international computing software standards; 2. Require agencies to make permanent electronic records available to NARA in a format that conforms to these standards; 3. Establish a NARA data administration policy that incorporates the Information Resource Dictionary System (IRDS) standard and assign a NARA unit the specific task of implementation; 4. Adopt specific format standards for agency creation and interchange of electronic documents; 5. Establish a transfer policy for complex data bases that links the indexing and cross-reference features of the Information Resource Directory and, where useful, the retrieval specifications of Structured Query Language to ASCII flat files; 6. Conduct surveys of Federal agencies to identify the number and scope of current applications using graphical, cartographic, flat file, hierarchical, and relational data bases; 7. Conduct pilot projects to evaluate software standards proposed in document and data base transfer policies; 8. Work with NIST in developing the Standard Page Definition Language (SPDL) as a standard; 9. Work with NIST in developing a specific Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) that addresses the archival and record transfer of documents.

The National Archives has reviewed these recommendations and has developed an approach that is at variance with many of the NIST recommendations. This approach, which was discussed with the National Archives of Canada (also conducting a similar study), is based upon an assessment that it is premature for NARA to choose specific standards and that NARA should concentrate upon identifying the archival requirements for electronic records and participating in the development of standards that meet these requirements. This Technical Information Paper takes this general assessment into account and identifies specific activities that the National Archives and Records Administration will undertake. These activities will ensure that the National Archives: 1. Has a strategy for dealing with an evolving standards environment; 2. Examines any proposed directions in data administration policy in the context of NARA's electronic records program needs and makes use of significant prototypes to develop realistic options; 3. Promotes the development of software tools to support a long term data base transfer policy; 4. Participates in Federal applications now underway that offer document transfer capability; 5. Assists in the development of ANSI automation standards relevant to archival programs; 6. Identifies at the interagency level the functional requirements for the management of the life cycle of information for electronic document and data base systems; 7. Cooperates with NIST in establishing an archives and records management component for appropriate standards implementors workshops; 8. Provides guidelines to Federal agencies for implementing document and data base creation and transfer standards within the context of existing regulatory (e.g., Federal Information

Resource Management Regulation, 41 CFR 201.-30.007-1.) and statutory requirements for life cycle system design; 9. Shares with archivists, records managers, and information resource managers in federal, state, and local agencies information about the development of standards governing the creation, processing, storage, access, and permanent storage of electronic records.

The NIST report makes very clear that there is limited software to implement standards relevant to NARA's electronic records management and archives programs. This dearth of software reflects the newness of the standards themselves and the absence of a significant current market demand for the software.

Undoubtedly, the Federal Government's adoption of the suite of standards in the Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile (GOSIP) and private industry's emphasis on the use of standards, especially in Europe, will accelerate software development and availability over the next several years.

In the document transfer arena, software tools are currently available in the United States for only one standard --the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) for the electronic transfer of documents, reports, and studies which are intended for publication. SGML, however, does not support compound documents (i.e., those containing textual and non-textual material, such as graphs and images, in the same document) and SGML interfaces to other document transfer standards (Standard Page Definition Language - SPDL or Office Document Architecture/Office Document Interchange Format -ODA/ODIF) are not likely to be available until 1991 - 1992.

There is significant software implementing the electronic mail standard (X.400 or Message Handling Service - MHS), but this standard bears largely on the routing and addressing of electronic mail rather than its content.

The NIST report recommends that NARA adopt Standard Page Definition Language (SPDL) as the primary tool for transferring electronic documents because unlike ASCII code alone, SPDL retains the original form of documents. Unfortunately, SPDL is still in draft form and its future adoption is several years away.

Even when SPDL software becomes available, it is unlikely that all agencies will use it or that SPDL formatted documents will meet all archival needs. Therefore, NARA policy for document interchange must address several standards, including SPDL, ODA/ODIF, and SGML. There is even less software development activity in the complex data base transfer area (relational, hierarchical, and network) even though there is an approved FIPS standard (FIPS Pub 123 also known as Data Description Format - DDF or International Standards Organization 8211) in place. Only one commercial vendor - a small private contractor - has done significant work in this area and there is no overall apparent market push for vendors to develop software. An exception to this generalization is the interest of cartographic users in using DDF. According to the NIST project staff, the primary reason for this absence of a market push for data base transfer standards is that document transfer issues are receiving attention as part of the implementation of electronic mail. No doubt this will change over the next several years as document transfer standard issues are resolved. Nevertheless, it is not clear how quickly Federal agencies with substantial investments in existing data bases and data base software can or will shift to a data base using a standard IRDS. How quickly Federal agencies make this shift can have an enormous impact on the work program of the National Archives.

In the absence of a data base transfer standard, the NIST report recommends that NARA establish a data base transfer policy using IRDS and flat ASCII files. Currently, this recommendation can not be implemented, as no commercial software implementation of the standard IRDS is currently available.

NIST has developed a prototype for general testing purposes to evaluate how an IRDS might be used to transfer complex data bases. This software could be used to help evaluate how useful the standard IRDS would be to NARA. Of course, a prototype is not suitable for actual implementation, but now that IRDS is a FIPS publication, it is likely that over the next few years more IRDS based software will become available.

The last general issue to be considered in formulating a NARA strategy for the evolving standards environment is the possibility that some of today's standards will fall into disuse and that new standards surely will emerge.

How can NARA best deal with a dynamic standards environment? What mechanisms can be put in place that ensure that the document and data base transfer standards NARA adopts today do not become impediments to tomorrow's standards? In general, marketplace dynamics - what users require and what vendors provide - determine what standards are developed and how they are implemented. For example, the current market focus is an "open systems" environment in which users require products that make it possible to migrate applications from one system to another, different system.

Consequently, in order to remain competitive, computer vendors will develop products for this market. This market can be considered a spectrum in which many new products, some of which may be experimental, are introduced in order to influence emerging market trends or to dominate part of the market. Over a period of time there is a "shaking out" as products with inadequate user bases drop out. The surviving products typically involve considerable user investment so that radical change becomes less likely, thereby providing a measure of stability.

These same market forces also come into play in the development and implementation of information technology standards. In some instances, vendors may develop products which exceed standards, leading at times to modifications of standards. This suggests that NARA should avoid experimental information technology products and instead concentrate on those information technology standards with clearly established user bases. In addition, NARA should recognize that even standards with clearly established user bases are likely to undergo change and modification. This approach does not mean that NARA must avoid all involvement in the development and implementation of information technology standards.

NARA can perform the extremely valuable role of identifying and articulating the archival and records management needs of Federal agencies that data exchange standards must address.

This function cannot be overemphasized because many of the NIST recommendations presume that NARA and Federal agencies have already defined these needs, when in fact this has not been done on a systematic basis. Other activities NARA can engage in include encouraging Federal agency use of the standards identified in the NIST report as relevant to archives and records management. Furthermore, as software products for these standards become available, where appropriate NARA might contract with NIST to analyze and study their usability.

5.24. Standards

Implementors Workshops

A standard can be thought of as a collection of tools to solve a set of related problems. Each standard usually has more tools than any one user or subset of users is likely to need. Furthermore, some of the tools are optional, and some are mandatory.

Standards implementor workshops establish broad functionality requirements of user communities and propose appropriate modules to meet these requirements. Usually, optional modules that offer enhanced features also are proposed. NIST is charged with the responsibility for organizing an implementors workshop for each OSI/GOSIP standard. Participants in implementors workshops, which usually include hardware and software vendors and representatives of organizations that plan to use a standard, propose how each standard can or should be implemented. NIST provides a secretariat which convenes formal meetings for each implementor’s workshop.

Usually, there is a great deal of informal communication and exchange of views that occurs between quarterly meetings and may involve as much as four or five days per month of a workshop participant's time. It is far easier and more productive to shape the implementation of a standard while it is still in the implementors' workshop stage than to modify implementor’s workshop guidelines and rules after they have been adopted.

Therefore, NARA will ensure that archives and records management concerns are represented in the OSI implementor’s workshops.

NARA will work closely with NIST in identifying which implementors workshops are most critical for NARA's electronic records programs. When other implementor workshops deal with issues of concern to NARA, NIST will be asked to bring these concerns to the attention of the workshops.

5.25. Development

Of Standards

The process whereby ANSI standards are developed, approved, and revised involves ANSI Accredited Standards Committees and their subordinate Technical Committees where most of the work is conducted. Technical Committees usually comprise vendor representatives, users from interested organizations, and representatives of what are called general interest groups.

Typically, there is a great deal of informal communication and exchange of views between the three-times-a-year meetings of the Technical Committees. Because standards development is a consensus building process that the balloting confirms, efforts are made to accommodate conflicting viewpoints. As noted earlier, generally this process may take several years.

American national standards development work that is directly related to electronic records involves primarily two Technical Committees of Accredited Standards Committee X3, Information Processing Systems; specifically, Technical Committee X3H4, Information Resource Dictionary which deals with the IRDS standard; and X3V1, Text: Office and Publishing Systems, which deals with Text and Office Systems. The latter includes SGML, SPDL, and ODA among other issues. There is another ANSI Accredited Standards Committee - Z39, Libraries, Information Systems, Publishing - which deals with issues (e.g., electronic interchange of bibliographic information) that relate indirectly to electronic records.

If the archives and records management communities hope to ensure that standards address long-term information

management concerns, then the best forum for this activity is participation in the technical committees. It is far easier to help shape a standard while it is under development than afterwards.

Thus, NARA's full participation in the Technical Committees, X3H4 and X3V1 and monitoring the Z39 Technical Committee work could be useful, both to the National Archives and the larger archives and records management communities.

NARA will become a regular participant in the X3H4 and X3V1 working groups. In addition, NARA will monitor work plans and reports of the Z39 Technical Panel as they relate to document and data base transfer issues. NARA will issue periodic status reports to interested parties.

5.26.

Document Transfer Policy

Although there are multiple standards in place or in draft form for document transfer, the NIST report nonetheless recommends that NARA advocate the use of SGML to create documents and the use of SPDL to transfer documents of permanent value to the archives. Of course, SPDL is not yet a standard and some knowledgeable observers think it will be several years before it is adopted as a standard. Given this uncertainty, it is premature for NARA to recommend its use government-wide to transfer documents. One other point worth noting in passing is that the NIST report assumes that in all cases NARA would want to transfer and store the original representation of electronic documents.

Certainly, in many instances this would be the case.

In other instances, preservation of the informational content would be sufficient. In some instances, both might be required.

However, neither NARA nor Federal agencies have adequately defined and articulated when it is important for archives and records management to have the original representation of documents, when it is sufficient to have the informational content of these documents, and when both are necessary.

When it is necessary to retain the original presentation of documents, SPDL is useful because it is difficult to alter a document without leaving evidence of the change. In contrast to SPDL, SGML is an established standard with several software implementations now available. Most of these implementations, however, support the transfer of material intended to be printed. In this instance, of course, SGML encoded reports could be accessioned.

In contrast, the Department of Defense has developed the Computer-Assisted Acquisition Logistics System (CALS) which uses SGML for technical report transfer and eventually for document transfer. Despite the growing use of SGML, it is unclear exactly how SGML would be used in a document creation environment. Equally important, it is unlikely that NARA could impose a single document creation/transfer standard on Federal agencies with diverse mission requirements.

Nor is it likely that GOSIP will invoke a single standard in this arena.

This suggests that NARA should work with NIST in ensuring that there are records management and archives components included in implementations of GOSIP based document creation/transfer standards. Document transfer standards are generic in nature and do not address specific implementation issues. Consequently, a major problem underlying document transfer standards is the absence of clear records management and archival functional specifications for the life cycle management of information in an electronic environment.

For example, as noted earlier, NARA and Federal agencies need to articulate when an electronic representation of an original page image is required or when the informational content from that page image is sufficient. In order to ensure that these functional specifications meet the needs of the workplace, input into them must come from the creators and users of electronic documents. It is important, therefore, that NARA work with Federal agency records managers, information resource managers, researchers, and other key groups in defining these functional specifications.

5.27 . Data Base Transfer Policy As noted previously, the NIST study concluded that no single data base transfer standard now exists. The report recommends that until such a standard is available NARA should use a combination of SQL, IRDS, and ASCII files to transfer and store data bases. The NIST consultants are confident that any new standard that evolves will accommodate IRDS, SQL, and ASCII. SQL and ASCII are established standards which have been implemented. IRDS, of course, has not been implemented.

Hence, until standard IRDS products become widely available, it is very important that NARA gain hands-on experience by conducting pilot data base transfers with Federal agencies using SQL and/or prototype IRDS software. The NIST study acknowledges that in the absence of IRDS implementations and a single data base transfer standard, NARA must develop a short-term policy. This policy, the NIST consultants maintain, should focus upon data base systems in common use among most Federal agencies. Consequently, the report recommends that NARA conduct a survey of Federal agencies to identify the most common data base systems in use that maintain records of permanent value. These survey findings could be used to support the development of a comprehensive system for transfer and management of data files and data bases.

Development of a unified data base transfer standard is not likely for at least ten years, largely because it takes from three to five years to secure approval after a draft has been prepared, and there is little apparent interest among users or vendors that is likely to lead to a draft standard over the next five years or so. Nevertheless, NARA could work with NIST in promoting an awareness for the need of generalized software tools to support a long-term data base transfer policy.

At this time NARA will not endorse either IRDS or SQL as the preferred data base transfer standard. Rather, NARA will conduct pilot transfers of complex data bases. NARA will monitor developments with IRDS software, and as it becomes available, will perform "hands on" experiments in data base transfer. NARA will work with NIST in promoting an awareness of the need for generalized software tools to support a long-term data transfer policy.

Chapter Six : Land and Land Registration

6.1 Land and Land Registration â&#x20AC;&#x153;Modern market economies generate growth because widespread formal property rights, registered in a system governed by legal rules, afford indisputable proof of ownership and protection from uncertainty and fraud so permitting massive low cost exchange, fostering specialization and greater productivity. It is law that defines the relationship of rights to people. Civilized living in market economies is not simply due to greater prosperity but to the order that formalized property rights bringâ&#x20AC;? (Hernando de Soto 1993).

Establishing and sustaining an effective land registration system is one of the most important tasks of any government. Creating an enduring and trusted system of secure land tenure fosters certainty and encourages investment and improvement. Systems

for recording and transferring land rights have been established in all developed countries worldwide.

A guaranteed land register is recognized as the basis of a stable society and the foundation of a confident economy based on private land rights. Such confidence depends on a framework of land laws which make clear both the duties and the rights of citizens.

An effective system of land registration ensures that ownership and other land rights can be created, and existing rights extinguished or transferred accurately and at minimum cost. All those participating in the property transfer market, and those with other interests in land, can obtain guaranteed information, make decisions, and carry through their intentions promptly, with confidence and under the law.

Land registration provides the machinery that enables a society that recognizes private rights in land to function. Where title to land is guaranteed mortgage registration provides the security, which enables banks and other institutions to lend money for house purchase or investment. A public land register enables citizens and business to invest and improve in their homes and their enterprises.

A flourishing and responsive lending industry is the engine of a market economy. Land registration makes it possible for lenders to undertake their important role in the private and commercial life of the community. It is the guaranteed title and mortgage registration system that makes it possible for lenders to function promptly and with confidence.

Land Registry has more than 140 years experience in developing and delivering land registration services. It serves a population of 113 million and facilitates one of the most active property and mortgage markets in the world.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maintaining such an essential system depends on in depth experience of land registration law and practice, surveying and mapping, computing, financial, personnel and operational management. With its accumulated wealth of practical and professional experience, Land Registry is well placed to provide, advice and support to those seeking to introduce or develop their land registration system.

Areas of expertise Specifically the registry can provide expert advice in the following areas: 1. Land registration and property rights, 2. Legal and organizational aspects of land registration and cadaster, 3. Land information systems development including digital mapping and computerized land registration, 4. Modernization of land registration systems, 5. Customer service , 6. Drafting of land registration legislation, 7. Records management, 8. Procurement, 9. Training and human resource development (provision of a formal Land Registration Qualification programmer), 10. Business planning, 11. Project and program management, 12.change management, and 13. Process re-engineering.

The vesting of ownership of substantial of a nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land in state/public sector ownership and management is a widespread feature of national land tenure structures. The management of these areas of land is commonly problematic, with for example, considered, rational, equitable and transparently implemented

policy lacking, frequent corruption in the administration of such assets and lack of adequate capacities to manage such lands effectively. These problems are globally widespread and are present in both developing economies and more developed economies.

FAO is preparing to publish a Land Tenure Study in this area, and as a part of this process is disseminating its findings and supporting widespread sharing of experience and discussion on the subject, as in the present seminar. To find out the present situation and potential for new good practices the seminar will concentrate to following objectives To study and analyze the current state-of-the-art related to state and public sector land management around the world addressing land policy issues, real estate management practices and civil society perspectives.

1. To share country case experience in state and public sector land management and 2. To find possible and effective solutions to solve the problems especially for developing countries.

What are the best practices and what principles should be taken into consideration or should be avoided ?

To make suggestions for future research directions. Proposed topic areas During the seminar the following aspects may be addressed: a). Legal frameworks for State and Public Sector land management, b). Institutional frameworks for State and Public Sector land management, c). Good practices in State and Public Sector land management, d). Environmental issues in State and Public Sector land management, e). Civil society perspectives in State and Public Sector land management, f). Developing transparency in State and Public Sector land management, g). Avoiding corruption in State and Public Sector land management, h). State land in different country situation (post-conflict, post transition, disaster management, resettlements, state land distribution), i). Public land policy, new trends, j). Public land policy and land use strategies, The social function, the economic function, the conservation function, the cultural function of public land State land and fiscal management, fiscal efficiency and transparency.

6.2. Land as a resource Land is the ultimate resource, for without it life on earth cannot be sustained. Land is both a physical commodity and an abstract concept in that the rights to own or use it are as much a part of the land as the objects rooted in its soil. Good stewardship of the land is essential for present and future generations.

These Guidelines are concerned with the administration of land as a natural resource to ensure its sustainable development.

They address the social, legal, economic and technical framework within which land managers and administrators must operate.

From a legal perspective, land extends from the centre of the Earth to the infinite in the sky. In the present discussion, however, the focus will be on that volume of space that encompasses the surface of the Earth, all things that are attached to it, and the rocks and minerals that are just below it. Land includes areas covered by water such as seas and lakes, all building and construction, and all natural vegetation.

Objects that are not attached to the soil, such as motor cars,

animals and human beings, are not part of the land, although they will be subject to the rights that control the use of the space that they occupy. “Air rights”, that is, rights to use space above the land, are in some jurisdictions treated as being part of the land, but will not be discussed here.

Land and its use may be examined from many different points of view. From an eco-logical perspective, land plays a vital role in the breeding and survival strategies of many living species. The history of human settlement has been dominated by national and international conflicts-men and women may kill or may be killed in fights over the boundaries of their nations or of their individual properties.

These Guidelines focus on land as something over which individuals or communities have rights of ownership and use, that can be bought and sold and be subject to tax, and that is the basis of economic production.

In many countries the term “real estate” is used to describe land.

Some differentiate between the land and the buildings attached to it, referring to the latter as “property”. In these Guidelines, unless otherwise stated, the term “land” will be treated as all embracing, while real property refers to man-made constructions.

The role of land in the economy of each nation is not always obvious, but is of great significance. Without secure land rights there can be no sustainable development, for there will be little willingness to make long-term investments. Countries in transition will, in particular, find it difficult to obtain some foreign investment.

There is a need to manage the wealth of every nation, at least 20% of whose gross domestic product (GDP) can come from land, property and construction. All countries need to determine the ownership and value of land and property, and to monitor and manage their use so that the value of these assets may be enhanced.

6.3. Cadastres and land registration Land registration systems operate throughout the world as the legal basis of recording, with certainty, the ownership and other legal rights in and over land. Such systems provide the machinery for confident property transfer, the operation of a secure mortgage market and protections for the citizen. The effective operation of land and title registration systems are fundamental to successful market economies providing confidence for private ownership and property transfer and, as a consequence, engendering social stability.

The ownership, value and use of land although independent in concept, arc interdependent in practice. Each attribute of land needs to be carefully managed and to achieve this there must be good land records: of ownership to ensure security of tenure; of value to ensure fairness in land and property taxation and equity in the compulsory acquisition of land for State purposes; and of the use of land to ensure efficient resource management.

Every land administration system should include some form of land registration, which is a process for recording, and in some countries guaranteeing, information about the ownership of land. A right is something to which some person or group of persons is entitled. The function of land registration is to provide

a safe and certain foundation for the acquisition, enjoyment and disposal of rights in land.

A land administration system should provide order and stability in society by creating security not only for landowners and their partners but also for national and international investors and moneylenders, for traders and dealers, and for Governments.

Although systems of land registration are frequently directed at protecting the interests of individual landowners, they are also instruments of national land policy and mechanisms to support economic development.

A cadastre is similar to a land register in that it contains a set of records about land. Cadastres are based either on the proprietary land parcel, which is the area defined by ownership; or on the taxable area of land which may be different from the extent of what is owned; or on areas defined by land use rather than by land ownership, Cadastres may support either records of property rights, or the taxation of land, or the recording of land use.

The cadastral administration is the basis of land administration, which is a series of working measures systems conducted by the State for the purpose of carrying out the effective land administration, through survey on complete natural and economic conditions of the land, accordingly to establish the cadastral maps and lists etc. The key items of cadastral administration include land survey, land registration, land statistics, cadastral file management and cadastral information system etc, in which land survey and registration are basic assignments.

Cadastres may also be used in a multi-purpose role to provide a wide range of land-related information. In such cases, it is best if they are constructed around the proprietary land parcel, as this is the legal basis for all dealings in land. Where ownership has not yet been proved, as may be the case where the land is being restored to former owners, such multi-purpose records can be built around the land parcel as defined by rights of use.

The cadastre is an information system consisting of two parts: a series of maps or plans showing the size and location of all land parcels together with text records that describe the attributes of the land. It is distinguished from a land registration system in that the latter is exclusively concerned with ownership.

Both a cadastre and a land register must operate within a strict legal framework, but a land register may not in practice record all land over a whole country since not all citizens may choose to register their lands. Furthermore, when introducing a new system of land registration, selected areas may be given priority and other areas excluded for the meantime in order to maximize the best use of resources.

The cadastre however should be based on complete coverage of a country, since it may be used for the purposes of land taxation.

Surveys for the cadastre can be used to sup-port a land registration system and indeed in many countries the term â&#x20AC;&#x153;cadastral surveyingâ&#x20AC;? is used to describe the survey of land for the purposes of recording ownership.

The purpose of land survey is to make a thorough investigation of the land concerning quantity, quality, distribution, utilization and ownership conditions. The accurate data and information of land survey is the preconditions to properly identify the national conditions and powers of the land, and also the basis on

formulating the scientific land policies.

The land survey and registration have experienced for over 5,000 years in China. As early as the times of Yu in the Xia Dynasty 2183-2177 BC, the sort survey was carried out for land by dividing it into three classes and nine grades, and taxes were collected base on that. And, in the Zhou Dynasty 1066-256 BC, there was a record of land measure with “Lian” as the length unit, and the register in detailed lists was made. The large scale of household register and cadastral checks were conducted after Qinshihuang, the first emperor in history of China, reunified China in 221 BC. In the middle period of the Tang Dynasty (8th century), the nationwide land survey was carried out for the purpose of promoting “double-tax method” (household tax and land tax). The more extensive land survey (land measure) was conducted in the Song Dynasty (1644-1279 AD). Up to the early period of the Ming Dynasty (after 1368 AD), it appeared the land register list, namely Yulin Register, and the nationwide general land survey (Called Wanli Measure) of the whole country was carried out during the period of Wanli (title of the Shen Zong's reign in Ming Dynasty). In Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD), the “Cadastre Brought to Household” appeared and had with the embryo of the modern land survey and registration.

After the year of 1911, the government of the Republic of China officially Promulgated the “Rules for Registration of Real Property” in 1922, and the developments were made for cadastral arrangement and six items of land survey including land property, land distribution, land use, land operation, land tax and other levies as well as special investigation etc.

From establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 up to the year of 1978, the works had been development successively in China, including land reform (such as land measure, delimitation and certificate grant), farmland checks and productivity determination (such as register establishment, numerical statement and report system) and urban land registration etc.

After China reform and opening to the outside world in 1978, especially the promulgation of the “The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Land administration” in 1986, with the soil general survey (1979-1981), land-use situation survey (1980-1981), land inventory (1984-1996), and land register of urban and rural etc, the land survey and registration have been put on a scientific developing track in China, and it has been established for systems of land survey and registration with Chinese characteristics.

In Finland and Sweden, for example, real property formation, mutation, land consolidation, cadastral mapping, registration of real properties, ownership and legal rights, real property valuation and taxation are all combined within one basic cadastral system. In many parts of Europe, however, the cadastre evolved as a support for land taxation, while the legal processes of land registration were dealt with separately by lawyers and the records entered in land books, for example the German Grundbuch.

Dual systems therefore emerged and these are being reintroduced in some eastern European countries as part of land reform programs. Use rights arc being recorded in the reformed cadastral system, while ownership rights are being treated under the traditional notary system. This is leading to duplication of effort and more complex processes of land administration than might otherwise be necessary. It will be

important in the longer term for these separate systems to be brought into one unified system.

Different countries interpret the term “cadastre” in different ways and this can lead to great confusion when analyzing systems. The common understanding is that a cadastre is a form of land information system. The term “land information system” is applied to a wide range of spatial information, including environmental and socio-economic data as well as data related to infrastructure systems and the cadastre.

A land information system is not necessarily land parcel-based, unlike a juridical, fiscal or multi-purpose cadastre. Instead it may be an inventory of forest resources, or of soils, or of geology and may incorporate a variety of types of data. A cadastre is more specifically focused on the ownership, value or use of land parcels.

The cadastral inventory is a basic work of land survey mainly relying on ownership survey, which is divided into initial and conversional cadastral inventories according to different periods and tasks, and also into rural and urban cadastral inventory according to different regions and functions. The key items of cadastral inventory can be generalized for land ownership survey and cadastral survey. The land ownership survey is mainly to provide the base map and basis for the cadastral survey, by demarcating location of cadastral parcel limit at site, mapping out the parcel sketch, investigating the land use and filling out the table through survey of limit line about parcel ownership and other rights and interests. On foundation of land ownership survey, the cadastral survey is to provide the basics data for land registration by scientifically surveying the ownership limit, location, shape and land boundary for each parcel in certain area with the aid of surveying instruments, and calculating its area and drafting out the cadastral map.

Data that may appear in a cadastre include: geometric data (coordinates, maps); property addresses; land use; real property information; the nature and duration of the tenure; details about the construction of buildings and apartments; population; land taxation values. Data may relate to single plots of land or may cover many properties, as in land-use zoning. The data may be used to support private land transactions, to support land markets, or to assist in the administration of diverse sections of the economy such as: agriculture; environment protection; fishery; forestry; housing; land-use management and zoning; public utilities; transport.

6.4. Land management and land reform Land management is the process by which the resources of land are put to good effect. It covers all activities concerned with the management of land as a resource both from an environmental and from an economic perspective. It can include farming, mineral extraction, property and estate management, and the physical planning of towns and the countryside. It embraces such matters as: 1. Property convincing, including decisions on mortgages and investment; 2. Property assessment and valuation; 3. The development and management of utilities and services; 4. The management of land resources such as forestry, soils, or agriculture; 5. The formation and implementation of land-use policies; 6. Environmental impact assessment; and 7. The monitoring of all activities on land that affect the best use of that land.

One of the most important steps in the transition from a centrally

planned to a market economy is the establishment of private ownership in land. For investment to take place, the investors must feel confident that the assets that they are developing will be built on land to which there is a secure title. There must be a clear and rigid framework of laws governing the ownership and rights to use the land.

Good land resource management will help to promote economic and social development in both urban and rural areas. For countries in transition, land reform is a key component in achieving these goals.

The term “land reform” has a variety of meanings. It may involve the restoration of land rights to previous owners, a process known as land restitution. This occurred in countries in transition when former private rights in land were restored.

Land reform may involve the redistribution of land rights from one sector to another-for example by taking land from the State or from individual owners of large estates and giving it to people who have no land. Land reform may also involve land consolidation in which all landowners within an area surrender their land and are allocated new parcels of comparable value but in pattern that encourages the more efficient and productive use of the land. Land reform may also involve changes in the tenure of the land that is in the manner in which rights are held, thus abolishing complex traditional and customary rights and introducing more simple and streamlined mechanisms of land transfer. The impact on the land may be pre-planned, but it may also result from property tax reforms that alter the value of land and in consequence its use.

Land reform programs normally affect selected areas such as agricultural land or urban centres. In rural areas the programs may be designed to facilitate changes in the technology of agriculture, the type of crops, the manner of husbanding the land, the financing of development or the marketing of products. In urban areas land reform programs may involve major infrastructure development, the taxation of buildings as well as the land upon which they stand, or changes to the manner and use of land and properties.

Thus “land reform” covers a multitude of possible activities, not all of which may occur in any given reform program.

6.5. Land administration and land registration The term “land administration” is used in these Guidelines to refer to the processes of recording and disseminating information about the ownership, value and use of land and its associated resources. Such processes include the determination (sometimes known as the “adjudication”) of rights and other attributes of the land, the survey and description of these, their detailed documentation and the provision of relevant information in support of land markets.

In this context, land administration is only concerned with such matters as town and country planning or good agricultural practice in so far as such activities affect the compilation and maintenance of good land records. These Guidelines address only the sup-porting information infrastructure and are not directly concerned with physical planning, city centre redevelopment, agricultural reform, or improvements to agricultural productivity.

An understanding of the broader aspects of land management is

essential to proper land information management but is not its essence. Land administration is concerned with three commodities-the ownership, value and use of the land-within the overall con-text of land resource management.

“Value” has several meanings. It may refer to the actual or assessed capital market value, i.e. the amount of money for which the land can be sold, or it may refer to the rental value, which is the amount for which the land can be hired out.

Alternatively, “value” may be equated with construction costs, so that the value of a building for insurance purposes may be the cost of rebuilding if it were destroyed by fire.

The perceived value of land and property may also relate not to any present market price but to the potential to generate income.

Thus vacant land would produce more income if it were fully developed and hence by taxing the potential value rather than the present actual value it may be possible to bring about changes in land use. The use of the land determines the wealth that it generates and hence its value.

In many of the countries in transition a free market in land has in the past been limited or non-existent. In some, such as Poland, a market in rural land remained throughout the communist period but urban land was subject to strict State control; in others, such as Bulgaria, urban property could be purchased (at a price dictated by the Government) but farm land was administered under a cooperative system with no individual person able to own land for agricultural use.

In such countries, the value of land has been taken to refer to its physical and environ-mental qualities. Land records have been compiled listing the soil characteristics, moisture content, slope and aspect of the land, all factors that would influence how the land could best be used. Data on such attributes underpinned various categories of cadastre which were in effect records of existing or potential land use.

In several countries in transition there have been different cadastres for agricultural land, forest land, and viniculture water resources, etc., as well as a general “unified” cadastre that attempted to integrate data on all of these. In many cases, the mapping in support of these cadastres was on a smaller scale than that now needed for fiscal or juridical purposes.

In most countries in transition, the cadastral data were further reduced to a generalized form and used to monitor agricultural production.

Statistical data were compiled and sent to a higher authority to support the central planning system, but their use at the detailed level of individual farm management was almost non-existent.

Where generalized data are required, sampling may be a more cost-effective way to achieve the necessary support for decision making.

Comprehensive information at the individual farm level is necessary only when it directly affects the individual farmer.

The European Union, for example, requires such data in order to calculate and pay subsidies to farmers under its Common Agricultural Policy. In most cases it is the farmer on the ground who knows best how to cultivate the land.

6.6. The benefits of a good land Registration system The modern cadastre is not primarily concerned with generalized data but rather with detailed information at the

individual land parcel level. As such it should service the needs both of the individual and of the community at large. Benefits arise through its application to: asset management; convincing; credit security; demographic analysis; development control; emergency planning and management; environmental impact assessment; housing transactions and land market analysis; land and property owner-ship; land and property taxation; land reform; monitoring statistical data; physical planning; property portfolio management; public communication; site location; site management and protection. Although land records are expensive to compile and to keep up to date, a good land administration system should produce benefits, many of which cannot in practice be quantified in cash terms. These benefits are outlined below.

6.6.1. Guarantee of ownership and security of tenure The compilation of land records and the judicial processes that must be gone through in order to bring land information onto the registers should provide formal identification and, in some systems, legal proof of ownership. The public registers should contain all essential juridical information allowing anyone viewing the system to identify third-party rights as well as the name of the landowner.

In some systems, such as the English registration of title to land, the State then guarantees the details recorded in the register, so that if a mistake were to occur, compensation would be paid. In others, the registers are treated as primary evidence rather than definitive proof. The Netherlands is an example of the latter, although any enquirer is protected against inaccurate or incomplete information either contained in deeds entered in the public registers or caused by errors, omissions, delays or other irregularities. Thus, although there is technically no guarantee of ownership per se, the integrity of the system is sufficiently high for landowners to have full confidence in their rights.

6.6.2. Support for land and property taxation Good land records will improve efficiency and effectiveness in collecting land and property taxes by identifying landowners and providing better information on the performance of the land market, for example by identifying the current prices being paid for property and the volume of sales. Since the cadastre should provide full cover of the land, all properties can be included and none should be omitted.

While not all countries seek to impose taxes on land or property, such fiscal measures are regarded by many as fair and just since they are perceived in effect as taxes upon wealth. They are relatively easy to collect in contrast for example to personal income taxes where earnings can be hidden. It is not possible to hide a piece of land or building although it is possible to conceal the records of such a property.

6.6.3. Provide security for credit Certainty of ownership and knowledge of all the rights that exist in the land should provide confidence for banks and financial organizations to provide funds so that landowners can invest in their land. Mortgaging land is one way to acquire capital for investing in improvements. Landowners

can then construct or improve buildings and infrastructure or improve their methods and management of the land, for example by introducing new farming techniques and technologies.

6.6.4. Develop and monitor land markets The introduction of a cheap and secure way of transferring land rights means that those who wish to deal in land can do so with speed and certainty. Those who do not wish to sell their land can be protected-no persons need be dispossessed of land unless they so wish since their rights should be guaranteed.

The registers should be public so that at any time a landowner can confirm his or her rights. Those who wish to buy land can do so with confidence, knowing that the person who is trying to sell the land is the legally guaranteed owner. Those whose properties are subject to compulsory purchase-for instance where a new highway is to be built across their land-can be treated with fairness since the registers should provide information on current land prices, thus allowing better estimates of the market value of land to be made.

6.6.5. Protect State lands In many countries the land that is held by the State for the benefit of the community is poorly documented. This is not a problem in countries where the State owns all land, but where there is private land ownership, that which remains in the possession of the State must be properly managed.

In all societies the State is a major landowner and its property must be protected for example from encroachment by farmers onto land beside roads or from attempts by squatters to settle on vacant land that is being held for future use. The State needs to manage its property assets and to ensure their efficient use and upkeep every bit as much as does the private citizen. A system of registration of title to land will facilitate this.

6.6.6. Reduce land disputes In many countries disputes over land and its boundaries give rise to expensive litigation and all too often lead to a breakdown in law and order. Much time is taken up by the courts in resolving these matters, leading to delays in other parts of the judicial system.

Land often cannot be put onto the market or put to better use without resolution of the disputes, since no potential investor is likely to wish to be committed to developing land where a lawsuit may be pending. The process of registering rights should prevent such disputes arising in the future, since at the time of first registration formal procedures should be followed that will resolve uncertainties.

6.6.7. Facilitate rural land reform The distribution of land to the landless, and the consolidation and redistribution of land for more efficient use all require detailed records of the present ownership and use of the land. Compensation may need to be paid to those who lose out in such a process, or money may be taken from those who make special gains. The design of new patterns of land ownership to provide greater productivity from the

land can be effective only if the existing pattern is well documented.

6.6.8 Improve urban planning and infrastructure development As with rural land reform so urban centres need redevelopment and effective land-use planning and control.

In many countries the control of development and the issuing of building permits are the responsibility of the local municipal authority.

A good land administration system should permit the integration of records of land ownership, land value and land use with sociological, economic and environmental data in support of physical planning. The availability of up todate large-scale cadastral plans of urban areas provides the basic framework within which development schemes can be planned and assessed and acceptable designs implemented.

6.6.9. Support environmental management Multi-purpose cadastral records can be used to record conservation areas and give details of archaeological sites and other areas of scientific or cultural interest that may need to be protected. The cadastre can be used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments and in monitoring the consequences of development and construction projects. In the Netherlands, for example, there is a register of presently polluted sites and of formerly polluted sites that have been decontaminated.

6.6.10 . Produce statistical data By monitoring the ownership, value and use of the land, data can be assembled for those concerned on the one hand with resource allocation and on the other with measuring the performance of development programs. Both long term strategic planning and short term operational management require data in support of decision-making.

6.7. Institutional issues The success or otherwise of any broad-ranging land administration system requires a number of institutional issues to be addressed. It is essential to focus on the needs of the users of the proposed system. The customers of a land information system include most government departments and many sectors of the community, for instance: (a) Government: agriculture and forestry; defence education; environment; finance/economic affairs; health; highways and transport; housing; internal affairs/police; justice; lands and surveys; local government; natural resources; planning and development; power and electricity; public works; trade and industry; etc.; (b) Private sector: architects; banks and building societies; construction companies; economists; engineers; environmentalists; farmers and foresters; financial and insurance advisers; investors; land and property owners; lawyers and notaries; marketing specialists; planners; property developers; property managers; real-estate agents; surveyors and values; etc.

The products that are needed by each customer will differ, although a common theme is the ownership, value and use of the land. In many eastern European countries detailed land

records have been compiled in most agricultural areas, providing data on soils, water resources, crop types, crop yields, etc. The classification for soils has been complex and detailed.

There is little evidence that the collection, storing and analysis of these data have been cost-effective or are needed in a modern market economy. There is an urgent need for countries in transition to review their requirements for land information in the light of modern techniques of data gathering and processing and the changing needs of the economy. It is of course difficult to predict long-term needs for data that can be used to analyze changes over time. It is however essential at present to set priorities to match the resources presently available.

Much money has in the past been spent on data that have been little used. Many costs can be recovered through the sale of land related data, even though in a market economy it may be difficult to determine the right price.

In many countries maps, for example, are marketable commodities but have traditionally either been unavailable because of the interests of national security or else have been on sale at highly subsidized prices.

Experience suggests that first registration of title to land must be subsidized, as must the creation of the base mapping that supports land registration and the cadastre. The legal and administrative costs of running a land registration system can and preferably should, however, be fully recovered from the users.

It is generally accepted that the State must have a dominant role in setting up and operating cadastre or land registration system.

The influence and extent of involvement of he private sector differs between countries. In some countries, such as Sweden and Finland, he State operates a legal process of land management using governmental authorities with little input from the private sector.

In many countries, however, private licensed land surveyors undertake the field survey and measurement of individual property boundaries, while in some jurisdictions private lawyers are registered as State notaries. These notaries must check all relevant documents before they are registered and must endorse land transfer application forms to ensure that the persons concerned are the bona fide landowners.

Where data that have been collected by the State or by other governmental authorities are made available to the general public for possible commercial exploitation, the protection of the investment in data becomes important. The State needs to protect its investment in land information on behalf of the taxpayer just as much as the private sector needs to protect its interests.

It is important to ensure that a fair reward goes to those who have incurred costs in collecting data or in creating products. Protection may be provided through pricing politics and the laws on intellectual property, especially copyright. In most countries international treaties on copyright exist especially as a result of the Bern Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

In moving towards a market-oriented approach to land-related information. managers should: 1.Investigate who the customers are in the market for land-related data and what basic information they require; 2. Direct existing data gathering and processing towards the ownership, value and use of land; and

3. Provide a nationwide service, introducing cross subsidies if necessary to ensure full cover of the country.

6.8. The role of computerization One of the major catalysts for change has been computerization.

The benefits of a land administration system can be enhanced by using computers to: 1. Force standardization in the collection and processing of land information; 2. Speed up the processes of first registration of title; 3. Decrease the cost and space required for storing land records; 4. Prevent unnecessary duplication; 5. Simplify the preparation of â&#x20AC;&#x153;disasterâ&#x20AC;? copies of registers; 6. Facilitate access to land-related data and improve their distribution; 7. Reduce the time and cost involved in transferring property rights and in processing mortgages; 8. Facilitate the monitoring and analysis of market and rental values of land and property; and 9.Provide built-in mechanisms for quality control.

The conversion of data into computer-readable form is often an expensive and time-consuming task that can account for three quarters of the cost of setting up a computerized system.

The quality of data may be poor and their conversion into digital form will not necessarily improve this. The introduction of computers is however more than a technical matter, since it introduces changes in the skills and responsibilities needed within an organization, its organizational structure, investment strategies and such like. Within a government-run cadastral system, computerization may involve changes in legislation.

In order to ensure that all land-related data can be treated as a corporate resource and shared between organizations, flexible and clearly defined data exchange standards will need to be introduced.

Given the present rapid rate of change in technology, investment in hardware and software will have to be renewed every three to five years. The major investment, however, is in data and although they too must be kept up to date, they should not need to be renewed along with the hardware and software.

6.9. Recommendations: Countries should establish or improve their land administration system to: 1. Guarantee title and provide security for credit; 2. Support land and property tax assessments; 3. Provide data on the performance of land and property markets; 4. Document the structure of land use and land-use restrictions; 5. Monitor the environmental impact of development projects; 6. Facilitate land reform; 7. Subsidize the initial creation of land administration system; but 8. Recover fully their recurrent operating costs.

Chapter Seven : The Legal Framework in Registration

This chapter discusses aspects of the law as they affect land Registration. In particular it focuses on the ownership of rights in land, the registration of deeds and title, the definition and survey of real property boundaries-what is sometimes known as real property formation or legal surveys and the intellectual property rights in the information that is registered.

7.1. The legal status of land and real property The law is a complex set of rules that have evolved within each society to ensure its orderly running and the peaceful behavior of its members. The law may take several forms as is the case in Europe today where there are several different legal traditions.

Looked at globally, there is for example statutory law in which all rules and regulations are written down and codified; there is customary law in which there is no written record but the code is assumed to be well known by all members of society; and in some jurisdictions there is the common law, which grew out of customary law but where over time the judgements of the courts have been written down to create precedents whereby new cases can be judged.

There are four main areas of the law that particularly affect the land Registration: (a) The law of â&#x20AC;&#x153;realâ&#x20AC;? property that affects dealings in land; (b) The laws on land reform such as the privatization of State-owned land, the restitution of former private land, and land consolidation; (c) The laws that govern the conduct of land administration such as the regulations that control the operation of the cadastre; and

(d) The laws on “intellectual” property that affect such matters as the ownership of information and ideas, the protection of data and personal privacy.

Other areas of the law, such as those relating to bankruptcy, inheritance and matrimony, also affect real property and thus the work of the land administrator.

The law of property deals with relations between people (“in personam”) and of per-sons to things (“in rem”). The following remarks deal with real property, by which is meant land, buildings and construction of works, and with intellectual property. The law recognizes different types of interest in all such things and makes a distinction between the physical object and the abstract rights associated with its use.

The law of real property is concerned with regulating what may be done with land. The definitions of “land” and “real property” vary between jurisdictions as to whether land includes mines and minerals below the surface, features attached to the surface such as buildings or parts of buildings, or natural objects grooving in the soil; and whether the definitions relate to the physical things or to abstract concepts such as rights in the land and real property.

In many countries there is a basic land code that includes special legislation governing the operation of the cadastre and any land registration system. In particular the code will define the nature of land and real property.

Unless otherwise stated in what follows it will be assumed that land extends from the centre of the Earth up into the sky, that it includes all things natural and man-made attached to or beneath the surface of the Earth, and that it also includes rights such as those of the ownership and use of the land.

Land may be owned by one person, in the possession of another and occupied by a third. “Ownership” means the right to enjoy the use of something, the ability to dispose of it and to benefit from the rights associated with it. With real property this is referred to as the “title”, which is the highest level of rights in the land. The title is held by the owner, who may not necessarily be in possession of the land.

Possession involves the ability to enjoy the use of the land and in some circumstances to exploit the products on or below its surface. Possession implies the physical power to control an object--a thief who steals a motor car may then be in possession of the car but is not its owner. In this respect, intellectual property is very different since information is unlike material goods-it can legitimately be sold to one person, given to another and retained by its originator all at the same time, something that cannot be done with a physical object such as a motor car.

A possessor of land has the ability to make use of the land in some way or other. Possession may be legitimate or illegal. The legal possession of other people’s land takes place through formal agreements such as leases or rental agreements that protect the rights of the true owner.

Land may also be subject to “adverse possession”, when the occupation is contrary to the interests of the true owner. Adverse possession often takes place where the true owners cannot be traced-they may be absentee landowners, deceased, ignorant of their ownership (as is often the case with State land), or else unwilling to challenge the persons in occupation.

Those who are in ownership or legal possession of land may differ from those in occupation. The term “squatting” is often used to describe the illegal occupation of land; many landless people are forced to squat on land as they have nowhere else to go.

Often this is on State land. Squatting is a major social and economic problem, which is all too often associated with poverty, crime and ill health. It is particularly prevalent in cities of less developed countries but also occurs in the most affluent societies. An effective and efficient land administration system is a prerequisite to the solution of the problems of squatting.

Ownership is a matter of “right”, while possession and occupation are matters of fact at any one time. The occupation and use of land may provide evidence of ownership but this is not proof. Where there is no evidence of title then, as the maxim goes, possession is nine tenths of the law.

In some countries there is a process whereby the peaceful adverse possession of land can, after a specified period, lead to the acquisition of full title to the land. Wrongly described by some as land stealing, the prescription of rights through adverse possession is a legitimate process for bringing security to those unable to prove original ownership. It is based on the rationale that land is a resource that should be used and that by allowing squatters to gain title, the society as a whole benefits.

Those who use the land and are therefore in possession of it may be tenants rather than owners. The user of land is not necessarily the owner and may not have exclusive rights.

In the land reform programs of eastern Europe in the early I99Os, land was being restituted, that is it was being given back to those who originally owned it. The return of full ownership rights requires meticulous scrutiny of old land records and as a result the process has in many cases been slow. In order to expedite the change from collective to private enterprise farming. many landowners were allocated use rights.

Agricultural production could then proceed without waiting for the restoration of full ownership rights. As a temporary measure the practice was successful. even though use rights are less secure than the full title to the land. Financial institutions such as banks arc not keen to secure loans solely on the basis of use rights.

Countries introducing new land laws need to ensure that the law: 1. Defines the nature of land, the form and nature of ownership and the legally recognized forms of tenure; 2. Differentiates between real property and personal property; 3. Distinguishes between the ownership, possession and use of land and protects the rights of landlords, tenants and third parties, including those of mortgagees; 4. Indicates what rights less than full ownership, such as servitudes, should be recorded; 5. Codifies all forms of statutory restriction that may apply to land.

In addition, the law needs to: 6. Define the means and conditions whereby use rights can be changed to ownership rights, for example through the lapse of time; 7. Prescribe rules for the initial determination of rights in land and property and how the ownership of these rights may be transferred.

7.2. Land tenure The way in which rights in land are held is called “tenure”. In

many countries the absolute owner of all land is the State or Head of State but for all normal purposes two common forms of tenure can be identified: freehold and leasehold.

Freehold means that the owner can do what he or she likes with the land, for example in the way of disposal, subject to any restrictive covenants and the various planning regulations that are imposed by statute with regard to the use of the land.

Freehold is not absolute since the State retains the right to acquire land in the public interest, for instance for building new housing or motorways.

Leasehold means that the freehold owner, who in some cases may be the State, has relinquished most of the rights in the land for a set period of time such as 99 years during which the leasehold owner has the use of the land or property but at the end of which the title returns to the freehold owner.

Many countries operate similar land tenure systems though some do not recognize leasehold and rely on rental agreements to control the short-term use of the land.

Not all rights are written down. A title is generally subject to statutory restrictions, such as development control regulations that are imposed by the local municipality but which do not appear on any certificate of title. The title may also be subject to customary laws and overriding interests that likewise are not written down.

7.3 .Deeds registration and title registration The three systems for recording rights in land are: (a) private conveyancing; (b) the registration of deeds: and (c) the registration of title.

In private conveyancing, documents agreeing to the transfer of ownership are passed between the seller (vendor) and purchaser (vendee), usually with the guidance of a lawyer.

The State merely provides legal framework within which this process takes place.

Private conveyancing is generally regarded as inefficient and potentially dangerous since it can be subject to fraud as there is no easy proof that the vendor is the true owner.

Under a system of registration of deeds, a copy of the transfer document is deposited in a deeds registry. An entry in the registry then provides evidence of the vendorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right to sell.

In parts of the United States of America, private registers are operated by insurance companies that underwrite any losses that may arise through defects in the title. This is known as title insurance. Under title insurance, the purchaser pays a premium to obtain the necessary guarantee. If fraud takes place and a purchaser of land finds that the title is invalid, the insurance company will pay compensation. The system does not however support general land management.

In countries where there is a national deeds registration system, the registry is under the control of the State. A copy of all agreements that affect the ownership and possession of the land must be registered at the registry offices and one copy of all documents is retained. Each document will normally have been checked by a notary or authorized lawyer and its validity ascertained.

As a result, by searching the registry for the most recent document of transfer, any would-be purchaser should feel confident that the vendor has the right to sell.

Inspection of the register will show how the vendor obtained the property and the conditions under which it was acquired. This of course provides no proof that the previous transaction was legitimate, hence the transaction before that should be inspected, and so on through a sequence of inspections until the purchaser is confident that there is a clear chain of title.

An ideal system would reflect perfectly the legal position on the ground (the mirror principle), draw a curtain over all previous dealings so that only the present entries on the register need be consulted (the curtain principle), and guarantee the accuracy of what is shown on the registers (the insurance principle). It is difficult for a deeds registration system to conform with all these principles.

On its own, the system gives no guarantee of title; it merely provides access to the history of transfers, some of which may in practice be missing depending on the history of the system; possible disasters may have occurred, for instance, during the Second World War when many records were destroyed.

A further objection to deeds registration is that it leads to the storage of vast quantities of ancient documents, creating what has been referred to as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;mausoleum of parchmentâ&#x20AC;?. Not only is this costly but the retrieval of data can also be difficult and time consuming, depending on the volumes of documents stored.

With computers it is of course possible to store and retrieve rapidly large amounts of data and although the conversion of old documents into digital form is potentially expensive, the costs are much less than in the past. By applying modern technology, such as the scanning and micro-filming of documents, and by adopting appropriate administrative routines, deeds registry systems can now offer an efficient and reliable service.

In some deeds registries, the management of the records is extremely efficient and as a result there is great confidence in the system. While such registries do not actually guarantee title, they provide the most important evidence of ownership that can be assumed to be correct unless proved otherwise in the courts.

In many countries around the world, the deeds registries are not in this category and the systems owe more to the nineteenth century than to today. Documents are in poor physical state, difficult to retrieve and even more difficult to link into a chain of titles tracing the pattern of ownership over time.

An alternative to the registration of documents is the registration of title to land. In this system each land parcel is identified on a map and the rights associated with it are recorded on the register.

In addition, the name of the owner is recorded. When the whole of the land is subject to transfer, only the name of the owner need be changed. When part of the land is transferred, the plans must be amended and new documents issued. Although copy of the certificate of title for each land parcel is held by the landowner or by the mortgagee in the case of land that has been used as collateral, the definitive record is that held by the titles registry.

Under such a system the ownership of land can be guaranteed.

Anyone who is dispossessed of land through the functioning of the registers will be compensated even though the mistake was not made by the registry but rather was a case of fraud.

In Australia, registration of title to land is known as the Torrens system. Many other countries operate very similar and equally effective ways of registering title to land. The Torrens system is essentially simple and relatively cheap to operate. Transfers of whole land parcels can take place without any lawyers being involved, although in practice many people choose to take professional advice when dealing in land.

Both systems of registration of title and registration of deeds evolved to meet the needs for improved conveyancing. Both were devised to provide greater security to the land market and both grew from a legal rather than a land management perspective.

A compromise between the two systems is possible, drawing on the strengths of each approach. A number of countries, for example, combine land ownership and mortgage data in one register, while other information such as that relating to property boundaries is recorded in separate documents. In some countries the data on mortgages or hypothecs are maintained in separate registers that have to be checked independently when transactions are taking place.

A system for recording land ownership should: 1. Contain a legal definition of real property units that accurately reflects conditions on the ground; 2. Facilitate land transfer through a system that is simple, secure, and cheap to operate; 3. Eliminate the need for extensive searching for a chain of titles; 4. Be supported by legislation that requires it to be kept up to date at all times, for example when mutations occur; 5. Meet local needs; 6. Record specific real property rights, ownership and restrictions on ownership that are not otherwise transparent; 7. Cover all land, including that held by the State as well as by individual private citizens or institutions.

Neither deeds registration nor title registration systems are concerned directly with land use, though some indication of this may appear in the property description. Furthermore, neither system addresses all of the land rights. Rights restricted by municipalities under development control regulations are rarely incorporated.

Similarly, the systems do not necessarily provide information about land values. In many cases, the price paid for properties as declared in transfer documents is used as a basis for charging for the service, and for government-imposed levies such as a land transfer tax or capital gains tax.

The declared price may differ from the real price so that the vendors or purchasers can reduce or evade paying what may be seen as too high a tax.

In order to begin the compilation of a land register, whether it is under a deeds registration or a titles registration system, there needs to be some mechanism to bring land onto the registers. In both systems one trigger mechanism is a dealing in the land, for instance a sale or when a mortgage is taken out. For deeds registration that is all that is technically required, since the system merely records documents.

It is a prerequisite in either system that landowners and the general public understand the process sufficiently to have confidence in it. There is often a fear that a Government introducing a system may seek to take land away from people rather than confirm the rights that they have.

Once data are on the registers, the records must at all times be kept up to date. In some countries the system of inheritance makes this difficult, especially where ownership is shared between heirs. The relatives of a deceased landowner may also not record their inheritance, either through ignorance, a misunderstanding of the procedures, or a wish to avoid payment of death duties or taxes.

7.4. Adjudication of title to land When title to land is brought onto the register for the first time, a special procedure may need to operate. This is known as adjudication, which is the process whereby existing rights in parcels of land are finally and authoritatively determined.

Adjudication is the first stage in the registration of title to land in areas where the ownership of the land is not officially known.

Adjudication is a prerequisite for land consolidation and redistribution in order to ensure that each existing owner is identified and treated fairly.

In theory, the land adjudication process neither alters existing rights in land, nor creates new ones; rather it establishes what rights exist, by whom they are exercised and to what limitations, if any, they are subject. As such, it should introduce certainty and finality into the land records, a process which frequently alters the status quo since all too often the existing ownership and rights in land are unclear.

Adjudication necessitates determining “who” owns “what”, that is the rights and ownership must be ascertained as well as the extent of the land affected. The latter means that the boundaries of each parcel must be agreed between the adjoining parties. The process may operate sporadically or systematically.

The word “sporadic” in this context means “here and there” or “now and then”. Thus adjudication takes place whenever or wherever there is a reason to determine the precise ownership and limits of individual parcels-for example when a dealing is about to take place or when an owner requests that the land be registered. The sequence whereby parcels are brought onto the register is piecemeal, haphazard and unpredictable.

Where systematic adjudication of title to land takes place there should be: 1. A law that gives authority for the adjudication to take place; 2. Selection of priority in accordance with need-for example areas that are to be subject to land reform, are under rapid development, have a high level of disputes, or where there is need for credit, etc.; 3. Wide publicity concerning the areas and the dates on which the claimants must appear to give evidence; 4. Procedures for the appointment of an adjudication team: 5. The determination of the rights in accordance with prescribed procedures; 6. The publication of the results and the hearing of appeals within a specified time-limit, such as 30 or 60 days; 7.The formal entry of the results into the registers of title that should from then on be guaranteed.

The systematic approach implies a methodical and orderly sequence wherein, area by area. all parcels are brought onto the register. It is in the longer term less expensive because of economies of scale, safer because it gives maximum publicity to the determination of who owns what within an area, and more certain because detailed investigations take place on the ground with direct evidence from the owners of adjoining properties.

Sporadic adjudication can be used selectively to encourage specific categories of land ownership and is cheaper in the short term because adjudication of the rights to many parcels can be deferred. It also permits the cost of the whole operation to be passed directly to the beneficiaries, who can be charged an appropriate fee for having their land registered.

Sporadic adjudication can be applied voluntarily whereas the systematic approach must be compulsory since it is necessary to summon everyone who claims to own land within a designated area to give evidence. The process must therefore be subsidized by the State in order to ensure the cooperation of the people.

Experience has shown that without some degree of compulsion in adjudication, registration of title will almost certainly fail and complete registration of all important areas of land is never likely to be achieved. Furthermore, disputes over land are more difficult and expensive to resolve if the sporadic approach is adopted since economies of scale cannot apply.

Where a deeds registry is already in existence and the intention is to convert it into a titles registry, recourse to adjudication in the field may be avoided. If there is adequate mapping of the physical boundaries, then careful examination of the deeds should be sufficient to identify the parcels and their associated sets of property rights. If, however, the physical evidence is at variance with the documentary, then investigation on the ground may still be necessary. The problem is that it may not be easy to identify the changes that have taken place on the ground and the disparities that exist between what in theory was the ownership pattern and what in reality is the status of the land at the time of the change-over from deeds to title registration.

Boundaries may have changed legitimately.

7.5. Boundaries In a legal sense, a boundary is a surface which defines where one landowner’s property ends and the next begins. Generally, this surface is vertical and may be likened to a bead curtain suspended from the sky so that anyone passing through it from one side to the other passes from one set of property rights into another. The boundary surface inter-sects the ground along the legal boundary line; stepping over this line is equivalent to passing through the bead curtain.

A legal boundary is an infinitesimally thin surface extending from the centre of the Earth to the infinite in the sky and is essentially an abstract concept. In the case of strata titles, such as in high-rise buildings, the boundary surface may be horizontal.

In practice, most people mark the limits of their property on the surface of the Earth either with linear features, such as fences or hedges, or with point features, such as wooden pegs, iron bars or concrete markers. These physical objects may also be referred to as the boundary, though they may not follow the same line in space as the legal limit. In most legal systems, a fence is an item of defence, a guard against intrusion; it is not necessarily a property delimiter.

Within a registration system, boundaries are often referred to as either “fixed” or “general”. These terms are ambiguous for there are at least three concepts of a fixed boundary and three of a general boundary.

To some a fixed boundary (sometimes referred to as a specific boundary) is one which has been accurately surveyed so that any lost corner monument can be replaced precisely from the measurements.

To others. the term “fixed boundary ” is used to describe a boundary corner point which becomes fixed in space when agreement is reached at the time of alienation of the land. The location of the legal boundary cannot then be changed without some document of transfer. The surveyor’s measurements may provide useful evidence of the boundary’s location but the boundary is fixed whether or not there has been a survey. This is the principle which is adopted under the so-called Torrens system.

Under both these definitions of a fixed boundary, evidence on the ground takes precedence over what is actually written down.

In some systems, however, a boundary is only fixed when agreement is reached between adjoining owners and the line of division between them is recorded as fixed in the register. From then on the evidence on the register normally overrides whatever is on the ground. The exact line of a boundary under dispute is then determined by reference to the documentary evidence in preference to long-term occupation and possession of the land or to the position of well-established physical features, such as hedges, which may be inconsistent with any registered plan.

An advantage of fixed boundaries is that landowners can have confidence in where their property limits lie since these are formally recognized within the system. Where boundaries cannot be referred to visible and permanent topographic features such as fences, walls, buildings or ditches, well surveyed fixed boundaries may have an impact in reducing future disputes.

Precise surveys of all new boundaries will also reduce the amount of additional survey work required at a later stage if and when this is needed for particular projects such as the erection of buildings, expropriations, etc.

In the case of general boundaries, the precise line of the legal boundary between adjoining parcels is left undetermined as to whether it is one side of a hedge or fence or the other or down the middle. The ownership of the land can be guaranteed up to the bounding feature, the ownership of which is left uncertain.

There is no need for a precise survey, although a reasonably accurate topographic plan is needed. General boundaries are most appropriate where the development of the landscape is mature, for example in urban areas and in rural areas that have been cultivated for a long time so that the pattern of land use is well established.

Under the system of general boundaries, the ownership of a plot of land can be registered without the neighbors being consulted and having to agree the precise location of the legal boundary lines. This reduces the number of disputes in the short term but may give rise to problems in the longer term. The approach is often used where adjudication of title is undertaken sporadically with titles being brought onto the register only when dealings take place.

A general boundary may also be an indefinite boundary, such as one which is uncertain and variable like the edge of a forest or the line of high tide in coastal regions. In some registration systems, the law refers to “approximate boundaries” that are deliberately kept vague to prevent argument between neighbors.

Provided that there is good monumentation, for instance in the form of fences or iron stakes driven into the ground, then the parcels define themselves and all that is needed by the registrar of titles is a pointer to ensure that the correct parcel has been referred to. Inspection on the ground can reveal the precise alignment of the boundaries should that be needed and a surveyed plan is only necessary to identify the parcels.

The advantages of general boundaries lie primarily in the less demanding standards of survey and the manner in which the registrar of titles can ignore small changes in the position of a boundary agreed between two parties, whilst still guaranteeing the title of each. The cadastral records may therefore be compiled more cheaply and maintained within defined limits more accurately. If, for example, a fence between two properties falls down and is re-erected along a slightly different line, there would be no need to alter any cadastral map or filed plan.

In the case of strata titles, for example where there is separate ownership of an apartment within a block of flats, the ownership of parts of buildings can be defined and guaranteed without the precise determination of where, within the walls and floors, one set of property rights changes into another. Depending on local conditions and demands, the requirement for precise surveys for fixed boundaries may also vary considerably.

Information about the location of parcels and their boundaries is an important part of a land information system (LB). The data from either a general boundary or a fixed boundary system can be used in a LIS, the only differences being the precision with which the location of boundaries is recorded and the extent to which this information can be used as legal evidence.

It is necessary to maintain a public register of land and property in support of good land management but whether this is done through fixed or general boundaries is less important than how the registers are structured to meet the needs of the user community. Different qualities of information may be needed for different types of environment-for example between urban and rural areas, or between mature landscapes and those undergoing rapid change. The precision with which boundaries are surveyed should depend on local conditions and requirements.

7.6. Cadastral surveying In order to be able to guarantee the accuracy of boundary surveys and to apply quality controls to the work of the cadastral surveyor, it is common for survey regulations to be introduced. These often prescribe the manner in which surveys are to be carried out as well as the standards that must be reached. Survey regulations may also prescribe the necessary qualifications for grant of a licence to undertake cadastral surveys.

While in almost all other areas of land surveying it is not necessary to have a licence, in cadastral surveying it is common to find that before any persons in the private sector can conduct a survey they must be registered as competent to do so. The test of competence may be organized by a professional association of surveyors or by the State, depending on the traditions within any individual country. Regulations governing licensing normally apply to individual cadastral surveyors and not to survey companies.

Within the European Union there has been pressure for those who provide any form of service for official bodies within the Union to be registered under quality assurance. Such a process could be extended to license cadastral survey companies.

Quality assurance requires all operational procedures to be documented so that at each stage in the preparation of a product or service, someone can be held responsible for the quality of the work. It is part of the overall process of total quality management that should ensure that what is done is fit for its

purpose and meets the needs of clients.

Some techniques of surveying are discussed in chapter VI. In some countries survey regulations have not permitted the use of aerial survey techniques. The methods of survey are prescribed in regulations while the final standard of the product is not defined. Ideally, the law should interfere as little as possible in the choice of method of survey to be used. It should focus on the product rather than the process and should: 1. Define the relationship between physical and legal boundaries; 2. Permit flexibility in reconciling the possession of land with its ownership; 3. Include legislation to protect officially emplaced survey monuments from dam-age and to provide rights of access to surveyors so that they can make full use of these monuments; 4. Prescribe who may carry out cadastral surveys, prescribing qualifications for individual surveyors, for companies, and for institutions; 5. Indicate acceptable survey standards without prescribing the methods whereby these must be achieved.

From a legal perspective it is necessary to prescribe the qualifications of those who may conduct cadastral surveys. 1t is also necessary to establish the legal liability of the surveyor for work undertaken and for the consequences in the short and the long term of any errors in measurement.

In many countries the State guarantees the quality of work as far as the general public is concerned but may reserve the right to sue the surveyor in cases of negligence. Sometimes the responsibility remains forever with the surveyor. In either case, the licensed surveyor should hold professional indemnity assurance to protect the ordinary landowner. Clear contractual relationships need to exist between the surveyors and their clients, whether the latter are private citizens or the State.

The definition of legal liability is important, since quality control is more cost-effective when it is undertaken by sampling. Since this implies the risk of missing incorrect data, the level of risk and consequences of mistakes must be clear in order to prevent expensive, unnecessary and time-consuming checking of surveys.

7.7. Land parcel information Land registers have two main components: a textual description of each property; and a graphic representation or map often containing dimensional information. The latter is sometimes stored separately away from the text registers. The law should determine the extent to which information held on the registers is guaranteed.

The law should establish whether marks on the ground take precedence over measurements recorded in the registers in the re-establishment of boundaries or, if there is disagreement, whether the information shown on the plans must be followed.

The law should also establish the types of data that are held definitively on the registers and for which there is no need to look elsewhere. Thus the name of the owner, the type of tenure and the existence of mortgages should be guaranteed to prevent a purchaser from unknowingly buying a property that is already pledged as collateral.

Increasingly as registers are computerized and linked into wide area networks, the ownership and protection of the data within the registers become important. The law needs to lay down rights of access to the data, who is authorized to change entries on the registers, and who may use the information in ways or for purposes other than those for which it was provided.

The law should define: 1. The extent of legal liability for the accuracy of data; 2. The extent of rights of privacy over land and property information; 3. Who owns the copyright to data within the registers; 4. Who may have access to data; 5. Who may alter entries in the registers Many countries have laws on data protection while some have a freedom of information act. The balance between the rights of the citizen to privacy and the responsibilities of the State to manage land in the best interests of the community can be in conflict. In the Netherlands and Sweden the amount for which a property is mortgaged is treated as public information and can be seen by anyone who views the computerized registers.

In England such information is regarded as private and is no more available to public scrutiny than an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bank account.

The law needs to give a clear lead on who can do what with information.

Chapter Eight : Registration and Public Finance

This chapter examines the value of land, methods whereby value can be determined, and the nature of land and property markets.

It stresses the importance of land and property in the national economy. It considers the costs and benefits of improving land registration systems and reviews the potential for recovering fully the costs of operating a land registration system.

8.1. Value and the valuation of land Land is regarded as one of the basic elements from which a nation can derive wealth. Land is a natural thing that exists and is not created by humankind even though its use can be changed by human beings. Marsh land can, for example, be drained or land that was once covered by the sea can be reclaimed, thus creating more land for the construction of buildings.

All land and construction work may be considered to have a value. The value or worth of land depends on the purposes for which that value is determined-the value of a building for insurance purposes may not be the same as the price that it would fetch in an auction or on the open market. The estimation of the value or market price of a property is more an art than a science and depends on many external factors as well as the physical nature of the land or property.

In countries of east and central Europe that are currently in transition there was a cadastral system based on the Russian model. This cadastre focused on land use. Land was â&#x20AC;&#x153;valuedâ&#x20AC;? in terms of its agricultural potential based on soil types, climate, rainfall, etc. and the farmers were then instructed to grow

appropriate crops. This concept of the term “value” is only indirectly connected with the sort of valuations that are needed to manage land in a market economy.

8.1.1. The distinction between price, market, cost and value When estimating the value of land or property, appraisers make a careful distinction between the terms price, market, cost and value. The term price usually refers to a sale or transaction price and applies to an exchange: a price is an accomplished fact.

A price represents the amount that a particular purchaser agrees to pay and a particular seller agrees to accept under the circumstances surrounding the transaction.

Generally the circumstances of a transaction reflect conditions within one or several markets. A market is a set of arrangements in which buyers and sellers are brought together through the price mechanism.

A market may be defined in terms of geography, products or product features, the number of available buyers and sellers, or some other arrangement of circumstance.

A real-estate market is the interaction of individuals who exchange real-property rights for other assets, such as money.

Specific real-estate markets are defined on the basis of property type, location, income-producing potential, typical investor characteristics, typical tenant characteristics, or other attributes recognized by those participating in the exchange of real property. The market for new, single-family residences selling for ECU 100,000 and the market for older apartment buildings located near the central business district and available for renovation are examples of specific real-estate markets.

The term cost is used by appraisers in relation to production, not exchange; cost may be either an accomplished fact or a current estimate. Appraisers distinguish among several types of costs: direct costs, indirect costs, construction costs, and development costs.

Direct costs include expenditure on labor and materials necessary to construct a new improvement. They are also called hard costs. The contractor’s overheads and profit are generally considered to be direct costs.

Indirect costs incurred in construction refer to expenditure on items other than labour and materials. They include administrative costs; expenses incurred by the owner for professional fees, financing, taxes, and interest and insurance during construction; and lease-up costs, which are the net expenses of operating the project until it reaches a stable occupancy level. Indirect costs are sometimes referred to as soft costs.

Construction costs, or the contractor’s bid price, normally include the direct costs of labor and materials plus the contractor’s indirect costs.

Development costs are the costs involved in creating a property, including the land, and in bringing it to an efficient operating state. They are distinguished from the costs of constructing the improvements. Development costs include the profit of the developer or entrepreneur who brings the project into being.

These real estate-related expenditures are directly linked to the price of goods and services in competitive markets. For example, the costs of roofing materials, masonry, architectural plans, and rented scaffolding are determined by the interaction of supply and demand in specific areas and are subject to the influence of

social, economic, governmental, and environmental forces.

Price, market, and cost relationships also incorporate concepts of value. Value can have many meanings in real-estate appraisal; the applicable definition depends on the context and usage. In the market-place, value is commonly perceived as the anticipation of benefits to be obtained in the future. Because value exists at a given moment, an appraisal reflects value at a particular point in time.

Value at a given time represents the monetary worth of property, goods, or services to buyers and sellers. To avoid confusion, appraisers do not use the word value alone; instead they refer to “market value”, “use value”, “investment value”, “assessed value’’, or other specific kinds of value. Market value is the focus of most real-property appraisal assignments and its estimation is the purpose of most appraisals.

8.1.2. Methods of valuation The valuation process is applied to develop a well-supported estimate of the worth of a s property, taking into account all pertinent data. Appraisers estimate property value with specific procedures that reflect three distinct methods of data analysis: cost, sales comparison, and income capitalization. One or more of these approaches are used in all estimations of value. The approaches employed depend on the type of property, the use of the appraisal, and the quality and quantity of data available for analysis.

All three approaches are applicable to many appraisal problems, but one or more of the approaches may have greater significance for a specific task. For example, the cost approach may be inappropriate in valuing properties with older improvements that suffer substantial depreciation due to physical deterioration or that have become functionally outdated, all of which are difficult to estimate. The sales comparison approach can not be applied to very specialized properties, such as refuse disposal plants, because comparable data may not be available.

The income capitalization approach is rarely used to value owner occupied residential properties, although it may be used in conjunction with other data. Income capitalization can be particularly unreliable for the commercial or industrial property market. Wherever possible. appraisers should apply at least two approaches. The different values derived can serve as useful checks on one another.

8.1.3. Cost approach The cost approach is based on the understanding that the buyers and sellers relate value to cost. In this approach the value of a property is derived by adding the estimated value of the land to the current cost of constructing a reproduction or replacement for what is already on the land; from this the amount of depreciation, that is for deterioration and obsolescence, is subtracted to give a net value.

This approach is particularly useful in valuing new or nearly new improvements and properties that are not frequently sold in the market.

Cost approach techniques can also be used to derive information needed in the sales comparison and income capitalization approaches.

The current costs to construct the improvements can be obtained from cost estimators such as quantity surveyors, cost estimating

publications, builders, and contractors.

Depreciation is measured through market research and the application of specific valuation procedures. Land value is estimated separately in the cost approach.

8.1.4. Sales comparison approach The sales comparison approach is most useful when a number of similar properties have recently been sold or are currently up for sale. Using this approach, an appraiser produces an estimated value by comparing the property whose value is sought with similar properties, called comparable sales. The sales prices of the properties that are judged to be most comparable tend to indicate a range in which the estimated value for the target property will fall.

An appraiser estimates the degree of similarity or difference between the target property and the comparable sales by considering various elements of comparison such as: real property rights conveyed; financing terms; conditions of sale; market conditions; location; physical characteristics; economic characteristics; use; non-realty components of value.

Monetary values or percentage adjustments are then applied to the sales price of each comparable property with consideration for the real property interest involved. Adjustments are made to the sales prices of the comparable properties because the prices of these properties are known, while the value of the subject property is not. Through this comparative procedure, the appraiser estimates the value for a specific date.

Data such as income multipliers and income rates may also be extracted through sales comparison analysis. In the sales comparison approach, appraisers consider these data, but do not regard them as elements of comparison. These data are however applied in the income capitalization approach.

In countries in transition where there has been no market there may be few or no comparable properties. In such cases a best estimate must be made taking into account such matters as: (a) Site location: topography, soil characteristics; usable land area; building setback requirements; end of road or corner location; view and landscaping; street and alley access; railroad and waterway access; available utilities; distance to shops, etc.; nearby nuisances (noise, pollutants); land-use zone; (b) Building size: ground floor area; total floor area; leasable area; volume; building height; ceiling height; clear span: number of storeys; number of apartments:

(c) Construction quality: quality of materials; workmanship; architecture; (d) Construction materials: foundations; framing; floors; walls (exterior and interior); ceilings; roofs; (e) Other building features: number of rooms by type; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; plumbing facilities; fireplaces, etc.; additions and building extensions; porches and patios; swimming pools; shelters for motor cars; lifts; (f) Design: intended use; architectural style; shape of building; roof type; number of comers; (g) Age/extent of appreciation: chronological age; effective age;

remaining economic life; condition; etc.

8.1.5. Income capitalization approach In the income capitalization approach, the present value of the future benefits of property ownership is measured. A propertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s income streams and its resale value upon reversion may be capitalized into a present, lump-sum value. Two basic formulae are used in this approach: Income/Rate = Value Income x Factor = Value where Factor = l/Rate Like the cost and sales comparison approaches, the income capitalization approach requires extensive market research.

Research and data analysis for this approach are conducted against a background of supply and demand relationships, which provide information about trends and market anticipation.

An investor in an apartment building, for example, anticipates an acceptable return on the investment as well as a return of the invested funds. The level of return needed to attract investment capital is a function of the risk inherent in the property. Moreover, the level of return required by investors fluctuates with changes in money markets and the returns offered by alternative investments. Appraisers must be alert to the changes in investor requirements indicated by the current market for comparable investment properties and by changes in the more volatile money markets, which may suggest future trends.

The specific data that an appraiser investigates for this approach might include the propertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gross income expectancy, the expected reduction in gross income caused by vacancy and collection loss, the anticipated annual operating expenses, the pattern and duration of the propertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s income stream, and the anticipated resale value or the value of other real-property interest reversions.

After income and expenses are estimated, the income stream or streams are capitalized by applying an appropriate rate or factor, or converted into present value through discounting. In discounted cash-flow analysis, the quantity, variability, timing, and duration of a set of periodic incomes and the quantity and timing of the reversion are specified and discounted to a present value at a specified yield rate. The rates used for capitalization or discounting are derived from acceptable rates of return for similar properties.

8.2. Taxing land and property Behind the systems of valuation outlined above is the objective of taxing either the land or the buildings attached to it. Any system of taxation should: 1. Serve clearly defined social objectives; 2. Raise significant amounts of revenue; 3. Be exclusively under the control of the government authority; 4. Be administered in a way that the public understands and sees as fair; 5. Be relatively simple and cheap to collect; 6. Be designed to make it difficult to avoid making payments: 7. Distribute the tax burden equitably across the community; 8. Encourage the good use of resources.

Ultimately, it is a matter of political judgement as to whether it is fair and equitable to tax land and property. In many countries there is a land transfer tax while in others there are direct taxes either on the land or on the buildings or on both.

The fiscal cadastre is an instrument for administering land tax

policy. Although primarily a support for land value and property taxes, the data that are recorded within a fiscal cadastre can be used in the determination of other forms of tax, such as those imposed on personal wealth or on income derived from real estate. The latter include taxes on inheritance or what are sometimes called death duties.

A primary requirement for an efficient and effective fiscal cadastre is a set of current property maps that provide an index for compiling and maintaining valuation information. Such maps may be an integral part of the tax records or may be derived from data held in the land ownership registers. Property maps are necessary to ensure that all parcels are identified and that no parcel is taxed more than once. The approximate size, shape and location of the parcel, as depicted on the map, may be used in the actual valuation process.

The creation of a set of land and property tax records necessitates: 1. The identification and mapping of all properties which are to be taxed; 2. The classification of each property in accordance with an agreed set of characteristics relating to such matters as its use, size, type of construction and improvements; 3. The collection and analysis of relevant market data including data on sales prices, rental charges or building maintenance costs, together with details of the dates when these applied; 4. The determination of the value of each parcel in accordance with publicized procedures; 5. The identification of the person or persons who will be responsible for paying the tax; 6. The preparation of the valuation roll; 7. The notification of the individual property taxpayer of what has to be paid; 8. The collection of the appropriate taxes; 9. Appeals procedures for taxpayers who dispute their assessment.

8.3. Central valuation agencies In many countries there is a central valuation authority responsible for administering government valuations and, where such exists, the fiscal cadastre. Such an authority is usually under the control of the Ministry of Finance but has its own administrative structure and terms of reference.

A central valuation authority should provide a comprehensive land valuation service both to departments of central Government and to local authorities and advise Government on matters affecting the value of land.

It should carry out real-estate valuations where appropriate, for instance for: 1. Land and property taxation; 2. Calculating compensation to be paid where land is acquired for public purposes either by compulsory purchase or by agreement; 3. Determining compensation for any adverse consequences of planning decisions; and 4. Fixing the rent on government-owned property.

Most countries in transition have had cadastral systems that focused primarily on land-use data. Most do not yet have a central valuation authority, one reason having been the lack of qualified manpower capable of undertaking valuations.

Initially, valuations were undertaken by people who were untrained or inexperienced in the workings of a land market. A number of bilateral aid programs have addressed this problem and most countries are now developing the necessary skills in methods of valuation. Often how-ever these skills are at present outside the cadastre, where the main focus has been towards computerization.

Computerization of the processes of valuation has many advantages, since much of the data tends to be uniform in character, requiring repetitive processing and often quite complex analysis. Computers may be used in the creation and maintenance of valuation databases, to analyze price and cost data, to determine general market trends, to carry out investment and statistical analysis and to maintain departmental accounts and other records. The use of computers should lead to improvements in the levels of performance and service provided by an assessing office, particularly with regard to the accuracy and speed with which valuations can be undertaken.

They should reduce clerical costs and eventually reduce the unit cost of an appraisal or assessment. More efficient scheduling of the workload of each assessor should become possible and more and better information should be available for decision-making and overall administrative control.

There is some advantage in setting up a central valuation agency either within the cadastral authority or else in close cooperation with it in order to ensure: 1. A uniform application of laws and standards; 2. Greater economy, by the reduction in the duplication of records, staff and effort; 3. Greater potential for individuals to develop skills in specialized areas such as valuing plant and machinery, agricultural land, or mining sites; 4. The opportunity especially through computerization to coordinate large volumes of land sales data; 5. The monitoring of land sales to detect land speculation or to identify social or economic changes that are reflected in the land market data.

8.4. Land and property markets Land has also been regarded as the best kind of collateral in developed market economies. Systems for enabling land to be used for this purpose, and thereby laying the foundation for a well-functioning property market, are necessary ingredients in a functioning market economy. Real credits, that is loans based on real property as security, constitute a very large part of the credit market in most market economies.

The property market is therefore also an important part of the economy as a whole, especially considering that a very large part of the household investments are made in this market.

With this in mind, necessary steps must be taken in order to create a reliable and efficient basis for a property market. This is of great importance both for the economic development of society as a whole and for the prosperity of individual property owners.

Understanding the property market involves understanding not only the financial actors but also the processes such as planning, construction, etc. on which economic decisions depend. The property market shows many similarities with the stock market.

Investments in stocks or in property and the total sums involved are often of the same order. Recent developments in the countries in transition suggest that stock markets have been established quite rapidly, while the property markets lag far behind.

Since major domestic investment often does not exist, foreign investments are more common. These are geared towards the stock market, mainly because of the lack of information about real estate such as annual reports from the cadastral or land registration authorities, in contrast to

information more readily available on the stock exchange.

In a market economy it is the actors in the market that play the main role. The task of the public administration must, to a varying degree, be to take away the market imperfections, redistribute resources, and to put in place the legal framework to regulate the market’s behavior. This is done through rules and laws with different objectives. For both stock and property markets the public administration has taken a special role upon itself.

These roles are different in different countries because of different needs to protect the “minor actors” such as the smalltime investor or the family house owner. They differ in the ways in which they support the market and how they encourage investments and thereby also encourage economic growth.

All this is expressed in the form of rules about the delivery of annual reports, insider trading, property formation, mortgaging real property, development permits, purchase of real property, etc.

Another important ingredient is the division of responsibilities between different players in the market. There is, or should be, a clear and distinct division of responsibilities between the different “traders” and the various service functions that are required. In nearly all aspects the stock market has developed further than the land market, perhaps due to the much larger international influence, the existence of very large players and the relatively large extent of speculation in the market.

The property market needs access to common basic information.

This is of the utmost importance for the future. The property market crisis that both western European countries and the United States have gone through and in which many people have been left with negative equity illustrates the need for better land market information.

The land administrative activities such as planning, the issue of building and construction permits, and land registration are service functions that affect the land market and the economy as a whole.

8.5. Costs and benefits of land registration In this section, consideration is given to assessing the costs and benefits of existing as well as new systems of land administration. Many countries in transition have been restoring many of the elements of the system that they operated half a century ago without assessing the opportunities for innovation in line with modern requirements. All too often there has been little or no analysis of the costs and benefits of the old system and no quantitative assessment of the costs and benefits of new approaches.

In many cases, prejudice rather than careful assessment has indicated the way forward. Ultimately, decisions on investment may be made for political or social reasons and not solely on financial grounds, but this should not preclude careful analysis and evaluation of the options available.

Cost-benefit analysis is a support tool for making judgements and for setting priorities. It cannot provide definitive solutions, but, conversely, it is important to consider the costs and benefits, as an analysis of these will help to avoid wastage of resources and be a guide to those who must judge whether an investment should be made.

8.5.1. Investment appraisal and cost-benefit analysis The implementation of a land administration system requires investment in hardware, software, data and most of all in people. This investment must be maintained over time because keeping the records up to date at all times is an essential element of any land registration system. There are thus both short-term and long-term costs. Similarly, there are short-term and long-term benefits, many of which are difficult to quantify. They are none the less real and need to be identified to ensure that financial and human resources are properly targeted.

Investment appraisal is a series of techniques that involves the analysis of all prospective tangible costs and benefits as a means of helping those responsible for deciding whether to make an investment.

Cost-benefit analysis is a technique that attempts to assess the economic and social costs of any project and to compare these with the financial and social benefits of the investment. It extends the processes of investment appraisal into wider considerations such as the creation of a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;betterâ&#x20AC;? environment.

Investment, as strictly defined by economists, is expenditure on capital goods. In general it is taken to include the acquisition of any asset that requires some sacrifice to be made in order to obtain a benefit including investment in people or training as well as the purchase of hardware or software. Gross investment is expenditure that includes the replacement of worn-out equipment that is it includes the costs of depreciation; net investment ignores depreciation and the replacement of old equipment.

In some cases it is possible to measure activities in terms of the time that they take and the savings in time that would arise from using the system. It is however normal for the costs and benefits to be expressed in monetary terms, with time being equated with money on the basis of the wages that would be paid.

Because the costs and benefits will be spread over time, it is necessary to adjust any figures to a standard unit of currency.

The process of relating future money values to those at a given moment such as the date of the proposed start of a project is known as discounting.

Money available today can be invested to produce interest so that numerically it is worth more tomorrow; on the other hand, a given numerical amount of money tomorrow would be worth less than it is today because of inflation.

In comparing costs and benefits over time, it is necessary to standardize the unit of measurement by applying a factor depending on the date at which the benefits or costs are calculated. On the basis of the discounted cash flow the true profitability of an investment can be assessed.

The essential difference between investment appraisal and cost benefit analysis is that the latter incorporates an evaluation of intangible things that may be impossible to express in monetary terms.

8.5.2. Assessing costs It might appear relatively straightforward to estimate the costs of setting up a land administration system. In practice this is often not so. While it may be easy to ascertain the purchase price of new equipment, the ongoing cost of its storage, running costs and maintenance may be unclear. Every square metre of floor

space has an equivalent rental value and every piece of equipment represents a gross investment the value of which depreciates over time. Labour costs are often the most significant component of any organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget.

In order to recover these costs, the time spent on a job by an individual worker must be charged at a rate that is higher than the actual amount paid in salary to that person. At least 25 per cent may need to be added for payments made for national insurance and towards the staff memberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pension scheme. In addition, there are the costs of overheads such as the rent on office accommodation, heating, lighting, telephone and mail services, office support staff such as office cleaners, telephone operators and secretarial staff, and even senior management, a proportion of whose costs must be distributed between each project undertaken by the organization. These costs can add 150 per cent to 200 per cent on top of what is paid directly to those who do the work.

The average time that a worker spends productively per year is variously estimated at from 1,500 to 1,800 hours. This takes into account holiday time, sickness, absence for social reasons, periods for retraining, etc. Taking the lower figure and a 200 per cent overhead, the annual salary of a staff member needs to be divided by 500 in order to calculate the real cost per hour for his or her services. Thus the hourly costs for someone on an annual salary of ECU 20,000 would be ECU 40, or ECU 320 for an average working day. More highly skilled and highly paid staff would need to be costed at higher rates.

In addition to the labor costs, equipment costs must be considered. There are commercial rates for hiring equipment and although these rates contain a profit margin for the company undertaking the hiring, they provide a good measure of what equipment costs even if it is purchased in-house. The advantage of hiring is that there should be no amortization costs and equipment can be replaced when a newer and better item comes on the market. If it has only limited use then rather than purchase an item of equipment, it may be better for a government department to hire it or to put work out to the private sector.

As an example, some government organizations only occasionally need to scan or print large maps and may find it cheaper to subcontract work than to buy the necessary equipment. If equipment is purchased then it must be amortized as an asset and money must be set aside for its maintenance and subsequent replacement. Maintenance contracts can be taken out but are expensive being between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of the purchase price. A judgement must be made of the financial consequences of any equipment breakdown. If the land registry is to provide data on-line to the public, then there would be need for immediate repair; but if the equipment were a personal computer that could be replaced easily and cheaply then a maintenance contract might not be cost-effective.

Frequently, data and equipment may be shared between different parts of an organization, each part having its own cost or budget centre. Thus digital maps may be purchased for one section of a municipal authority, for instance the highways department, that could be used by others, such as the planning or refuse collection departments.

Cost sharing arrangements may need to be worked out, but can prove difficult due to local internal politics and available budgets.

The assessment of intangible costs is also difficult. These will

include worker resistance to new technology, traditional attitudes to job security, changes in work patterns and levels of responsibility within an organization. Some people may receive promotion but others may find their work less creative and more routine. In a full cost-benefit analysis all these factors must be taken into account.

Economists sometimes adopt the “Pareto” criterion, which states that in order for a change to be justified, at least one person should be better off and no person should be worse off. Thus, where possible losers are identified, action must be taken to ensure that they are compensated. This will add to the costs.

The Pareto criterion can take into account ethical issues.

There is however a danger that it will be used as an argument against any form of change. By emphasizing the effects on people it can also overlook environmental impact. This is often difficult to measure but is none the less important to consider.

8.5.3. Calculating benefits Calculating benefits is even more difficult than evaluating costs.

A price can be put on some activities such as improved services, quicker and cheaper conveyancing or the more effective collection of taxes thus bringing in more revenue to Government. Some of these benefits will be “one-off”, while others will occur on a continual basis.

Some benefits are, however, not directly measurable in cash, such as a better environment or greater security of tenure. Some benefits will be relatively immediate in that they represent more cost-effective methods for doing what is already being done; others will be longer-term and may arise only some years after the system has been introduced.

The extent of benefits will depend very much on the type and number of users of the system. The needs of urban communities will, for example, be different from those in rural areas. Thus there is no point in a cadastral system holding records of soils data for city centres; conversely, recording of data on street lights is of less importance in most country areas. For each category of data there may be a different type of user and hence a different degree of benefit.

In seeking to assess benefits and to determine “value for money” as a result of new investment in a land administrative system, it is useful to carry out a user requirements analysis. This should: 1. Identify who the existing and potential users are; 2. Document what information is already available; 3. Identify potential new data sets that should be helpful to land managers, tax gatherers, the general public, etc.; 4. Determine any legal requirements to provide data or that might restrict their use (this is especially so in the case of central and local government data sets where any data protection act may inhibit the use of data for purposes other than that for which they were collected); 5. Evaluate each data set in terms of its costs to acquire, to store and to update; and 6. Evaluate the benefits that should come from each data set.

The above list is simply cited as an example. Detailed interviews will need to be undertaken in order to establish the nature and extent of what people need and the savings that would be made from the proposed system.

Part of the benefit would then be the difference between the

operational costs as at present and the operational costs using a new system. In some forms of analysis the capital investment costs are ignored and only the running costs are considered. The issue then becomes one of whether the new system will be cheaper to operate than the old.

Where the value of benefits is intangible, estimates can be made using the judgement of experts and experienced managers. They are asked to weight the benefits. Scores are then allocated for the importance of specific tasks-for instance with regard to the meeting of specific business goals. Based on these assignments possible savings calculated in monetary terms and hence a range of savings can be estimated for alternative strategies.

8.5.4. Comparing costs and benefits When all the costs and benefits have been identified and if possible quantified, a balance sheet can be drawn up. The measurable, direct costs and benefits can be set beside a list of intangible, indirect costs and benefits. In the final balance sheet, all forms of cost and benefit should, however, be included.

When all the data have been assembled, a judgement must be made as to whether; I particular level of investment is justified. Often 90 per cent of the benefits can be obtained for SO per cent of cost increasing accuracy and precision in cadastral mapping may, for example, add significantly to its costs but add only marginal benefits. Ultimately, cost-benefit analysis is a tool to help in decision-making and is not a replacement for human judgement.

8.6. Financing and sources of funding There are in principle three different forms for financing a land administration system: financing by tax; financing by fees; financing by commission. Financing by tax means that there is no connection between the activity from which the tax is drawn and the grant that is given by the Government (national or local) to an agency in order to finance an activity. Financing by fees means that an applicant pays for a service and that there is a connection between the fee and the cost for the service. The tariff is decided by the Government. The fees can go directly or indirectly to the agency. Financing by commission means that an applicant pays for a service and that the agency that offers the service has the authority to decide about the tariff based on rules set by the Government.

These different forms of financing are often used in the same country, but in connection with different activities. This is the case in Sweden, where activities that have a direct applicant are generally subject to a fee or commission, while activities that are more connected to the rule of law or the overall public good are financed by grants. The fees charged are however often set at a level so that they contribute, indirectly, to the financing of the grants.

For the countries in transition it is often necessary to develop the fundamental organization and legislation for cadastral activities and land registration as well as the information infrastructure that have become part of more developed market economies.

This requires funding that is not available domestically. For obvious reasons the various development banks, aid agencies, etc., are the most frequent funding sources used in such instances.

The introduction of a proper cadastral system and a reliable way of keeping records of land ownership are necessary, but the

benefits of these systems (and the information that they produce) will have to be presented in more detail before any funding can be secured.

These benefits are difficult to put in figures, but some examples can be of interest. The annual amount of stamp duty, paid by applicants to the land register agencies in Sweden is between 4 and 5 billion Swedish kronor (SKr). The total value of real property units in Sweden that form the base for taxation is calculated at about SKr 1,372 billion. The total amount of real property tax levied is about SKr 16 billion per year. The total amount of mortgage bonds issued in Sweden as security is about SKr 1,600 billion. These figures show the great importance of the real property sector. The cost of running the cadastral organization, land registration and a land information system is a very small part of the total economy of the sector.

As a complement to foreign aid contributions there are other possibilities of financing the building-up of a register. In recent times big computer companies have made offers to finance the building-up of such registers. In return they want part of the future fees. This at least illustrates the vast potential that the use of basic land information, mainly in the form of details about land ownership, has in a market economy.

8.7. Marketing land registry and cadastral data In recent years, there has been a major shift in the thinking of Governments about the costs and benefits of many of the services traditionally subsidized by the taxpayer. Many Governments have been seeking ways to both reduce the costs of land registration, especially surveying and mapping, and increase the revenue that can be generated from the products and services that are provided. Greater emphasis is now placed on making the user pay and on reducing general government expenditure.

Increased cost recovery can however increase consumer resistance and there is no doubt that the community as a whole benefits from a sound land registration system as well as the individual landowner.

In almost every country, cadastral mapping for land titling and for land taxation has been prepared either with large State subsidies or has been totally underwritten by the State. Even where the private sector has been involved in surveys for land registration, the full costs of the system have not been passed on to the landowners.

Frequently, the true costs have not even been calculated. Government departments have been run on annual allocations of funds that have rarely been tied to measures of productivity and many have had no accurate way of determining the unit cost of the products and services that they offer.

Today, in an increasing number of countries, policies are in place to encourage maximum efficiency and optimum income generation. The higher the level of cost recovery, the more an organization ought to be able to invest in the development of new products and services and invest in new technology.

If the level of cost recovery is too low then there must be cross subsidies from other parts of the organization which, in the case of government activities, means the general taxpayer.

Land registries store a wealth of information that can be used for many purposes other than to support conveyancing.

Determining the optimum price that can be charged for cadastral data is often difficult especially where there is no market already

established. Information as a commodity does not behave in the same way as physical products. For instance, someone who possesses information can sell the product to one person, give it to another and still retain it for future use. Those who own a tangible object such as a computer cannot dispose of it and at the same time retain it.

Information cannot be divided without significantly changing its nature, unlike, for example, electricity, to which a series of devices can be connected so that the product is divided but still operational. Furthermore, information increases through use, provided that it is kept up to date; material products in general wear out through use.

The price that should be charged for cadastral information can be established in a number of different ways. One is based on the production costs.

In the case of a digital cadastral map, for example, the price can be set on the basis of the costs that were incurred in its production, to which could be added a margin for profit. This would then be divided by the estimated number of maps that would be expected to be sold to give a market price of, for example, ECU 200. However, the technology exists to store 3,000 such maps on one optical disk at marginal additional cost.

Such a disk would almost certainly never sell if the price were ECU 600,000.

Production costs do not relate to the value of the product to a user-a US$ 100 bill costs hardly anything to print but is still worth US$ 100. An alternative way to establish the price is therefore to find out what the market will bear. If the price is too high, the products will not sell. If they sell very rapidly then it may be possible to increase the price.

A further strategy would be to find out what savings could be made through the use of the product in comparison to current practice. Thus if the possession of a paper map saves a motorist ECU 20 per year in fuel through more efficient selection of journey routes, and if the map is likely to last a year before becoming worn-out, then it would be worth the motorist paying ECU 19 for the map but not ECU 21 unless other factors came into play. Such calculations can, of course, become very complicated and presume that it is possible to establish the uses to which any cadastra1 information will be put. To do so necessitates carrying out a user requirements analysis.

In some countries it is not government policy to charge for the collection of data that are an essential part of a government departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work. In such cases a charge may be made for the cost of making the data available, for instance the cost of photocopying or the cost of providing computerized access, but without recovering any of the actual costs of acquiring the data.

A particular characteristic of many land administration systems is that the data are often guaranteed by the State, In some land ownership record systems the information is treated as the best evidence available, but is not necessarily definite proof of ownership and is not guaranteed. There is a cost to guaranteeing data and this is often absorbed by the State.

For private sector data, the relationship between the cadastral data provider and the data user should be subject to clear contractual arrangements setting out the extent of liability and guarantees on the quality of data. Protection for the consumer may be provided through indemnity insurance, whereby compensation is paid to the data user if there is loss as a result of

mistakes made. This cost must initially be borne by the data provider but will inevitably be passed on to the consumer in due course.

In order to protect the investment of the data provider, all copying of data should be protected through copyright laws.

After some initial uncertainties over the status of data stored in electronic form, it is now possible in many legal systems to protect intellectual property rights and investment in data through copyright law. The price that is charged for cadastral data must be such as to give the data producer sufficient incentive and protection. Unauthorized copying of data, like stealing from other people, deprives those who have invested time, effort and capital of just reward. Although copyright is in part a moral issue, the primary objective of copyright protection is commercial.

8.8. Recommendations In order to encourage investment within a market economy, the State should establish mechanisms whereby land markets can operate efficiently and effectively. The State needs to determine the value of real property when assessing land and property for taxation, when calculating the level of compensation for land that is compulsorily acquired for State purposes, and when fixing the rent of State-owned real property.

An efficient land market requires skilled valuers, who can advise on the fair market price for land and property. The State should ensure that adequate educational facilities exist to train such valuers.

The creation of a central valuation agency can ensure that the valuation of all land and real property meets the needs of the State. Since many valuations are based on comparisons between one property asset and other real estate, good land and property records must be maintained. The cost-effectiveness of new land administration systems or of improving existing systems should be assessed. Cost-benefit analysis is a useful tool for helping to determine better solutions to land administration problems.

Strategies should be developed to increase cost recovery when operating a land administration system. Land information that is held by the State is an asset that can be used to generate revenue.

Chapter Nine : Land-Use Planning and Registration

This chapter examines the role of the cadastre in land-use planning. It places particular emphasis on urban land management and rural land reform. It also considers the impact of physical planning on the environment and the creation of optimum conditions for sustainable development and the protection of the environment. Finally, it considers the role that geographic information system technology can have in managing spatial data within a land information system.

9.1 The role of the cadastre in physical planning In seeking to create a strong economy, every country must implement strategies for planning and development so as to improve the infrastructure and create a better environment.

Physical planning is the process whereby changes to the environment can be brought about through formal procedures. It involves: 1. Reviewing and understanding the existing environment; 2. Defining the problems that need to be solved; 3. Determining alternative courses of action; 4. Evaluating the options for change; 5. Selecting an appropriate strategy after consultation with those affected; 6. Implementing that strategy and monitoring its consequences; and 7. Operating within a formal legislative framework.

Physical planning is the process of allocating resources, particularly land, in order to achieve maximum efficiency while respecting the nature of the environment and the welfare of the community.

The manner in which physical planning is conducted depends on the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political system and on the division of responsibility between different parts of government. Some responsibilities will lie with the central Government while others may be devolved to the local level.

Physical planning must operate in conjunction with land registration, since it involves measures that create new subdivisions of the land and new patterns of land use.

Failure to identify existing patterns and rights of ownership frequently leads to delays or even failure in development programs, especially in urban areas.

There must be legally defined procedures for the compulsory acquisition and reallocation of rights in land and appeals mechanisms so that the confidence of the public in the security of their titles can be upheld.

Land policy and physical planning must provide compensation for owners of land whose rights are affected by any project. The powers vested in the public authorities under the planning system should permit settlements to be reached in the case of disputes over proposed developments, including the

distribution of the costs-especially where there is land re-allotment or land expropriation.

Physical planning is also concerned with the provision of any necessary infrastructure, and with appropriate legal regulations including by-laws relating to the quality of building and construction.

The first requirement in any development program is an identification of the present pattern of ownership and use of the land.

Difficulties will always be encountered in laying out new sites and in implementing development plans until detailed maps and knowledge about ownership rights and other rights in land become available. Planning activities require information related to land both at the stage of formulating policy and when carrying it out.

In order to manage land-related development projects, there must be an information system them that is capable of meeting all the relevant needs.

Cadastral maps can form the basis for such a system and they are increasingly being used for purposes other than land registration.

Cadastral maps can serve as the basis for recording construction permits, for urban and rural planning, for environmental studies and other fields of activity required by the law.

To fulfill this multi-purpose function, a cadastral system can no longer concentrate only on the documentation of real property.

Additional information about forests, buildings, roads and rivers not only helps landowners to define the extent of their properties but is also important for the management of construction, planning and environmental projects. Physical planners require geodetic information about land parcels including their identifier reference and other attributes in the same way as the cadastre and the land registry.

Political decisions based on statutory law often impact upon private rights-for example, in relation to the compulsory purchase of land for development. Such decisions must be taken in the full knowledge of the facts and this means that they must be based on complete and up-to-date information.

It is very important for physical planning to have a formal relationship with the land administration system because of the impact that development proposals will have on the land and the associated land rights. The executive authority responsible for planning and development must adopt administrative procedures that work closely with the cadastral system.

If the executive authority seeks to create new land-use patterns without integrating its work with the land administration system then the implementation of development programs will almost certainly be delayed and may ultimately fail.

Administrative procedures for matching cadastral and land registry data with planning data must be established especially at the local level. There are always inherent dangers that: 1. Changes in the shape of land parcels may be recorded by the cadastral authorities and reported to the land registry, but not accepted by the latter since the appropriate legal procedures have not been followed; 2. Subdivisions of the land brought about through inheritance may be legally documented in one way in the land registers but a different pattern of land use may be adopted by the heirs; as a result, the cadastral records that are based on the land use may not conform with the

records of ownership; 3. Technical inconsistencies may occur whereby old measurement units and old parcel references appear in legal documents that do not accord with the planning and cadastral registers.

It is particularly important with the growth of computerized networked information systems that inconsistencies are eliminated. The records of permanent changes to the land that are held by both the cadastre and the land registry must be based on the juridical status of the land parcel and must be compatible with each other.

9.2 Land-use planning in urban centres Changes in urban land use will take place as a result of the implementation of new urban plans. Such plans may be prepared either to accommodate urban expansion, or to create new towns in accordance with resettlement schemes, or to improve the existing environmental infrastructure.

Redevelopment occurs where general improvements are needed to the urban environment, for example to alter traffic flows or to attract real property investments; or where urban centres need to be substantially rebuilt as a result of major social and political change.

Physical planning can result in value being added to real property through improvements to buildings and their associated infrastructure, or by permitting the change of land use for example from agriculture or forestry to residential or commercial purposes. Physical improvements to buildings make only small differences to the market price in comparison to changes in the permitted use. Sometimes referred to as betterment, the increase in value brought about by formally permitting the change in use of land is often proportionally very large and may be subject to specific taxes.

Conversely, there is rarely compensation for â&#x20AC;&#x153;worsenmentâ&#x20AC;? when the characteristics of property are adversely affected, for instance by a decision to build a motorway or airport nearby.

Physical planning is primarily concerned with future land use.

Land use is the interaction between land rights and land management. It includes the enjoyment of the land and the rights that are associated with it. A prerequisite for the preparation of a development plan is a land-use survey. This should: 1. Define the present use of the land; 2. Identify changes that are taking place and the rates of these changes, for example in urban expansion; 3. Link land-use data to other physical and social data; 4. Provide an analysis of areas by quantitative means using a variety of statistical measures; 5. Prepare models of change over time and space; and 6. Present the results of the survey in a manner that both decision makers and the public at large can understand.

A development plan should encompass the whole area of a community. It should identify the way that all the land should be used and be based on the predictable requirements of the community. The basic outline plan for a given area should then specify: 1. Areas to be set aside for building and construction-such works must be in compliance with building regulations; 2. Commercial areas for the supply and distribution of goods and services; 3. Public areas with facilities for hospitals, schools, churches and cemeteries, serving the medical, educational, religious, social and cultural needs of the community; 4. Routeways for local major and minor roads and for long distance

transport, and areas for parking lots; 5. Areas for railway and tramway services; 6. Areas for utility infrastructure, including the main networks for water, gas, electricity, and central heating; 7. Areas for sewage, waste management and refuse disposal, and for waste-water purification; 8. Parks and gardens, sports grounds, playgrounds, camping sites, and bathing places; 9. Water areas, harbours, areas intended for water management, and areas for coastal and river protection against high waters; 10. Landfill sites and mining areas; 11. Agricultural and forest areas; 12. Environmental protection areas, and sites of special scientific interest; 13. Other areas to meet the needs of the community or town.

Once the outline development plan has been approved, a more detailed plan for each local area can be prepared. As with the outline plan, this local area plan should be legally binding. It will define in greater detail than the outline plan such matters as: 1. The type of buildings that may be constructed; 2. The manner of construction and the position of structures; 3. The minimum permitted dimensions of any parcel (width, depth, area) and the maximum size of parcel.

4. The maximum permissible number of flats in any housing unit; 5. Areas for the construction of housing that will be completely or partially financed out of public funds to meet social needs; 6. Areas for housing groups of persons with special housing requirements; 7. The precise boundaries of commercial and industrial estates; 8. Areas to remain uncultivated as a reserve for future development; 9. Public and private green areas such as gardens, private permanent plots, sports grounds, playgrounds, camping sites, bathing places, cemeteries, etc.; and 10. Areas with other purposes in accordance with development plans and other regulations.

9.3. Land consolidation and reallocation Land consolidation is a process designed to improve land where the ownership has become uneconomic due to the small size of the holdings. This fragmentation is often the consequence of a system of inheritance in which the land is divided between heirs.

It can result either in many scattered parcels of land belonging to one person (multiplicity of parcels) or else many shares being held by different people in one piece of land (multiplicity of owners).

To manage the land more efficiently, land consolidation may need to be carried out. The owners surrender all their small parcels or shares in the land and are allocated one or more larger parcels that are approximately equivalent in value to their original holding but which can be used more economically.

Land reallocation may occur when the State decides to redevelop an area for the benefit of the wider community. To do so it will need to acquire land and pay compensation either in the form of money or new land given to those who have to be moved to facilitate the development.

Whatever the reasons for land consolidation or reallocation, the initial processes are the same and require the clear identification of all those landowners and occupiers who will be affected. The decision to carry out land reallocation must be published widely so that all who may be affected can be informed. Full publicity is essential and whatever means that are customary for notifying the local community must be used including local radio and advertisements in the local press.

The area to be subject to land reform must be formally defined and the procedures that arc then followed must conform to the law. A cadastral plan showing the current state of ownership should be prepared together with a list of all the properties within the proposed development area. The plan showing the current state of ownership should comprise as a minimum the following data on each land parcel: the names of the landowners; the existing boundaries of all parcels; the size, shape and value of each parcel; in the case of urban properties, the street names and house numbers, and any encumbrances and other restrictions entered on the land register.

A basic condition for carrying out redevelopment is an orderly maintained cadastre. In the course of redeveloping a particular area it may be found that, in some cases, what has actually been constructed does not conform with the official cadastral plan of the area. In such cases it may be necessary to redesign the layout, especially in built-up areas, so that new construction can fit in with the position, shape and size of existing buildings. At the same time the cadastral records will have to be brought up to date and in harmony with the actual situation.

The prime responsibility for designing the layout for new development areas should lie with the local authority who must at all times work closely with the cadastral service and land registry.

In the process of redevelopment there are the following participants: 1. All owners of cadastral parcels in the development area; 2. All holders of formal rights including use rights that are recorded in the land registers; 3. Holders of rights that are not registered in the land registers, including any claimants to the land, for example claims to inheritance; 4. The local authority; 5. Contractors who provide public utility infrastructure.

Prior to designing the layout of individual land parcels, the local authority will need to set aside areas for: local traffic and highways, roads including pedestrian paths, access road units, squares and other traffic areas; surfaces for parking lots, green surfaces including playgrounds and environmental protection facilities. After land has been allocated to meet the needs of the local authority and the utility infrastructure contractors, the rest can be distributed either according to the value of the land or to the size of the plots.

Upon completing the discussion with owners and right holders, those responsible for re-parcelling the area should produce a map with textual annexes. The map should show the future layout of parcels in the area, indicating the boundaries and boundary marks for the new parcels and the area of each plot. The textual section should provide complete data on each new land parcel and identify its owner.

Details of the full project should be officially available to the local community, but in addition all the participants should be provided with a project extract relating to their rights. There should then be a designated period, for instance 60 days, during which participants can appeal against the proposed plans. Once this period has expired, and after having settled all possible complaints, the local authorities may then agree that the proposed layout can take legal effect so that construction work can begin.

9.4. Environmental monitoring and geographic information systems

Every development strategy must recognize that all nations have a responsibility not only for their own environment, but also for contributing to environmentally sound and sustainable development worldwide. Multi-purpose cadastral records can store much environmentally related information.

At present, however, such records are rarely maintained within the Cadaster and it is difficult to forecast the precise level of investment needed for environmental protection as a percentage of the total industrial investment. Many countries tend to direct their environmental policies at repairing past environmental damage rather than at anticipating and preventing future damage.

In the rural areas, the demand for land for infrastructure expansion often puts pressure on land currently used for agricultural production. Similarly, the need to increase agricultural productivity can also lead to land reforms, including the siting and servicing of new human settlements and the provision of new energy and transport systems. This can result in conflict between environmental and resource management though it can also provide opportunities for environmental improvement and the rational use of resources if there is wise planning.

The cadastre can be used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments and in monitoring the consequences of development and construction projects. All environmental data relate to some point or area of the Earth and can be spatially referenced and linked to cadastral and topographic maps using geographic information system (GIS) technology.

A GIS is a computerized system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analysing and displaying data which are spatially referenced to the Earth. Using GIS technology, planners can ask such questions as: 1. What can be found at a particular point?

2. What can be found within a predefined area?

3. Where can a particular feature be found?

4. Between two events, what has changed?

5. Which is the best route through a network?

6. Is there any particular pattern to a set of events?

7. What will happen if plan A is adopted rather than plan B? The quality of answers depends on the quality of the data and the quality of the processing. Some of these questions require factual answers that can be obtained by retrieving data from the database. Other questions can only be answered if there are models, especially mathematical models, to simulate what is required.

Many spatial statistics are as yet unrefined and although models exist, for example to predict the traffic flow along a proposed new road, many models used up until now have proved unreliable. This has in part been because of poor-quality data.

Data must be fit for the purpose for which they were collected, both in terms of geometric accuracy and in terms of textual meaning. Experience shows that if the quality of the data is poor even good processing will not put that right. Similarly, good data that are processed badly will increase the risk of bad decisions being made.

The types of analysis and display that are built into a GIS are known as its functionality. The ways in which a GIS can capture, store, check, retrieve and integrate data are part of its functionality, as are its ability to query and analyze data.

Examples of functionality include the ability of a GIS to display and analyze all data that fall within an area with a specified number of metres on either side of a proposed road alignment; or to show what area will be flooded and what the landscape will look like if a dam of a certain height were constructed at a specific location.

The applications of GIS technology are many and varied though they broadly fall into four categories: (a) Environment: soils and geology; watercourses; vegetation; wildlife; (b) Infrastructure: utilities; buildings; transport; communications; (c) Legal: tenure; valuation; land use; law and order; (d) Socio-economic: health; welfare; population census; marketing.

GIS is an integrating technology allowing value to be added to products and services by linking data from different sources.

The solution to many environmental problems lies in stricter land-use control either through legal or financial restrictions on rights to use the land. Such restrictions affect the manner in which land is administered and hence affect the local cadastral system.

9.5. Recommendations Physical planning imposes restrictions on how the land may be used. The cadastre should be seen as a tool whereby information on the existing and permitted uses of the land can be recorded.

A land administration system should ensure that there is easy access, possibly through linked computer networks, to all important data relating to the ownership, value and use of the land.

Legislation to control the physical development of land and property should specify how development plans are created and how they are approved. When setting out new land parcels especially when subdividing plots of land and in programs concerned with land consolidation and land reallocation, the new layout should conform to prescribed standards.

The use of geographic information systems (GIS) should be considered when analyzing data relevant to the preparation of development plans.

Chapter Ten : Institutional Arrangements for Registration

This chapter discusses institutional arrangements in support of land administration. It focuses on how countries in transition can learn from the experiences of countries with long-established market economies but with different approaches to public and private sector involvement. It recognizes that organizational structures differ widely from country to country and hence only issues of broad policy are considered.

10.1. Land policy Land management involves the implementation of fundamental policy decisions about the nature and extent of investments in the land. It thus involves routine operational decisions made each day by land administrators such as surveyors, valuers, and land registrars. From an institutional perspective, land management includes the formulation of land policy, the legal framework, resource management, land administration arrangements, and land information management. It entails both government and private initiatives.

Land policy consists of a whole complex of socio-economic and legal prescriptions that dictate how the land and the benefits from the land are to be allocated. A balance must be struck between the exploitation, utilization and conservation of the land as a resource in order to obtain the necessary level of

sustainable development for the survival of humankind.

It is for this reason that political ideologies focus on land policy and the land administration process. Just as there are different ideologies, so there are different land policies; hence different approaches to land administration have evolved. Even between countries with market-oriented economies there are great differences, especially with regard to the institutional arrangements. The roles of the public and private sectors differ widely, as do the ways of organizing and managing the public sector.

10.2. Land administration activities Land administration includes the functions involved in regulating the development and use of the land, gathering revenue from the land (through sale, lease, or taxation, etc.), and resolving conflicts concerning the ownership and use of the land.

It is concerned both with private lands and public lands and involves: land settlement; land survey; land registration; land valuation and assessment; land-use control and management; infrastructure and utilities management.

Land administration is the process of recording and distributing information about the ownership, value and the use of land and its associated resources. Such processes include the determination or adjudication of rights and other attributes of the land, the survey and description of these, their detailed documentation and the provision of relevant information in support of land markets.

10.3. Land information management Land management must be based on knowledge, knowledge depends on information, and information depends on the methods of data collection and the manner in which their results are communicated. Land-related information is an important and expensive resource that must be managed efficiently in order to maximize its potential benefits.

Land information management entails: 1. Determining the requirements of the State and of the general public for land-related information; 2. Examining how the information is actually used in the decision-making process, how information flows from one producer or user to another, and what constraints there are upon that flow; 3. Developing policies for determining priorities, allocating the necessary re-sources, assigning responsibilities for action, and setting standards of performance and methods for monitoring them; 4. Improving existing land information systems or introducing new ones; 5. Assessing and designing new tools and techniques; and 6. Ensuring that matters of privacy and data security are respected.

The International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) has defined a land information system (LIS) as a tool for legal, administrative and economic decision-making and an aid for planning and development.

A land information system consists, on the one hand, of a database containing spatially referenced land-related data for a defined area and, on the other, of procedures and techniques for the systematic collection, updating, processing

and distribution of the data. The base of a land information system is a uniform spatial referencing system, which also simplifies the linking of data within the system with other land related data.

Land information systems consist of human and technical resources which together with appropriate organizing procedures are applied to the collection, storage, retrieval, dissemination and use of land-related information. They may focus on environmental, infrastructure, cadastral or socioeconomic information. They may be designed to serve one primary function, or they may be multi-functional.

Some of the most important systems relate to land, especially the more broad-based systems being developed around the land parcel as the basic spatial unit. The operation of such systems includes the acquisition and assembly of data; their processing, storage, and maintenance; and their retrieval, analysis, and dissemination.

The usefulness of such a system depends upon being up to date, accurate, complete, and accessible, and upon the extent to which the system is designed for the benefit of the user rather than for the producer of the information.

10.4 .Organization and management Governments must play the major role in formulating the land policy and the principles of their land administration systems, including the land legislation and land-related regulations. In doing so they must address a number of major issues, including: 1. Intergovernmental coordination; 2. Centralization and decentralization; 3. Status of the registration offices; 4. The role of the public and private sectors; 5. Mechanisms to ensure that user needs are met; 6. Administration of cadastre data; 7. Management of cadastral organizations; 8. Management of human resources; 9. Research; 10. Education and training; 11. Consultancies and technical aid; 12. International cooperation.

10.4.1. Intergovernmental coordination Every Government delegates the implementation of its land policy to its ministries and departments or to other governmental authorities. In addition it may receive appropriate levels of support from the private sector.

The structure of most Governments includes a cabinet or central decision-making body, and a series of ministries. Since land policy concerns social, economic and legal disciplines, several ministries may have an interest in the implementation of land policy. In many countries in transition there are poor channels of communication and limited cooperation between these different ministries.

Rarely do Governments have an integrated policy with regard to land or land information management. There is often a lack of guidelines for instance on how to handle copyright and the ownership of data, on pricing policies or who may have access to government-held data sets. Each ministry often makes up its own rules.

In developed market economies there is normally one governmental authority that has the main responsibility for land administration; in countries in transition there are often two, one concerned with agriculture and the rural sector, and the other

with urban affairs and construction and development.

Cooperation between such authorities depends more on personalities than on policies.

The detailed execution of a land administration system should preferably be supervised by one government department or ministry. The designation of one agency that will be responsible for policy formulation and for the overall control of the land administration system is often a controversial issue since the control of information provides a degree of power to those responsible for managing the system.

Lead agencies often have their own priorities and give less weight to other interested parties. Lawyers can give precedence to conveyancing and legal issues, while land surveyors are often more concerned with the precision with which property boundaries are surveyed than with cost or delivery times.

Tax authorities are concerned with value more than land-use management, while regional planners are concerned more with broad trends than individual technical details. Agriculturists concentrate on the interest of those in rural areas, and town planners on the urban environment. It is therefore important to undertake a thorough investigation of the needs of users and of their relative priorities.

In countries in transition, systems have been driven from the centre and not by the public. Those responsible for the cadastre have not been accustomed to responding to user needs, especially those of private individuals. A lead agency must be seen to be neutral and to take fair and balanced account of the interest of all parties.

Whereas a single organization has much merit, in many countries there are dual systems: the cadastre that records property boundaries and data for tax authorities and a separate legal registration system under the control of lawyers. Such an arrangement can lead to duplication of effort, additional costs, inconsistencies and, hence, inaccuracies in the data, and a danger of confusion resulting in wrong decisions being made.

In practice, evolving national land information systems have often been driven more by the strength of the personalities of those involved than by an objective assessment to determine the best institutional arrangements.

In principle, however, the organization that is chosen to lead the land administration system must be able to: 1. Meet the needs of all users in both the public and private sectors without bias or favor; 2. Develop land information management policies in line with those of the national Government; 3. Set and monitor technical standards, especially for data capture, including field survey, data processing and data exchange; 4. Provide â&#x20AC;&#x153;methodological guidanceâ&#x20AC;? to ensure that all procedures are well understood and new opportunities for improvement are identified; 5. Make recommendations for improving the efficiency of all land administration processes in the light of changing circumstances; 6. Recommend changes to the law where these will improve the service to be provided; 7. Archive data that are needed in the long-term national interest; 8. Undertake production work where it is in the national interest for that work to be undertaken by Government, for example where military matters are involved; 9. Address matters of personal privacy and the

confidentiality of data in order to protect interests of all.

10. Define the legal liability of public sector and private sector data providers and ensure that title to land is guaranteed.

Provided that such activities are undertaken, it is then a matter of political judgement as to which ministry or institution can best fulfill the lead function. One mechanism for ensuring closer intra-governmental cooperation is to establish a land administration coordination board. The role of such a board would be to ensure coordination in the administration of land and the environment and to develop policies for handling land Registration related data so that these can be shared as a corporate national resource.

Because of the relationship between information and power, the land administration coordination board should have a strong position within the Government and should ensure that the designated lead agency cooperates with all interested parties.

The coordination board should consult with representatives of the quasi-governmental bodies such as the public utilities, and with local governmental bodies, and with the private sector.

The coordination board may establish a technical support group to provide technical assistance for the coordination of spatial information. Such a group would, for example, prepare technical standards for data exchange. It should be multi-disciplinary, drawing on computer scientists, planners, environmentalists and others.

10.4.2 .Centralization and decentralization Land Registration should ideally be under the supervision of a single authority referred to above as the lead agency. Such an arrangement will guarantee the best possible coordination between the various parts of the whole process.

Detailed administrative operations may be centralized or decentralized depending on the size of the country and the nature of communications. The day-to-day work may all be done centrally or may be delegated to the local authority level or to the private sector.

The lead agency should set and monitor standards and take care of national interests Centralization can lead to economies in administrative procedures, standardization in documentation and the exchange of information between users, and economies of scale in which large and powerful systems can be used with mass production techniques. Decentralization offers advantages, especially in a country where distances are great or travel is inconvenient.

From a political perspective, bringing government closer to the people through decentralization has considerable appeal.

From a practical point of view, placing land administration offices at the district or local government level tends to ensure greater accuracy and effectiveness. If these offices are located a long way from the land for which they hold records, then landowners might not visit them.

Transfers would then take place without notification to the land Administration authorities.

The landowners should feel that the land office is there to serve them rather than to serve government bureaucrats in distant offices. Decentralization should allow the overall land administration process to proceed more quickly and should permit the system to respond more effectively to local community needs.

The greater the degree of decentralization, however, the greater

is the need for good communications between the local offices and headquarters and for good management at all levels. If there is only a single central office, care must be taken to accommodate the needs of landowners in outlying areas by providing them with appropriate searching and registration services by mail or perhaps by telephone.

10.4.3. The role of the public and private sectors There are different ways of organizing the administration of land and establishing the status of the offices responsible for the implementation and maintenance of registers. In western Europe, registration offices are in general under central or federal government control. In many cases, countries that maintain separate land registers organize these within the local or regional courts. Where a cadastre is set up separately from the land register, the cadastral organization is usually either a part of the national mapping and surveying authority, or is organized as a special agency.

In several European countries the technical, organizational and legal integration of registers is an emerging issue, as is the status of the organizations that are involved. Several countries have given or are currently discussing the possibility of giving the organizations a freer position within the Government. This development is frequently described as a transformation from authority to agency. The terms “agency” and “authority” have however different meanings under different national legislation.

An agency normally has a separate board of directors, and is freer to do business than an authority. The Government’s guarantee and liability for the content of the registers is however not affected by the status of the organization, unless this is prescribed in the legislation. An agency can take advantage of the potential for developing value-added services on top of the basic land administration, for example by selling data to investors, developers, banks, etc. It may be difficult to maintain a neutral and objective role as a governmental agency or authority if it is much involved in competing with the private sector.

It is therefore important that Governments define the rules under which such organizations operate and determine which activities should belong to the agency and which should be handled by the private sector.

A proper organizational framework is essential for coordination and cooperation between land administration agencies. To provide a framework for establishing a common approach, a unified land information system should be adopted. This will ensure the cooperation and commitment between agencies, determine the responsibilities for each agency and provide a focus for funding.

One role of the public sector may be to offer its customers a full service covering the entire land administration process, from boundary survey through adjudication and valuation to final registration. It could operate through a single decentralized cadastral authority with separate administrative units.

In practice, many western countries have a tradition of separate governmental institutions involved in the implementation work.

This results, for example, in separate inquiries having to be made about rights in land before any transfer can take place.

Thus the land registry may record ownership rights but the local authority controls land-use rights and the fiscal authorities

control tax obligations that relate to the land.

These diverse administrative arrangements are normally well established politically and historically and hence it is difficult to alter them. Countries in transition have a better opportunity to adopt a more efficient and customer-oriented approach and to focus on the longer-term developments of land markets once the short-term needs of the land reform programmes are met.

While the ultimate responsibility for the cadastral system must lie with the Government, the private sector may have a significant role to play in land policy implementation. The initial compilation of the registers may be undertaken under contract by the private sector. Technical work, for example, can be subcontracted, from base mapping and control surveys through to the detailed measurement and recording of property boundaries.

In many countries private surveyors undertake subdivision surveys or the re-establishment of old boundaries while lawyers are involved in the land transfer process. In countries in transition there is often insufficient capacity left in the public sector for government staff to offer a complete cadastral service, while in many it is the official policy to encourage greater private sector involvement.

Since cadastral data produced by the private sector must stand the test of time, quality controls must be put in place. These may be the responsibility of the private sector itself or of the Government. Where responsibility stays with the private sector there must be a strong professional body that will enforce quality standards, supported by professional indemnity assurance so that in the case of error the customers will be recompensed.

Where Government takes over full responsibility for the reliability of the data, checks will have to be applied to the work of the private sector. Depending on the manner in which this is undertaken, such checks can be expensive especially if attempts are made to check all aspects of each private sector task. Sample checks and a sensible understanding of risk management can overcome this difficulty.

In many countries, before private sector companies or individuals undertake work they must be licensed to do so.

Legislation must be put in place laying down the procedures to obtain a licence and the parameters within which those who are licensed must operate. An alternative approach is to insist on quality assurance. This is a process whereby all companies undertaking work must be registered as quality assured.

They submit details of their work procedures to an agency that will check each stage of the operation to ensure that there are clear directives as to who is responsible for the quality of the work. At present few countries in transition have mechanisms whereby companies can become quality assured and hence licensing is more likely to be adopted.

Private and government sectors can cooperate through joint ventures or undertakings to complete projects of social and economic benefit to the community. Such partnerships may involve some element of financial risk and a commitment to using valuable resources.

The profit-sharing should be appropriate to both the level of resource input by each party and the measure of risk of the project.

The balance of responsibilities between the public and private sectors

ultimately depends upon: 1. The political objectives with regard to privatization; 2. The distinction between juridical and technical work; 3. The nature and traditions of the particular jurisdiction; 4. The available funding; 5. Questions of access to certain types of data and the need for privacy; and 6. The strengths of the private sector.

When deciding on the status of the various parts of the total land administration organization account should be taken of: 7. The extent to which the organization should be allowed to influence its own income through active marketing of its services and be allowed to expand accordingly; 8. The extent to which the organization should be allowed to borrow money in the regular market for investments; 9. The manner in which the organization should implement an independent system of accounting; 10. Whether the organization should be allowed to fix its own level of staff remuneration; 11. Whether the organization should be authorized to decide on its own internal organization in divisions, etc., and where it should establish offices; 12. Whether the organization should have an independent board of directors, or be controlled directly from the political level.

10.4.4. Administration of cadastral data In the society of today great demands are being placed on rapid access to relevant and correct information. The computerized multi-purpose cadastre is a useful tool for the efficient handling of land and property-related data. These data should be looked upon as a strategic resource for development and business.

The computerized multi-purpose cadastre is a relatively new concept. It has the potential to provide many benefits across all sections of the community. Therefore it is important that the benefits are widely promoted both to leaders of Government who are responsible for the allocation of resources and to the users of land and property-related information.

In order to ensure the efficient production and use of cadastral data suitable techniques and organizational arrangements for data exchange must be put in place. There needs to be a â&#x20AC;&#x153;market-placeâ&#x20AC;? where data of interest can be checked for content, quality, price and conditions of delivery, and where it is possible to order data via an effective communications network.

The data must be collected, stored, maintained and updated economically and efficiently. Data should be registered only once, kept up to date in one place (the most suitable institution) and offered for public use. This will, however, require several separate technical, organizational, and financial measures, which are outlined below.

(a) Data standards and data exchange Although administrative mechanisms may exist for the exchange of land information between government departments, they may not operate effectively. At a technical level, national standards for the exchange of data will almost certainly need to be established. These should cover the definition of terms used, data transfer formats, data classification, and accuracy standards. Although such standards may be directed towards the exchange of data rather than towards internal operational procedures, they inevitably change the way that things are done.

There is a need for cooperation between all producers and users of land information. Unfortunately, interdepartmental rivalry occurs in almost every country. Even within a land survey department the cadastral staff may not know or cooperate with the topographic branch. There can be a conflict of interest and lack of cooperation between those maintaining land records, such as a register of titles, those keeping assessment records and those involved in land surveying. Each department has a role to play in the team of land information managers.

The institutions that are responsible for the supply of land and property-related data must cooperate both among themselves and with the users in order to produce databases that will suit the needs of each organization.

The management of the cadastre and the effective networking of that system with other organizations depend both on national policies and on continuing resource allocations. An individual department is unlikely to be able to develop a computerized multi-purpose cadastre on its own. None the less, no single Government can operate a land administration system without considering its national implications.

To make it possible for many institutions to use the same data, wherever the data are produced, it is necessary that the meaning of data delivered from one institution to another is clear.

For that reason there need to be: 1. Methods to describe cadastral data in a precise way; 2. Data dictionaries that provide meta-data, that is information about data (what kind of data, background, format and relations to other data); 3. Standards for describing the quality of data and its terminology; 4. Standards for transferring data from one system to another; 5. Tools to store, send and remove data messages.

Although technical standards are very important they are not the only prerequisite for the efficient handling of cadastral data.

To facilitate the use of databases for different land management applications, it is necessary to address a variety of administrative, juridical and organizational issues. These concern pricing and copyright, and the security and safety of databases, and the legal liability for data.

(b) Pricing and copyright Those who bear the cost of producing data should receive appropriate reward. While this obviously applies to the private sector there is a growing recognition that even the public sector should consider charging for some of its services. In many countries, national mapping agencies are being encouraged to increase their revenue through sales and services. Similarly, land registries are being asked to cover their expenses, apart from the costs of the initial compilation of the registers, by charging their clients for the cost of providing the service.

What is an appropriate rate of return is a matter of political judgement but in general the trend is to recover most if not all costs with the aim of making a small profit. Some activities may be deemed to be in the public interest and are therefore a direct charge on the taxpayer. The level of payment made from the public purse should be clearly defined and declared in annual balance sheets and an annual report should be prepared by agencies and made available to the public.

If land information is to be treated as a resource, then there must be access to it by interested parties. In addition to the price

charged there are two factors that may prevent the open exchange of data-copyright and security. All land and property related information, both in text and in map form, may be subject to copyright; hence communicating land-related data to the public may cause legal or financial problems if the copyright laws are to be enforced. In the case of maps printed the on paper, some measure of control can be exercised in the same manner as it is with books and other published material.

In the case of digital maps, extracts can be made more easily and Transferred between systems electronically, for example over telephone lines. It is much more difficult to enforce the copyright law for digital maps than for paper copies. If government policy is to distribute land information freely, then it will be missing an opportunity to recover its costs. If it charges for the data, then it will need to establish mechanisms to control its copyright.

(c) Security and privacy In some countries, paper maps and aerial photographs carry security classification and may in consequence be unavailable even to other government departments. Difficulties with the exchange of spatial data exist where the ready availability of certain types of land information such as maps and aerial photographs may have military implications.

There may be implicit or explicit regulations governing the access to government-held land-related data by other State authorities and by the public. Data protection acts may also impose constraints on what information may be held or divulged. In some countries, the public may have a degree of protection against the divulgence of personal information, while in others there may be no right to privacy. Some countries have a freedom of information act that allows access to much government-held data. Even in such cases, protection is needed for the land administration system itself.

Those seeking illegal access to databases must be prevented from tampering with the system and, for example, changing the name of the registered owner of a property. Although the problems are technical and differ more in kind than in principle from what has been the case in the past, they are more urgent because of the volumes of data that can be interfered with or destroyed.

The creation and management of land-related databases also raise a number of legal and institutional concerns, few of which have been dealt with in a fully satisfactory way.

Intellectual property laws traditionally focused on the medium rather than on the message. In the past it was not possible to copyright or patent data as such; only the records of those data could be protected. Similarly, legislation tended to govern access to documents, including microfilm and electronic records, rather than to information itself. Recent legal cases have however suggested that this is no longer the case.

(d) Legal liability As increasing volumes of data become available and are used by both the public and private sectors in support of decision making, liability for the accuracy of the data may arise. In some countries the State gives an unequivocal guarantee about the data held in the land registry so that if a mistake occurs those who suffer in consequence will be paid compensation. The

degree to which civil servants can be sued for negligence depends upon the jurisdiction.

10.4.5. Management of land administration systems The management of a land administration organization includes the establishment and maintenance of good contacts with not only the primary users of a land administration system, but also with the growing group of secondary users and clients. The function of the land administration coordination board referred to above is not only to avoid the development of duplicate systems, creating double work and extra costs but also to be able to realize the potential benefits of any cadastral reform.

Another aspect of management is the creation of good conditions in which staff can develop their skills in line with the rapid technological developments. A third major aspect is the creation of financing facilities that will allow the organization to invest in and develop new technology and new applications as the number of customers increases.

Computer technology today offers excellent opportunities for the automation of the cadastre and the creation of cost-effective land administration systems. The introduction of computers is, however, more than a technical matter since it implies changes in the necessary skills and responsibilities within an organization, the organizational structure, investment strategies and such like.

Overall, with the introduction of modern technology, the manager needs to: 1. Identify the human factors involved in the transition; 2. Define new levels of skill and responsibility for each and every task; 3. Consult the staff involved to obtain their confidence and awareness of what is going on; -Involve any trade unions that will be affected as their opposition can seriously delay progress; 4. Plan for a more rapid turn-round of staff who may not wish to stay in the same job for any length of time; 5. Revise training programs in the light of changing needs and the consequences of this more rapid turn-round of staff; 6. Avoid recruiting staff who are overqualified, for their frustration adversely affects others; 7. Upgrade the education of supervisors, who may have management skills but little understanding of modern technology in comparison with younger and more junior staff; 8. Reassess the relationship between what is done in the field and what is done in the office and the linkages between them; 9. Check on ergonomic factors to reconcile efficiency with comfort; and 10. Monitor the health and safety of the staff involved.

Of all these elements, the provision of adequate training and the development of motivation in the staff are by far the most important.

(a) Staff training The success of any cadastral or land administration system is dependent on the availability of skilled staff at all levels.

Governments must provide the facilities for both formal and in-house training. Training courses must be practical in their orientation, available to all who require training, and range from university-level courses for comprehensive professional training to short-term courses for the introduction of new techniques.

Government policies must ensure that there is an adequate pool of qualified teaching staff who are well skilled in the latest land information management techniques. Attention should also be given to: 1. Providing on-the-job training, particularly at the lower skilled end of the industry;

2. Providing written information and technical manuals for all levels of operation; 3. Promoting national and international exchanges of experts.

Education and training are ongoing processes. Government departments need to bring continuing education into their offices, setting aside time for staff training and development. All too often, promotion to higher positions is based on length of service rather than knowledge and ability. At present, in many countries, staff training is an ad hoc process that is not structured in terms of each individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career development.

In many countries in transition the previous education in schools and universities, when it comes to surveying and cadastral topics, has been aimed at a situation quite different from what exists in a free land market. Although it might affect the total skills on the market only in a long-term perspective it is very important to review the curricula of schools of surveying. From the point of view of countries in transition, training especially in land and real property valuation should be given new direction.

The education at universities and at other levels including technician training should be restructured. A rapid rise in competence inside the university system could also be the best way to create training centres for people already in the profession. (b)

Management training

The single most important factor in the success or failure of land administration systems has been the quality of their management. Management is concerned with organization and methods, with policy and planning, with monitoring, modelling and motivating. It is concerned with listening, with analyzing, with decision-making and with communicating. Managers must address matters of policy, of institutional arrangements and the consequences of reorganization and change that are inevitable in the implementation of cadastral reform.

Managers must set reasonable targets for the performance of their staff and be able to monitor their success. They must understand the processes of marketing so that they can persuade their political and financial masters of the need to invest in and sustain the new techniques and technologies that are available.

They must further recognize that personal power and status result from the control of information.

Managers must understand that management is not only how to do the job but, more importantly, about how to get the job done.

Management training, especially for top managers, is common in western countries. Most large organizations insist that their senior staff and executives are properly trained in the skills of management. Similar training is needed for staff in transition countries-at all levels of management from senior, through middle to junior. Management training should be an integral part of continuing professional development.

Whereas some people may never make good managers, many can improve their performance, and hence the performance of those whom they in turn manage, through greater awareness of the issues. All too often, management skills are treated like parent-hood as if by instinct and observation anyone of calibre can become a manager without training.

If land administration systems are to be improved then the first place to start is by improving the management training of those whose responsibility it is to run such systems.

10.4.6. Research Research must encompass ail facets of land management, ranging from the purely technical to legal, social and economic issues. It also requires close coordination across the varying professional disciplines and needs to be directed towards affordable and appropriate technological solutions. It is essential that society should allocate resources to this end.

In countries in transition the current research efforts are often not focused on critical issues facing land reform. As the computerized multi-purpose cadastre introduces new techniques it is important that the universities update their education systems. Within the field of cadastral data maintenance there is a great need for research and development.

10.4.7. Consultancy and technical assistance In many cases, the development of an appropriate land administration system for a transition country may require assistance from international experts. Bilateral long-term institutional cooperation between sister organizations in west and east is recommended. Surveying consultants can provide technical assistance, advise on appropriate technologies and implement training programs for local staff.

Technical assistance may take the form of providing hardware and software as well as advising on strategic planning and the development of a proper land information management framework. In a similar way, legal consultants can provide assistance and advice on appropriate legislation and other legal matters.

10.5. Recommendations Every Government must show a commitment to ensuring the provision of an adequate supply of land by enacting and implementing a comprehensive land policy. Transition countries looking for solutions to institutional problems should study, compare and analyze different approaches to land administration and identify the best elements that are relevant to their own unique circumstances.

Key politicians must be involved in selecting the best system for their country as their support is essential to the establishment of sound land policies and the creation of an appropriate land administration system.

Each Government should ensure that there is inter-ministerial coordination of land information. It should define a lead agency responsible for policy formulation and for the overall control of the cadastral and land administration systems. Governments should organize the implementation of land policy in a cost-effective way, focusing particularly on the needs of landowners.

In many countries a single decentralized authority will be the best solution. The amount of cadastral work that the Government contracts out to the private sector is a matter of political will and the strength of the private sector. The resources of the private sector can be used both in the introduction and in the updating and maintenance of a land information system.

Where the private sector is involved, mechanisms must be put in place to ensure the competence of private practitioners and to assure the quality of their work. There should be a clear definition of those parts of the total land Registration that must be undertaken by governmental offices, and those activities that should be left to the private sector.

The land Registration system should be developed in a way that will be compatible with the technology of tomorrow. Managers and staff are the key to successful land Registration. They must be well motivated and well trained. Governments in transition countries should undertake research in support of land reforms. They should review educational programs to ensure that they meet the needs of land reform and cadastral development.

Chapter Eleven : Technology in Registration

This chapter provides an overview of the relationship between modern geodetic control networks and the cadastre. Even for cadastral purposes an integrated network covering the whole of the country is needed. This should preferably be linked to a global referencing system. Within that framework a variety of procedures may be adopted to survey the boundaries of properties. The records of the surveys together with data about the ownership, value and use of the land can then be entered into computers. This chapter examines aspects of surveying and mapping and of electronic data processing.

11.1. Control surveys The classic approach to land surveying and mapping begins with the establishment of a geodetic control framework.

Geodetic control measurements make an efficient and effective basis for cadastral surveying and land registration. They also support other surveying and mapping activities including geodesy, cartography, engineering surveying, geophysics and the measurement of tectonic movements, and navigation.

The establishment of a geodetic reference system guarantees the geometrical consistency of all surveying activities within a well-defined coordinate system. Such a geodetic reference frame should consist of both horizontal and vertical control points, although for most cadastral purposes a two-dimensional representation of these points is all that is necessary.

If possible, the network should be connected to a global geodetic reference frame. It should be highly accurate and reliable with points sited in areas that are free from slope instability and tectonic movements. Finally, it should be based on an appropriate map projection system together with a suitably defined reference surface such as a reference ellipsoid.

The establishment of a geodetic framework is generally regarded as the responsibility of a national survey organization.

Recommendations and guidelines for the establishment or the updating of an existing national reference frame have been provided by several international geodetic and cartographic organizations, for example the European Reference Frame (EUREF); and the Unified European Levelling Network (UELN), both of which are commissions of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG).

Additional work has been undertaken by the Comite Europeen des Responsible de la Cartographies Officially (CERCO). On the basis of these recommendations all European nations should be able to establish an international three-dimensional reference frame. EUREF has been extended to most parts of Eastern Europe and provides a base for further economic and scientific developments.

A great number of international projects depend on cooperation in surveying and mapping, for example navigation. Traffic, common border crossings, technical projects and so on. EUREF provides a link between existing national control networks and the rest of the continent.

In most European countries the national reference frame is characterized by a datum that was defined a tong time ago, together with a network of control points the locations of which were selected to provide a strong geometrical framework with good inter-visibility between neighboring points. As such the networks did not necessarily provide points that were convenient for surveying cadastral parcels.

In most cases the old geodetic control will not be accurate enough to meet modern needs. In some cases it is possible to upgrade the old system by making some additional measurements and by using modern computers to carry out the necessary readjustment. This will often meet the needs of cadastral surveying and of future geographic information systems and may well be the most economical way to proceed.

For modern purposes, the local national reference frame should be compatible with the international network. The high accuracy of modern geodetic measurement equipment using electronic distance measuring devices or the global positioning system (GPS) can be lost if measurements are connected to old networks.

The global positioning system is a satellite-based system for determining position and for navigation. Part of the system is controlled by the United States Department of Defence, whose main function is to support the military.

As a result, there are restrictions for non-authorized users. An alternative system, GLONASS, has been established in the former USSR and is based on similar principles.

In order to improve the quality of old survey networks, the original observations may need to be recalculated. After the readjustment, unacceptable discrepancies of some decimetres or even metres between the old and the new solutions may appear.

It must then be decided whether a recalculation of the whole of the network, including all the cadastral points, is necessary. This decision is a very important one and should not be taken without considering the costs and benefits.

The international trend is towards solutions of high accuracy, approaching one centimetre, in order to take advantage of new measuring equipment and techniques, and for scientific reasons.

The alternative is to accept lower accuracy and precision and to use more sophisticated algorithms and less economical procedures. The manpower and investment costs of a full recalculation have to be set against the uneconomical

consequences of continuing to work with the old data.

Although global positioning systems are able to give reliable position information without delay, it is generally accepted within the international geodetic community that physical monuments are still necessary as these can be seen and understood by landowners and ensure that cadastral surveys can still be undertaken even when GPSs are not available.

The most important application of GPS in geodesy and surveying is in determining the relative positions of points. An overview of the system follows below.

11.1.1. GPS technology The global positioning system consists of 21 satellites plus 3 active spares. These 24 satellites circumnavigate the Earth in six orbital planes, each containing four satellites. The signals from these satellites are then picked up on the ground by mobile receivers whose positions can then be calculated.

There are five worldwide ground control stations that are responsible for determining the orbits of the satellites. They can also introduce signal degradation and code encryption, both of which affect the accuracy that is obtainable by non-military personnel. Signal degradation can be produced by manipulating the satellite clocks or by truncating the transmitted messages.

This procedure is called “selective availability” (SA). When selective availability is introduced, the point positioning accuracy decreases from 15 to 120 metres or more. This may happen during times of international conflict when the military want to restrict access to the determination of precise positions.

The implementation of code encryption is called “anti-spoofing” (AS) and has been developed to prevent adversaries from sending out false signals with those coming from the GPS satellites, thus confusing combat troops fighting on the ground.

Anti-spoofing only affects high-precision measurements.

There are many different types of GPS receiver, each serving a particular function and producing a particular level of accuracy receivers for navigating boats, for example, are less sophisticated than those needed to establish geodetic control points. Using two receivers simultaneously on different sites results in a higher relative accuracy than using a single instrument, because of the influence of the satellite clock and the effects of the atmosphere.

A pair of instruments will both be affected by the same amount but the relative difference between them should be free of errors.

The use of two or more instruments can provide relative coordinate differences with an accuracy of a few centimetres within only a few minutes. For high-precision applications, the techniques can be refined to produce accuracies of some centimetres or even millimetres. To achieve this, two or more receivers are kept stationary while observations are taken over a period of half an hour to several hours.

The data collected have to be post-processed, that is they are subject to later analysis and computation. The application of this technique is widespread and has been used for continental and national horizontal control networks as well as for geodynamic investigations.

Although relative positioning is the best method for geodetic applications of GPS, the choice of an optimal hardware configuration is strongly correlated with the size and the accuracy of the geodetic project.

11.1.2. GPS and cadastral surveys GPS techniques are excellent for nearly all types of geodesy and surveying. The available hardware is supported by highly sophisticated forms of software that can be extended by scientific computer programs for special tasks.

Through the use of baseline, multi-station and network adjustment procedures it is possible to combine GPS with conventional measurements providing a more flexible solution to a variety of survey problems including the cadastre. The results are highly accurate as well as highly consistent and, provided that a sufficiently large number of points are to be observed, the techniques become cost-effective.

In Hungary, for example, GPS was used to establish a new network of control points that would be suitable for cadastral surveys and base mapping. Prior to the commencement of the work, a manual was compiled giving guidance on GPS operational procedures.

Regulations were laid down for: 1.Planning the network; 2.Reconnaissance and selection of sites; 3.Planning the field observations; performing the calibration of satellite receivers; 4. Performing the field observations and field 5. Check computations; handling and archiving the measurements; 6. Final network adjustment and analysis; requirements for configuration of sites and satellites; 7. Length and timing of observation periods; values of deviations and errors permitted at different levels of the observation and computation phases.

The estimated cost, time and effectiveness for increasing the number of control points showed savings of up to 50 per cent when using GPS as compared with traditional techniques. The accuracy was no worse than that obtained by traditional Hungarian methods and it was possible to use the system in all weathers, unlike traditional methods that are fully dependent on the weather.

Thus although there is a significant capital outlay for both equipment and data processing systems, the Hungarian study shows that GPS can be applied directly to cadastral problems and can produce high-quality coordinate values for property boundary beacons.

11.2. Cadastral surveying and mapping At their simplest level, cadastral surveys are concerned with setting out and recording the turning-points or corners along property boundaries. A variety of techniques may be used, each having its own inherent accuracy and cost. Many cadastral surveyors are accustomed to thinking in terms of precision when doing their job and in many countries have been less concerned about the cost or the time that it takes to achieve the standards that they perceive as necessary.

The necessary and sufficient accuracy that is needed for any survey depends on the purposes for which that survey is conducted. When the accuracy is defined, different methods of achieving it can be considered.

If the cadastre is to achieve its aim of being a support for land management and possibly land taxation, it should be established according to the same general principles throughout the whole country. This does not however mean that all areas must be surveyed to the same precision, since the requirements will be different in different areas of the country.

In cities a precision of between 0.1 and 0.3 metres may be required while in rural areas 1 to 3 metres may be sufficient. In some areas, for instance where the land must be registered as speedily as possible in order to meet social and economic objectives, lower precision may be required in order to permit the use of more rapid survey techniques. If the monuments that delimit the boundaries are suitable and relatively permanent, the need for precision in the survey is also low.

Relative accuracy matters more than absolute accuracy. It is more important to know where a boundary beacon is in relation to other nearby boundary beacons than it is to know the precise scientific location of points relative to the other side of the country.

Almost all generally known techniques in surveying can be employed for the purpose of cadastral renewal. These include both field survey techniques (using steel tapes, theodolites, total stations, GPS, etc.) and air survey methods.

Photogrammetric techniques are a powerful set of tools for documenting, interpreting and surveying large areas. The advantage of using such techniques instead of ground surveying is that they save time and money. They can be used to increase the density of control points as well as to measure property boundaries, provided that whatever is to be recorded can be seen on aerial photographs.

While it is self-evident that such techniques cannot be used for setting out points on the ground, they can record the physical evidence of what has been set out, for example the lines of hedges and fences or the location of points that have been â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pre-markedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, that is marked on the ground in such a way as to make them visible from the air. They can also be used to determine land use and to collect topographic data.

In Austria, for example, there are three main applications of photogrammetry.

Firstly, it is used in the preparation of land-use maps in areas of agricultural land where the soil quality needs to be determined. This is important information for the Ministry of Finance.

Secondly, it supports the digital cadastre since high accuracy and completeness are easily attainable.

Thirdly, it is used to measure new buildings or buildings which have changed.

In Sweden extensive use is made of ortho-photography for base mapping. Ortho-photomaps have similar measurement characteristics to topographic maps but have the appearance of an aerial photograph. Such maps can be used both as index maps for a whole area and as detailed diagrams for particular land parcels provided that the boundaries are visible from the air, such as hedges or ditches.

Photogrammetry should be regarded as just another set of tools in the surveyorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trade. The choice of the most appropriate survey technique should be determined by the basic objectives, economic matters, the available resources and by the urgency of the demand.

The overall quality required for cadastral surveys should be laid down by the central surveying authority, which should determine the rules, standards and basic principles for: 1. Examination and evaluation of basic material; 2. Quality improvement of the available maps; 3. Bringing together the available basic material; 4. Acquisition of the current data;

5. Connection of the current data with the existing data.

The central authority should also lay down standards and procedures for the allocation of land parcel references. The design of the system of land parcel identifiers is an important part of the overall system design. A country is not always free in designing these identifiers, as they may be limited by previous or existing systems. Renumbering may be cost-effective in the long run if existing identifiers do not meet present requirements.

For cultural reasons, some countries assign priority to protecting existing names as part of their system of land identifiers, even when this is clearly not the optimal solution. Identifiers should clearly identify the relevant land parcels or other real-estate units. Identifiers should be unique, stable over time, and practical to handle both in analogue form and in digital form.

They should, if possible, be easy to remember for persons directly affected such as landowners, but this may be in conflict with the other requirements. To be stable, identifiers should not contain information which can change over time, such as the type of land tenure, land use, etc. Even reference to a local administrative unit (municipality, etc.) may require renumbering if district boundaries are moved. Street addresses should not be used to identify properties, as street names can be changed.

If the legislation allows strata titles so that structures above or under the surface can be registered as separate properties, such properties should be assigned unique identifiers that will not be altered even if the surface land is subdivided. It is preferable to implement pure numeric identifiers linked to district numbers that should also be unique. Districts which are too small can be in conflict with the requirement for stable identifiers. When applying computerized registration systems, numeric identifiers may contain a control digit which automatically checks that numbers are correctly entered into the system.

11.3. Electronic data processing for land registration A land registration system provides important information for government, for the economy and for every single citizen of a country. Both semantic information as well as graphic information are required. The creation and maintenance of an automated cadastre is both time-consuming and costly. It requires attention not only to technical details, but also to legal, organizational and economic matters.

11.3.1. Determining the objectives In each country, the type and the extent of electronic data processing employed will depend upon how the maintenance of the cadastre is organized. There will be different solutions depending on whether there is a cadastral organization already in existence or whether a new one is to be created. It also makes a significant difference whether the cadastre is a comprehensive public register rather than a collection of certain documents such as contracts and plans with other material stored in separate archives. If the cadastral data are linked, for example, to the land registers, then computerized systems can provide highly efficient ways of accessing and integrating the data.

In setting up a computerized system it is necessary to determine: 1. Which conventional records, registers and plans are to be 2. How these relate to other applications such as land registration, taxation, area planning, community tasks, etc.;

3. Where, how and by whom the maintenance of the data will be done; 4. What conditions of access will be needed by different users, such as the office hours for clients. standardized and specific inquiry forms, delivery of data carriers, delivery of update material, direct access, etc.

Certain legal, organizational, and financial limitations may occur or there may be technical impediments, for example the lack of an overall supply network. These may necessitate the development of the system in a series of stages or phases in order to achieve the defined objectives. It is however recommended that the final form of the computerized cadastre should be defined at the start, even though at first only a partial implementation can be achieved.

The common methods that are used for the systematic development of information systems should also be applied when setting up a computerized cadastre. A detailed strategy for electronic data processing should cover: the systems design; the creation of digital data sets; the provision of equipment for the data processing centre; the determination of forms of access to the data.

11.3.2. The systems design The performance of the computerized system and its conceptual realization will be dependent on its design. In practice, not all theoretical solutions will prove to be useful or successful for a cadastre that contains numerical as well as semantic and graphic data. Even with the current state of technology, it will be necessary to compromise between what is desirable and what is practical.

The use of geographic information systems (GISs) that link attribute data to the graphic data, may be advantageous for small areas. Experience indicates, however, that the employment of traditional hierarchic and relational database systems will often be better for: 1. Storing and maintaining non-graphic data; 2. Large regions; 3. Frequent access to defined attribute data such as standard inquiries; 4. Competing and fast update operations; and 5. Nationwide direct access.

11.3.3. The creation of digital data sets After identifying all the available conventional records, registers and plans that are to be incorporated into the system, and after determining what data must be made available for other applications, the data elements to be collected will have to be determined. There are different methods for the actual digitizing when: 1. Filling in forms for data typists or machine reading; 2. Entering data on-line; 3. Undertaking machine digitizing (scanning, pattern recognition); 4. Using available digital data.

11.3.4. Procurement of hardware and software At the heart of the computerized land administration system there will be a processing centre that must be equipped to meet the requirements of the systems design in the most efficient way.

The range of systems may extend from a single personal computer (PC) or a multi-PC system through to a series of interconnected processors on different systems levels. The hardware, the software including the database software, and the communication equipment all have to be evaluated and the

optimum configuration selected. Furthermore, the procedures to be adopted and the requirements for data security and data protection must be defined.

It is important to employ qualified personnel who have been adequately trained. Operating the processing centre, or in the case of â&#x20AC;&#x153;small solutionsâ&#x20AC;? the local computer network, could be carried out separately at a different place.

11.3.5. Forms of access to the data Up until now, within existing manual systems, data have been maintained in analogue form, usually at administrative offices where there is some degree of public access. The clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; access during office hours has been limited to a visual inspection of the registers with copying in longhand or by photocopying.

Computerized data processing creates a number of opportunities to improve access to data by providing, for example more convenient times at which to access the data. The facility can provide considerably faster and better defined access to data. It is also possible to deliver and distribute the data via printers and plotters, perhaps also via data carriers. Access to large quantities of data allows different forms of data evaluation. A cadastre supplies many systems with basic data.

For certain groups of users, a computerized land administration system offers the opportunity for direct and immediate consultation with official personnel. The quality of what the user receives is then improved.

The forms of access that are provided must be oriented towards existing needs. This demand must be met with regard to the contents as well as in technological respects (transfer medium, data networks). It should however be borne in mind that the users benefiting from such optimum systems will have to contribute to pay for the increased costs.

11.3.6. Cost-benefit analysis It is known from experience that the process of digitizing the data for a nationwide digital cadastre is expensive and takes a long time. The investment costs and the costs of running the system should not be underestimated. Therefore, it is important to draw up a cost-benefit comparison before embarking on computerization.

The employment of information technology should not be restricted to using the data elements for a single application or only one sphere of work. They should be used to achieve an optimum benefit through interdisciplinary employment and the solution of a wide range of problems.

In view of the benefits of introducing information technology to the land administration system, the aim should be not merely more economical maintenance, but also to create greater use for the important stock of real-estate data. Databases that have been created under these conditions and that are called real-estate databases, show excellent cost-benefit ratios.

11.4 .Recommendations The establishment or upgrading of a geodetic control network is necessary to ensure that all land and property-related data can be spatially referenced. In central and eastern Europe, survey authorities are encouraged to link their data to the European

Reference Framework. A uniform and unique spatial referencing system for the identification of all land parcels and other real estate units should be introduced. Modern techniques of surveying are often capital rather than labor-intensive. The methods used to survey land parcels and other real-property units should be cost-effective and depend on local circumstances.

High-precision surveys are often unnecessary provided that there is suitable monumentation of real-property boundaries. Photogrammetric techniques including the use of ortho-photography are suitable for the compilation of many cadastral index maps. They can also be used for detailed property surveys provided that the features to be mapped are clearly visible on the aerial photographs. The computerization of land and property records poses institutional as well as technical problems.

Governments must address the institutional every bit as much as the technical. In setting up a computerized system it is necessary to determine what records should be included within the system, how they relate to other records, how access to the records will be provided, and how the records will be kept up to date. The cost and time involved in building a computerized land administration system is considerable and its full implementation may take many years. Data conversion alone is relatively expensive. The costs should not be underestimated.

Chapter Twelve : Procedures for Adopting Land Registration System

A land Registration system involves the determination and recording of up-to-date information about rights in land. It must operate within both a technical and institutional framework and address not only the mechanics of setting out, surveying and recording land parcels but also the legal, financial, administrative, social and political issues that are associated with the management of land.

A land Registration system does not necessarily have to be computerized. Many such systems are increasingly making use of computer technology but the fundamental problems are of an institutional rather than a technical nature. This chapter suggests a methodology whereby an efficient and effective system can be established. It lists a series of operations which, although they may not be carried out precisely in the sequence suggested, must all be addressed at one time or other.

12.1. The determination of user needs

A land Registration system is in part of government system that must meet the needs of good government. It must also address the requirements of non-governmental institutions and the general public. Before altering an existing system or introducing a new one, it is essential that the requirements of those who will use or benefit from the system are clearly identified.

This means that a wide variety of user communities will need to be consulted in order to understand their requirements and the constraints under which they currently operate. In many cadastral systems that have been based on the old Russian model, a great variety of data was collected, much of which is no longer needed for a market-driven economy. Farmers, for example, are often the best people to determine on the ground the optimum use of their land rather than administrators who dictate what is best from a central government office, remote from the fields concerned.

The assessment of user needs should be made not only at the outset of the development of a new land Registration system but also throughout its lifetime. In many countries in transition, land reform and the introduction of new land administrative procedures were devised for the benefit of agricultural communities without their impact on the urban environment being considered. Yet legislation that is prepared for rural land will inevitably have an impact on urban and peri-urban areas.

Part of the process of determining user needs should involve a review of the procedures whereby land policy is formed and how land as a resource is managed. It should examine present management structures and their supporting management information systems, making inquiries at all those ministries and departments that deal with land. A number of questions need to be asked on matters of policy, including: 1. Which ministries are responsible for formulating land policies?

2. Which ministries and departments are concerned with implementing land policies especially those that relate to land reform?

3. What policies currently exist and are they in practice being implemented?

4. What mechanisms exist for monitoring the implementation and consequences of land policies?

5. Are urban policies integrated with rural policies?

6. Which ministries are currently responsible for recording land ownership and which for recording and controlling land-use rights?

In addition, a number of questions need to be asked about the categories of data that will in future be required such as: 7. What information do planners and land managers require?

8. Which government ministries and departments use land-related data? Which of -these are providers of data and which are data users?

9. Are any taxes based on the value of the land owned or is any tax imposed when a property is sold? If so, on what basis is the value of the land or property -assessed?

10. Who in central and local government will require access to land-related data? What types of data will they require?

11. What quasi-government and private sector institutions such as banks, finance companies, surveyors and valuers will require access to land-related data? What types of data will they require?

12. What members of the general public-private citizens, farmers, property developers, etc.-will require access to land-related data? What types of data will they require? How much are they willing or able to pay for the data?

From the analysis of needs it should be possible to determine priorities. While it may seem desirable to acquire some types of data for instance for the benefit of historical research that may be conducted at some time in the future, every single data item is expensive to capture and to store and its collection adds to the

delay before the national archive is complete. It may be an attractive idea to collect some types of data for some possible use in the future but if it is not necessary to do so at present, then few resources should be allocated for that purpose. A step-by-step approach may be more cost-effective.

12.2. The creation of new Registration organizational structures The introduction of a new land administration system often necessitates internal reorganization within specific departments or units. A balance must be struck between central control and decentralization of the service to the public.

In countries in transition it has been usual for a new department to be created, often within the Ministry of Agriculture since the priority has been the restitution of agricultural land. There are several other possible ministries that could take on the role of lead agency, given the importance of accommodating both urban and rural interests. The selection of a lead agency is a contentious and difficult task involving inter-ministerial rivalry.

It is often resolved more by the quality of the senior managers than by issues of principle. The analysis of user requirements should indicate the most sensible choice.

While it may seem obvious to involve those responsible for the old cadastre this is not necessarily the best solution in countries in transition, since the old system usually contains data that are no longer required within a market-driven economy. In many old cadastral systems, productivity was low and the system was under-resourced and unresponsive to user needs. Although significant improvements to old cadastres are often possible through improved management and administration, the organization that has managed the cadastre in the past is not necessarily the best candidate for managing the new system.

It is essential to choose an agency that can work with other ministries at both the technical and political level. There will be a need for cooperation over who collects and coordinates data, what technology should be acquired so that all components of the system are compatible, how common standards and procedures can be developed, and other system-related decisions. To achieve this, the agency must operate at a high political level, preferably close to the chief ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office.

Those who ultimately are given responsibility for running the land administration system will need to communicate both vertically (to higher management and political levels and to staff) and horizontally (to other departments, organizations and users). This will be especially important during the initial stages of developing the system. Only through communication will voluntary cooperation be achieved, although cooperation may be enforced to a limited extent through legislation or policy.

The lead agency will also need to work with a variety of professionals and associations who will be directly involved in the collection and use of the land and property-related data including lawyers, land surveyors, planners, and valuers.

Efficient and cost-effective methods for the maintenance and updating of the system are essential. As the land administration system develops, there will probably be changes in standards and procedures that closely affect these groups.

Since the new system will entail extensive changes in land

tenure, conveyancing, and land registration procedures, it is essential that the legal profession, in particular, understands the benefits that the system can offer and supports the initiatives.

Thus in setting up new organizational arrangements it is essential to: 1. Select a lead agent that can work across existing ministerial boundaries; 2. Ensure ongoing political support from both senior managers and members of the legislature; 3. Recruit new staff into the organization with skills appropriate to its new technical, legal and administrative tasks.

The last point is important since the present levels and skills of manpower involved in any one agency may be insufficient.

Existing government policies with regard to man-power and the balance between capital and labor must be respected. It may be necessary to create new opportunities for staff development and to allocate resources for retraining all staff including managers.

It is, for example, unlikely that in the early stages countries in transition will have sufficient skills in market valuation.

Furthermore, the change to a market-driven economy requires significant changes in management style. Similarly, many people trained in land management may feel uncomfortable with modern technology. Conversely, many systems analysts and computer technicians do not have an in-depth understanding of land tenure.

The new agency must work within a business framework, setting annual targets for its performance so that it can meet the objectives of land reform in a timely manner. It will need to establish new cost-management procedures to ensure that it can meet these objectives and adopt cost-recovery procedures that will ensure its continuing support by the Government and any funding agencies. It will also need to set in place mechanisms for monitoring the impact of land reform, by providing information on such matters as: the performance of the real estate market; fluctuations in land and property prices; the extent to which land-use controls are being enforced; the availability of land for development; and the environmental impact of the land reform program.

12.3. The preparation of new legislation A land Registration system must operate within a legislative framework that covers: 1. Basic land laws defining what rights and tenures exist including easements and overriding interests, and how these rights are transmitted through sale, gift or inheritance; 2. Land registration and what rights are to be included, for instance short-term leases; 3. Procedures for the initial creation and determination of rights in land, for realestate formation, re-allotment etc.; 4. Laws regarding transition arrangements including compensation where cannot be fully resituated; 5. Mortgaging of land and property; 6. The conduct of surveys and the regulation of surveyors; 7. The use of land including controls stemming from physical planning; 8. The status of evidence produced by electronic media; and 9. Data protection.

Since legal reforms often take years to accomplish, the land administration system should as far as possible be designed to be independent of legislative changes once the initial legal framework has been put in place. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has already prepared a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Guide on the adaptation of property laws in the countries of central and eastern Europe including questions of ownership, valuation, security and restitution (TRADE/WP.YR.13).

In addition to the issues raised therein, consideration should be given to: 1. What constitutes the root of any title?

2. Under what circumstances can new land parcels be created?

3. Will leaseholds be registered and if so what short-term leases will be included?

4. Will the State guarantee title to land?

5. Should there be a legal requirement to register any sale, gift or other transfer of rights in land, in whole or in part?

6. Will there be a central register or will there be local court registers of deeds and other documents that relate to the ownership of rights in land?

7. Is there a system of local land charges covering such matters as: planning restrictions imposed by local municipalities; orders designating specific types of land use; and compulsory purchase orders?

8. Are strata titles (relating to the ownership of apartments, etc.) to be recognized?

9. What rights exist below ground level such as mineral rights?

10. Is there to be a formal procedure for the adverse possession of land?

11. Is there a statute of limitations, that is a law that limits the time during which claims can be made, and if so how does it affect land rights?

12. What procedures are to be followed when a landowner cannot be traced?

13. Will there be a formal requirement to monument property boundaries?

14. What procedures will there be for resolving disputes over land or boundariesâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;?

Most of the answers to these questions need to be brought together within a single clear and simple code of land law together with a set of rules that cover procedural matters.

12.4. The adjudication and determination of rights in land Laws and procedures must be put in place to determine who owns or will own what areas of land. The first registration of rights in land starts with an analysis of old records, though these may not reflect what is now on the ground. In such cases it may, therefore, be necessary to hold public hearings and to take evidence from occupiers and other interested parties on the ground before agreeing to restore old rights.

Where land cannot be restored then either an alternative site will need to be identified or else compensation may be offered. In either case there must be clear laws that lay down what procedures are to be followed. Similarly, where land that was formally held by the State and is alienated, that is, it is taken away from State ownership and given or sold into the private sector, then formal procedures for demarcating the land and for allocating new land rights must be followed.

Two approaches may be adopted: a systematic approach in which all the land within a designated area is brought onto the land register at the same time; or a sporadic approach in which registration takes place on demand. The former is more cost-effective when carrying out initial registration but it requires powers of compulsion to bring land onto the register. The latter can be used selectively but in the long run it is more expensive.

When the registers are complete, their maintenance will inevitably be done on a sporadic basis since the system will be driven by the land market.

12.5. The surveying of land and property boundaries The surveying and mapping of property boundaries will normally be linked to a network of geodetic control points.

Although this is not essential in the short term, the long-term advantages of such an arrangement are considerable. The geodetic network must be able to support base mapping and serve as a framework for referencing spatial data.

Additional survey control points may be required at the local level in order to integrate surveys and to improve and provide coordinate references for parcel information. The application of new technologies, such as GPS, should be assessed from an economic rather than a technical perspective. Provisions must also be made to accommodate future changes in the network that may occur as a result of technical improvements. These may affect all coordinate based systems, including parcel references where coordinates are used.

Appropriate methods for surveying property boundaries should be chosen provided that they are consistent with the methods whereby existing land parcels are described and referenced.

Thus if coordinates are an essential component of the cadastral system then the survey technique must be capable of producing these either directly or indirectly. The survey of property boundaries is essentially a long-term investment since once the land has been registered the measurements of the boundaries are only likely to be used in cases where there are disputes over the land. The legal position as shown in the records must be related to the evidence on the ground. In many systems the evidence on the ground is considered paramount.

A key component in any land administration system is the parcel identifier or unique parcel reference number. This acts as a link between the parcel itself and all records related to it such as legal documents, valuation or assessment rolls. It facilitates data input and data exchange. The choice of a suitable referencing system should be based on such considerations as user familiarity, simplicity, flexibility, suitability for data storage, uniqueness and ability to be updated.

The parcel reference number should appear on base or index maps that will help the public identify their land in relation to their neighbors.

Index maps should be compiled both as reference for cadastral information and for efficiently integrating environmental and other information.

The base maps must be at scales large enough to depict property information, with displays at 1:1,000 or 1:2,000 often being required where parcel sizes are small and the amount of detail is large. Orthophotomaps, rectified photomaps, or planimetric maps may be used depending on the user requirements, cost, and timing among other factors. These maps will be in addition to any cadastral data that may be held in digital form.

In designing an appropriate cadastral survey and mapping system consideration should be given to: 1. The way that boundaries are marked on the ground and whether they are always marked out, for instance in residential â&#x20AC;&#x153;open-plannedâ&#x20AC;? estates; 2. Whether boundaries are visible from the air so that photogrammetric methods can be used, assuming that photographic evidence is acceptable in a court of law and there are no military restrictions on the use of aerial photography; 3. What social attitudes to boundaries exist and who is responsible for the preservation of boundary marks; 4. What penalties exist if boundary marks are disturbed; 5. Whether there is any legal requirement for land parcels to be surveyed and if so, who and what determines whether a survey is to an acceptable standard; 6. What accuracy standards are to be laid down and how are they to be monitored; 7. How survey data should be stored and retrieved and whether

the field notes of surveyors are to be treated as legal evidence; 8. Whether microfilm copies of survey records will be maintained along with back-up copies of the evidence of title to land; 9. The average overhead costs in money and time of different techniques of cadastral surveys; 10. The educational and training levels and skills that are available; 11. The scales and content of cadastral maps and plans that are to be produced either as index diagrams or for the precise record of parcel boundaries; 12. The legal status of maps and plans kept within the land registration system; 13. Restrictions governing the maximum and minimum sizes of land parcels, and details such as road reserve widths and plot frontages that must conform with building and development control regulations; 14. How complete and up-to-date is present land-use mapping; 15. The present state of public utility mapping both under and above the ground, including the records of easements for pipelines; 16. The procedures and standards for digital data exchange, including those for graphic and alphanumeric data.

12.6. The management of land information The management of an up-to-date land administration system inevitably involves the use of modern information technology.

Conventional solutions may no longer apply and the new system may involve the fundamental restructuring of the existing cadastral services and the scrutiny and analysis of every part of the system. The result of this process will be the first step towards a national land information system.

Since the system will take several years to develop, it is susceptible to political and institutional change. It must be able to accommodate new user demands and to take advantage of new technologies as they become available. On the other hand, it must continue to provide guarantees and to have the confidence of those who may have registered their land many generations ago.

The technology adopted should be chosen to meet the needs ofâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; the present multi-user community, but it should also be sufficiently flexible to meet anticipated future needs and to permit system growth and change. It must, however, always provide reliable legal evidence of land ownership.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe held a workshop in Vienna in September 1994 which produced a number of recommendations concerning the introduction of data into a cadastral system that are relevant to land administration including: (a) Data capture is the most expensive part of building up cadastral information systems. To avoid redundancies and inappropriate data it is important to set up a pilot project to examine standards for quality, data exchange, data classes, attributes, updating routines, etc. It is necessary also to consider how the use and value of land will influence data accuracy; (b) Data concerning real property are used by a great many people and organizations. To avoid double registration it is essential that regulations are set up for cooperation between public authorities on different levels and private companies. The public authority should be responsible for the necessary control of data; (c) To secure an optimum use of data, it is necessary to define a minimum core of common data. It is better to have a limited number of essential common data for a whole region or country than sophisticated data collections for

minor areas. The different users can then supply the common data with specific data to meet their own specific needs; (d) To avoid double registrations of basic common data it is important to meet the expectations of users. In this connection time is a crucial parameter. The authority responsible must consider the involvement of external producers in the conversion process from analogue to digital form to implement the process in a shorter time; (e) When data collection starts it is important that an updating process should be installed at the same time.

The workshop also made a number of recommendations concerning the quality of data in cadastral databases. It concluded that: (a) The quality of data in a cadastre should be defined and measured on the basis of user needs. The quality is good when the users are satisfied. Thus user needs should be identified and taken into account when building or reforming a cadastre. Inter alia, pilot studies can be used to identify user needs; (b) Whilst surveyors traditionally have been occupied with and assigned priority to geometrical accuracy, less attention has been paid to the quality of the descriptive data; (c) When defining the quality of data, the following aspects should be taken into account: completeness; coverage; frequency of updating; attribute reliability and accuracy; geometrical accuracy; (d) The quality requirements differ considerably with different categories of data. These differences should be identified and taken into account; (e) The requirement for accuracy in the determination of boundaries varies considerably from area to area. Several countries expressed the view that completeness and real time updating were more important than high geometrical accuracy;

(f) Data quality should always be documented. Inter alia, quality parameters are important to avoid misuse or misinterpretation of cadastral information. Quality parameters should be attached to all data elements or groups and categories of data, and included when data are exchanged. The quality parameters should be shown to the users. The main quality parameters are the data source, the time of the last update, and the accuracy of the data;

(g) Ensuring quality in descriptive data is a matter of organization. Quality management should be introduced in particular to identify critical points in the establishment as well as in the updating of databases. Quality checking routines should be established. Instruments like IS0 900090004 should be considered; (h) Whilst more and more users require cadastral information that is frequently and quickly updated in real-time, the need to secure data quality should not be underestimated; (i) The related costs should be identified and taken into account when deciding the levels of quality. Costs related to the possible misuse, misinterpretation or wrong decision making that may result from defects in the data should also be evaluated. Documentation of the quality is very

important when the quality is lower than the users might expect.

12.7. The establishment of financial management procedures The creation of a new land Registration system provides an opportunity for developing new financial arrangements. From the outset there needs to be tight control on expenditure and an efficient management information system put in place to ensure resources are properly and fully utilized. Under many existing systems there are global budgets but little detailed accounting to determine current costs of each individual part of the overall operation. As a result, there is much inefficiency and both time and money are wasted. Better financial accounting systems need to be put in place.

The level, scope, timing, and source of financing and expenditure should be reconsidered. There are opportunities for greater cost-effectiveness in areas such as subcontracting work to the private sector; increasing cost recovery through higher fees, sales of information, and taxes; and by linking the existing land administration records with a wider range of land information.

The market for real-estate data should create substantial opportunities for cost recovery. The potential for profit lies more in selling data about ownership, title and mortgages, rather than in graphic data concerning boundaries and parcels.

While the first registration of land may have to be subsidized, much if not all of the costs related to subsequent dealings in land can be passed on to the landowners. Nevertheless, the costs related to the basic maintenance of the land administration system can be regarded as a public responsibility. It should also be regarded as part of the vital infrastructure for the development and maintenance of sustainable societies.

This should be taken into account when deciding on the financial mechanisms for charging for products and services. The major users of land-related data are in general public bodies which may be unable to adapt to market-based pricing. Prices should not prevent the optimal flow and utilization of such data. Hence in some circumstances, prices should be differentiated, based on the individual userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s benefit or profit from having access to the data.

Overall, those who invest in the new system as well as the external users, in both the public and private sectors, should be able to gain monetary benefit from the service provided. The new system should improve access to data, reduce or eliminate unnecessary activities and expenditure, improve data quality and enhance the quality of decision-making.

12.8. Developing awareness in the user community A land Registration system should benefit both the general public and all those in authority who are responsible for managing land-related resources. Frequently the public are unclear about how the system works. In many areas of the world informal systems of land administration have developed so that what in reality occurs on the ground differs from that recorded in the registers.

It is essential that the public become well informed about the operation of their land administration system. When land parcels are legally subdivided or when transfers of land or property take place, the authorities must be informed and the registers amended accordingly. This applies in the case of both

sales and inheritance. In many countries the passing of laws to this effect is insufficient. The system must have the active support of the public.

When land reform is taking place, especially in land restitution and in land consolidation, those affected must be actively involved. Public meetings need to be held to explain what is going on and the media such as radio and television may be used to broadcast details of the reform programs. When such programs are complete, however, there is still a need to inform the public of their rights and obligations.

The growth of land information systems and the dissemination of information held in the land and property registers threatens the privacy of individuals. The public must understand and accept the level of information that is placed in the public domain or else people will find ways to avoid information appearing in the registers. This will then destroy the confidence that others have in the system and hence significantly reduce the benefits of secure land titles.

One mechanism for keeping the public informed is the distribution of leaflets explaining the system, how it works and how the public should use it. More detailed â&#x20AC;&#x153;practice leaf-letsâ&#x20AC;? may be issued for the benefit of lawyers who are unfamiliar with any new legislation so that they understand the procedures that they must operate.

It is essential that all parties concerned are aware of the costs, benefits and procedures to be followed in a land administration system. Promotion of the system requires careful planning. A land administration system requires marketing if its full benefits are to be realized.

12.9. Recommendations Determine what the State and the general public need. Create new administrative structures so that the system can respond to market needs. Prepare new legislation that covers the management of land and of land information. Make sure what exists on the ground so that the registers reflect the facts. Ensure that land and property boundaries are clearly identifiable and surveyed to appropriate standards. Provide easy and cost-effective access to the data within the system. Publicize the way the system works and its benefits.

Conveyancing is defined as the legal process (preparing the sales deed, mortgage and other related documents) of creating, transferring and dealing with an interest in land, that is a right of ownership in or over land, such as a freehold or leasehold.

Presently, the existing system of manual conveyancing causes anxiety and tension to all those who are involved because of its inherent shortcomings. However, it is expected that a comprehensive electronic conveyancing (e-Conveyancing) system which is capable of facilitating electronic conveyancing of documents, online investigation of title, networked communication between the parties, simultaneous completion and registration, etc. would address these limitations by reducing delays, saving time and money and bringing greater transparency.

But, for most jurisdictions the laws relating to property transfer are extremely complicated, and so it is no simple matter to convert paper-based systems built up over several centuries to straightforward electronic processes. So, the

author of this work took up an extensive study about these issues, basing on the input from the initiative taken up by the HM Land Registry of England and Wales and the Dutch Kadaster of the Netherlands on e-Conveyancing.

This research is the result of that study and contains a description of those issues, such as customer orientation, institutional and operational changes, data and process security arrangement, services and functionalities to be delivered, business and implementation strategies etc., which need to be addressed to make the dream of e-Conveyancing a reality in any country.

However, the existing system of manual conveyancing causes anxiety and tension to all those who are involved in conveyancing , due to the involvement of and interdependence between the large numbers of players such as homeowners (buyers and sellers), property owning organisations (companies, utilities, pension funds, property developers), lenders – banks and building societies, conveyancers (solicitors, licensed conveyancers and Individual conveyancers), estate agents, surveyors, suppliers to the conveyancing industry – existing and potential and government departments and agencies, including Land Registry and local government, in the whole process of conveyancing.

The main weaknesses in the existing manual Land Conveyancing system are the long timescale between “handshake” (when an offer is informally accepted) and completion (when the new homeowner receives the keys); the lack of transparency and attendant problems in the chain in terms of delay and uncertainty; the awkwardness and diseconomies in the financial settlements at exchange of contracts and at completion of transaction; and the potential for poor conveyancing standards to be adopted – with the present paper based systems: large numbers of applications lodged with Land Registry prove to be defective. (HM Land Registry 2003).Whereas, the unprecedented revolutions taking place in the information and communication technology (ICT) are transforming economies and societies across the world.

The spread of ICT into homes and offices is affecting the way all stakeholders in the business process communicate with each other and the ways in which they process and store data.

Internet is now commonplace and often the norm for business to business and customer/client to business. As the Law Commission and Land Registry of England put it in their joint report on Land Registration (HM Land Registry and Law Commission 1998): “Dealings with land cannot remain unaffected by the general development of electronic commerce. The public rightly seeks a more expeditious and much less stressful system of dealing with land.”

The joint report again puts it well: “Nevertheless, however inevitable it may now seem, there is a legitimate public expectation that the change to an electronically based system for dealings with land will produce clear and demonstrable benefits”. It is expected that a comprehensive electronic conveyancing (e-Conveyancing) system which is paperless, without Registration Gap, with complete Chain Transparency, with permanent connection between practitioners and the Land Registry, secured and fraud resistant and with facility for Simultaneous Money Transfers; and capable of facilitating electronic conveyancing of documents, online investigation of title, networked communication between the parties, simultaneous completion and registration would address the weaknesses of the manual conveyancing system mentioned in the beginning, by reducing delays, saving time and money, bringing greater transparency and

certainty and reducing anxiety for people buying and selling property.

The proposed system is also expected to provide the property owners better services; transaction intermediaries, such as notaries, conveyancers, estate agents and surveyors new tools to improve the services they offer and to modernize their own internal office procedures; the financial institutions with a more structured system of payments and better services; office IT system suppliers with more business in the form of demand for more software to interface with existing case and office management systems; and the government agencies with greater efficiency in service delivery, payment receipt and information collection.

It could be summarized that, introduction of eConveyancing can radically reshape the process of land conveyancing, not only to work better but to work in a way which can be handled completely electronically giving the customers a more efficient, and a better service (HM Land Registry 2005).

However, presently, the e-Conveyancing is in its infancy all over the world and the process of planning, piloting and implementing the new electronic system will take several years and is a highly challenging job involving reforming the existing Land Registration Acts and Rules to make it more contemporary and conducive to the way land is used and administered presently, by bringing in legislative changes to legalize the practices of Digital Signature, electronic documents, electronic transfer and execution of deeds and contracts, Electronic Fund Transfer etc.; formation of Virtual Enterprise of all the stakeholders who would have seamless connectivity and access to the information and resources of all these participating organizations limited to the terms and condition as agreed upon; close coordination and active voluntary participation of all the stakeholders; preparation of standards, specifications, terms and conditions, contractual agreements, network access agreements; ensuring interoperability, accessibility, security etc. Countries like the Netherlands, England & Wales are at the forefront of e- Conveyancing.

These Governments have undertaken wide ranging programs of legislative change to ensure that the law can meet the needs of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property markets. Many eConveyancing services have already been made operational and many are in the developing and testing mode.

Chapter Thirteen : E-Conveyancing: The Long Way to Go

Though, in both England & Wales and the Netherlands the idea of e-Conveyancing has been evolving over the years, the formal initiative for embracing e-Conveyancing was started more or less at the same time, i.e. in the year 1998. In the case of England & Wales the preliminary proposal was in the form of a joint report by the Law Commission and Land Registry entitled Land Registration for the Twenty First Century (HM Land Registry 2005) and in the case of the Netherlands it was in the form of a negotiated agreement with the Notary Board (KNB) for the setting up of e-Conveyancing system in the Netherlands (Leenders 2005). The story of e-Conveyancing, in England & Wales and the Netherlands, so far has been described below.

13.1. Registration & Right to information Authentication of electronic records by digital signature.-

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, any subscriber may authenticate an electronic record by affixing his digital signature.

(2) The authentication of the electronic record shall be effected by the use of asymmetric cryptosystem and hash function which envelop and transform the initial electronic record into another electronic record.

(3) Any person by the use of a public key of the subscriber can verify the electronic record.

(4) The private key and the public key are unique to the subscriber and constitute a functioning key pair.

Legal recognition of electronic records.- Where any law requires any information or matter to be written, in writing or in the typewritten or printed form or provides for certain consequences if it is not, then notwithstanding such law, such requirement shall be deemed to have been met if such information or matter is rendered in an electronic form: Provided that the information or matter is accessible so as to be usable for a subsequent reference.

Legal recognition of digital signatures.- Where any law requires that information or any matter shall be authenticated by affixing the signature or any document shall be signed or bear the signature of any person or provides for any consequences if it is not, then, notwithstanding any such law, such requirement shall be deemed to have been met, if such information or matter is authenticated or such document is signed by means of digital signature affixed in such manner as may be prescribed by the Government.â&#x20AC;?

The next provision may provide for recognition and acceptance of electronic records and electronic signatures in various government offices, agencies, etc. because, in various existing laws there are mandatory provisions for filing, recognition and acceptance of applications, forms, etc. in specified manner and also for issuance of licence, orders, permits, sanctions, etc. by governmental authorities in specified manner. The purpose of the proposed enactment will be largely frustrated if, notwithstanding the existing laws, enabling provision is not made regarding the electronic records and electronic signatures for their acceptance, recognition, etc. in government offices. We, accordingly, propose the following provision:-

13.1.1. Use of electronic records and digital signatures in Government and its agencies.(1) Where any law requires(a) the filing of any form, application or any other document with any office, body, authority or agency owned or controlled by the Government in a particular manner; (b) the issue or grant of any licence, permit, sanction, approval or order by whatever name called in a particular manner; (c) the receipt or payment of money in a particular manner, then, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, such requirement shall be deemed to have been satisfied if such filing, issue, grant, receipt or payment, as the case may be, is effected by means of such electronic form as may be prescribed by the Government.

(2) The Government may, for the purposes of sub- section (1) of this section, by rules, prescribe(a) the manner and format in which such electronic records

shall be filed, created or issued; (b) the manner or method of payment of any fee or charges for filing, creation or issue of any electronic record under clause (a) of this subsection.”

Under various laws and rules modes have been prescribed for retention and preservation of records and documents in various offices, courts, organizations , etc. and by individuals. Similarly, provisions are required to be made for retention and preservation of electronic records as well.

We, accordingly, propose the following provision:-

13.1.2. Retention of electronic records.(1) Where any law requires that any documents, records or information shall be retained for any specific period, then such requirement shall be deemed to have been satisfied if such documents, records or information, as the case may be, are retained in the electronic form if the following conditions are satisfied:(a) the information contained therein remains accessible so as to be usable for subsequent reference; (b) the electronic record is retained in the format in which it was originally generated, sent or received, or in a format which can be demonstrated to represent accurately the information originally generated, sent or received; (c) such information, if any, as enables the identification of the origin and destination of an electronic record and the date and time when it was sent or received, is retained; Provided that this clause does not apply to any information which is automatically generated solely for the purpose of enabling an electronic record to be despatched or received.

(2) A person may satisfy the requirements referred to in sub section (1) of this section by using the services of any other person, if the conditions in clauses (a) to (c) of that subsection are complied with.

(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to any law which expressly provides for the retention of documents, records or information in the form of electronic records.”

In clause (s) of section 3 of this Act we have defined “Electronic Gazette” attributing to it the same meaning as the “Official Gazette” as defined in clause (37 a) of section 3 of the General Clauses Act, 1897. In this Act, there must, therefore, be a provision giving the same status to all publications in the Official Gazette. India has made such provision. 10 In this respect, we propose the following provision:-

13.1.3. Electronic Gazette Where any law requires that any law, rule, regulation, order, bye-law, notification or any other matter shall be published in the Official Gazette, then, such requirement shall be deemed to have been satisfied if such law, rule, regulation, order, bye- law, notification or any other matter is published in the Official Gazette or the Electronic Gazette: Provided that where any law, rule, regulation, order, bye-law, notification or any other matter is published in the Official Gazette or the Electronic Gazette, the date of publication shall be deemed to be the date of the Gazette which was first published in any form.”

In the Indian Act a provision has been made to the effect that notwithstanding the provisions proposed in sections 7, 8 and 9 above, no person shall have the right to compel the Government

or any agency of the Government or any authority or body established by any law or controlled or funded by the Government to accept, issue, create, retain and preserve any document in the form of electronic records. In other words, the Government has been given the alternative right to perform transactions in the existing ordinary form. This provision is necessary as electronic transactions are new in this country and many Government departments still lack the logistics to perform transactions in electronic form. In this context, the Indian provision may be adopted. It is, accordingly, proposed as follows:-

13.1.4 .No liability on Government to accept documents in electronic form .

Nothing contained in this Act shall by itself compel any Ministry or Department of the Government or any authority or body established by or under any law or controlled or funded by the Government to accept, issue, create, retain and preserve any document in the form of electronic records or effect any monetary transaction in the electronic form.â&#x20AC;?

13.1.5. Power of Government to make rules in respect of digital signatures The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to prescribe for the purposes of this Act(a) the type of digital signature; (b) the manner and format in which the digital signature shall be affixed; (c) the manner or procedure which facilitates identification of the person affixing the digital signature; (d) the control processes and procedures to ensure adequate integrity, security and confidentiality of electronic records or payments; and (e) any other matter which is necessary to give legal effect to digital signatures.â&#x20AC;? Next comes the concept of attribution. Very often, data messages are generated automatically by computers without direct human intervention. The computers are programmed by the originator to do this. In the case of a paper based communication a problem may arise as the result of an alleged forged signature of the purported originator. In an electronic environment, an unauthorized person may have sent the message but the authentication by code or like manner would be accurate. There should, therefore, be provision laying down the criteria or principles of attribution establishing a presumption that under certain circumstances a data message would be considered as a message of the originator. There should also be provision to qualify the presumption in case the addressee knew or ought to have known that the data message was not that of the originator.

The principles of attribution as laid down in the UNCITRAL Model Law are as follows:(a) A data message is considered to be that of the originator if it was sent by the originator itself. (b) As between the originator and the addressee, a data message is deemed to be that of the originator if it was sent (i) by a person who had the authority to act on behalf of the originator in respect of that data message; or (ii) by an information system programmed by, or on behalf of, the originator automatically. (c) As between the originator and the addressee, an addressee is entitled to regard the data message as being that of the originator, and to act on that assumption if

(i) in order to ascertain whether the data message was that of the originator, the addressee properly applied a procedure previously agreed to by the originator for that purpose; or (ii) the data message as received by the addressee resulted from the actions of a person whose relationship with the originator or with any agent of the originator enabled that person to gain access to a method used by the originator to identify data messages as its own.

13.1.6 Attribution. - (1) An electronic record shall be that of the originator if it was sent by the originator himself.

(2) As between the originator and the addressee, an electronic record shall be deemed to be that of the originator if it was sent(a) by a person who had the authority to act on behalf of the originator in respect of that electronic record; or (b) by an information system programmed by or on behalf of the originator to operate automatically.

(3) As between the originator and the addressee, an addressee shall be entitled to regard an electronic record as being that of the originator and to act on that assumption if(a) in order to ascertain whether the electronic record was that of the originator, the addressee properly applied a procedure previously agreed to by the originator for that purpose; or (b) the information as received by the addressee resulted from the actions of a person whose relationship with the originator or with any agent of the originator enabled that person to gain access to a method used by the originator to identify the electronic records as its own. be that of the originator, or the addressee is entitled to act on that assumption, then, as between the originator and the addressee, the addressee shall be entitled to regard the electronic record received as being what the originator intended to send, and to act on that assumption: Provided that the addressee shall not be so entitled when the addressee knew or should have known, after exercising reasonable care or using any agreed procedure, that the transmission resulted in any error in the electronic record as received.

(6) The addressee shall be entitled to regard each electronic record received as separate electronic record and to act on that assumption, except to the extent that the addressee duplicates another electronic record and the addressee knew or should have known, after exercising reasonable care or using any agreed procedure, that the electronic record was a duplicate.â&#x20AC;?

The next provision should deal with acknowledgement of receipt of electronic records. The principles of acknowledgement of receipt of electronic records or data message have been laid down in the Model law and India and Singapore have adopted these principles. Following the principles laid down in the Model Law, we propose the next provision as follows

13.1.7. Acknowledgement of receipt (1) Sub- sections (2) (3) and (4) of this section shall apply where, on or before sending an electronic record, or by means of that electronic record, the originator has requested or has agreed with the addressee that receipt of the electronic record be acknowledged.

(2) Where the originator has no t agreed with the addressee that the acknowledgement be given in a particular form or by a particular method, an acknowledgement may be given by â&#x20AC;&#x201C; (a) any communication by the addressee, automated or otherwise; or

(b) any conduct of the addressee, sufficient to indicate to the originator that the electronic record has been received.

(3) Where the originator has stipulated that the electronic record shall be conditional on receipt of the acknowledgement, then, until the acknowledgement has been received, the electronic record shall be deemed to have been never sent by the originator.

(4) Where the originator has not stipulated that the electronic record shall be conditional on receipt of the acknowledgement, and the acknowledgement has not been received by the originator within the time specified or agreed or, if no time has been specified or agreed, within a reasonable time, the originator(a) may give notice to the addressee stating that no acknowledgement has been received and specifying a reasonable time by which the acknowledgement must be received; and (b) if no acknowledgement is received within the time specified in clause (a) of this sub-section, may, after giving notice to the addressee, treat the electronic record as though it has never been sent.

(5) Where the originator receives the addresseeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acknowledgement of receipt, it shall be presumed that the related electronic record was received by the addressee, but that presumption shall not imply that the content of the electronic record corresponds to the content of the record received.

(6) Where the received acknowledgement states that the related electronic record met technical requirements, either agreed upon or set forth in applicable standards, it shall be presumed that those requirements have been met.â&#x20AC;?

For the operation of many existing laws, it is important to ascertain the time and place of despatch and receipt of information. The use of electronic communication techniques makes these difficult to ascertain. In addition, the location of certain communication systems may change without either of the parties being aware of the change.

Therefore, the proposed Act should reflect the fact that the location of information systems is irrelevant and should set forth a more objective criterion, namely, the place of bus iness of the parties.

The proposed Act should, therefore, define the time of despatch of an electronic record as the time when the electronic record enters the computer resource outside the control of the originator which may either be the computer resource of an intermediary or a computer resource of the addressee. For determining the time of receipt also the proposed Act should lay down some principles. In the Model Law the principles regarding the time, place of despatch of electronic records and place of receipt of electronic records have been laid down. India and Singapore have exactly followed the principles of the Model Law. Bangladesh has no reason to make a departure. We, accordingly, propose the provisions regarding the time and place of despatch and receipt of electronic records as follows:-

13.1.8. Time and place of despatch and receipt of electronic record.(1) Save as otherwise agreed to between the originator and the addressee, the dispatch of an electronic record occurs when it enters a computer resource outside the control of the originator.

(2) Save as otherwise agreed to between the originator and the addressee, the time of receipt of an electronic record shall be determined as follows, namely:(a) if the addressee has designated a computer re source for the

purpose of receiving electronic records, receipt occurs,(i) at the time when the electronic record enters the designated computer resource; or (ii) if the electronic record is sent to a computer resource of the addressee that is not designated computer resource, at the time when the electronic record is retrieved by the addressee; (b) if the addressee has not designated a computer resource along with specified timings, if any, receipt occurs when the electronic record enters the computer resource of the addressee.

(3) Save as otherwise agreed to between the originator and the addressee, an electronic record is deemed to be despatched at the place where the originator has his place of business, and is deemed to be received at the place where the addressee has his place of business.

(4) The provisions of sub -section (2) of this section shall apply notwithstanding that the place where the computer resource is located may be different from the place where the electronic record is deemed to have been received under sub-section (3) of this section.

(5) For the purposes of this section,(a) if the originator or the addressee has more than one place of business, the principal place of business shall be the place of business; (b) if the originator or the addressee does not have a place of business, his usual place of residence shall be deemed to be the place of business; Explanation.- “usual place of residence”, in relation to a body corporate, means the place where it is registered.”

In the next place, we propose to deal with secure electronic records and digital signatures. Normal and conventional handwritten signatures may perform various functions such as:(a) to identify a person; (b) to provide certainty and proof as to the involvement of a person in the act of signing; (c) to associate and connect the signer with the contents of a document; (d) to establish the signer’s intention that something has legal effect; or (e) to show the intent of a person to associate himself with the content of a document written by someone else.

So, an electronic or a digital signature should be so designed as to be able to achieve all the above objects of conventional paper based signatures and should be “functional equivalent” of conventional signatures. There must be a proper security method for ensuring the acceptability of an electronic signature.

The following factors are required to be taken into account in determining whether the security method used for an electronic signature is appropriate, legal, technical and commercial:(a) the sophistication of the equipment used by each of the parties; (b) the nature of their trade activity; (c) the frequency at which commercial transactions take place between the parties; (d) thekind and size of the transaction; (e) the function of signature requirements in a given regulatory and statutory environment; (f) the capability of communication systems; (g) compliance with authentication procedures set forth by intermediaries; (h) the range of authentication procedures made available by the intermediary; i) compliance with trade customs and practice; (j) the existence of insurance coverage mechanisms against unauthorized messages; (k) the importance and the value of the information contained in the electronic record; (l) the availability of alternative methods of identification and the cost of implementation; (m) the degree of acceptance or non-acceptance of the method of identification in the relevant industry or field both at the time the method was agreed upon and the time when the electronic record was communicated and (n) any other relevant factor. In order to achieve the basic purposes of signatures, the following effects are needed:(a) signature authentication; (b) document authentication i.e. a signature should identify what is signed and make it impracticable to

falsify or alter either the signed matter or the signature; (c) affirmative act i.e. to serve the ceremonial and approval functions of a signature, a person should be able to create a signature to mark an event, indicate approval and authorization and establish the sense of having legally consummated a transaction and (d) efficiency i.e. optimally, a signature and its creation and verification processes should provide the greatest possible assurance of authenticity and validity with the least possible expenditure of resources. In the following sections provisions are proposed to reflect the above principles:Secure electronic record. - Where any security procedure has been applied to an electronic record at a specific point of time, then such record shall be deemed to be a secure electronic record from such point of time to the time of verification.

Secure digital signature.- If, by application of a security procedure agreed to by the parties concerned, it can be verified that a digital signature, at the time it was affixed, was(a) unique to the person affixing it; (b) capable of identifying the person affixing it; (c) created in a manner or using a means under the sole control of the person affixing it; and (d) is linked to the electronic record to which it relates in such a manner that if the electronic record was altered the digital signature would be invalidated, then such digital signature shall be deemed to be a secure digital signature.

Security procedure.- The Government shall, for the purposes of this Act, prescribe the security procedure having regard to commercial circumstances prevailing at the time when the procedure was used, including â&#x20AC;&#x201C; (a) the nature of the transaction; (b) the level of sophistication of the parties with reference to their technological capacity; (c) the volume of similar transactions engaged in by other parties; (d) the availability of alternatives offered to but rejected by any party; (e) the cost of alternative procedures; and (f) the procedures in general use for similar types of transactions or communications.â&#x20AC;?

The next provisions should deal with certifying authorities. A certifying authority can be defined as an authority whose functions are to:(a) Reliably identify persons applying for signature key certificates; (b) Reliably verify their legal capacity; (c) Confirm the attribution of a public signature key to an identified physical person by means of a signature key certificate; (d) Always maintain the on-line access to the signature key certificates with the agreement of the signature key owner; and (e) Take measures so that the confidentiality of a private signature key is guaranteed. Some of the services which a certifying authority may provide can be:(a) Managing cryptographic keys used for digital signatures; (b) Certifying that a public key corresponds to a private key; (c) Providing keys to end users; (d) Deciding which users will have which privileges on the system; (e) Publishing a secure directory of public keys or certificates; (f) Managing personal tokens (e.g. smart cards) that can identify the user with unique personal identification information or can generate orstore an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s private keys; (g) Checking the identification of end users and providing them with services; (h) Providing non-repudiation services; (i) Providing time-stamping services; and (j) Managing encryption keys used for confidentiality encryption where the use of such a technique is authorized.

In many countries certifying authorities are organized

hierarchically and is technically named public key infrastructure (PKI). We propose to follow the same structure of certifying authorities. In the next place, the certifying authorities are required to maintain certain requirements, such as, independence, internal security, longevity, financial resources, legal service, contingent plan, proved experience and proficiency in information technology, particularly, in encryption and decryption technologies and familiarity with security procedures, protection arrangement for its own private key, revocation procedures, insurance, inter-operationality with other national and foreign certification authorities, personnel selection and reliable management. The above matters are required to be regulated by the chief of the certifying authorities.

An information-starved society is limited in its social and economic development. It follows that a society which is not geographically aware or â&#x20AC;&#x153;spatially enabledâ&#x20AC;? is deprived of the ability to effectively plan. The need for accurate spatial information for planning and monitoring of present activities and ensuring sustainable future development has led to the concept and development of spatial data infrastructures. Spatial planning, made possible through a spatial data infrastructure, is a device for bringing, or augmenting order to the cultural landscape. In adopting this approach the institutional envelope in which the land administration agencies and co-ordination initiatives reside is being reshaped by the sharing of responsibilities between the private and public sectors and the reengineering of the bureaucracy. ( Spatial Data Infrastructures: The Vision for the Future and the Role of Government in Underpinning Future Land Administration Systems. Prof Donald M Grant, 2000 AM Surveyor-General of New South Wales Bathurst, NSW, AUSTRALIA, Presented at the UN-FIG Conference on Land Tenure and Cadastral Infrastructures for Sustainable Development, Melbourne, Australia 25-27 October).

13.2. Customer Orientation Though the term e-Conveyancing is being used by both England & Wales and the Netherlands for the programme being implemented to make conveyancing easier, there are striking differences in the basic institutional framework under which the land conveyancing in these countries operates. Notwithstanding the differences in institutional framework, in both England & Wales and the Netherlands the first step towards Conveyancing was to study, consult all stakeholders and propose the reform of all the existing legislations related to land registration and conveyancing, in order to give legal sanctity to the process of doing Land Conveyancing through electronic media.

The consultation done by the England & Wales has been unprecedented. Extensive documentation of all the issues, in the most simplistic manner, along with a long list of proposals, suggestion and questions, have been prepared and sent to almost everyone who have anything to do with land conveyancing in England & Wales, with the request to give their views and suggestions in order to firm up the idea about the model to be built, which meet their needs and aspirations. These also helped them to determine what services would deliver the most early benefit to stakeholders and frame the implementation plan (HM Land Registry 2005). However, the consultation done by the Dutch Cadastre is not limited only to the conceptualization and implementation of e-Conveyancing program. That was done more as a part of their ICT Renewal program of their business strategy to serve the customer better. In this case too, the consultation has been extensive and scientific.

13.3. Existing Platforms In many senses e-Conveyancing already exist in these countries.

They provide the backdrop from which the e-Conveyancing programme has arisen and from which it can continue to develop, on an incremental basis, until the e-Conveyancing vision is fully realised. In both countries, the citizens generally are becoming more familiar with ICT and are increasingly choosing to carry out their business online. Lenders are increasingly marketing their mortgage products, communicating with their customers, conducting their valuations and providing their mortgage offers online. Conveyancers and Real-estate agents too are increasingly making use of the internet to market and to provide their services to clients.

The use of case management software is commonplace and specialized online conveyancing services are now available that give clients online access to their cases, keeping themup to date with progress. It is now more commonplace for estate agents to use web technology to market properties for sale, including online auctions and sales by tender (HM Land Registry 2003).The Land Registries currently hold, update and operate large databases of property information of the respective countries.

13.4. Approaches towards e-Conveyancing Though, the term e-Conveyancing is being used both in England & Wales and the Netherlands for the program being implemented to make conveyancing easier, there is considerable difference in their conceptual models and the approaches. While the e-Conveyancing model being attempted in England& Wales is more comprehensive and all encompassing, what is being attempted in the Netherlands is presently focused on making the transaction between the Notaries and the Land Registry to be totally paperless and automated; a pragmatic approach of limiting their targets to a realistic level. Once this target is achieved, these services would be extended to other professional users also.

However, this limited implementation of e- Conveyancing is termed as e-lodgement, e-discharges etc. in England & Wales. To that extent, what is being attempted in the Netherlands is only a subset of the program being pursued in England & Wales. It is pertinent to mention here that while the HM Land Registry is the pivot around which all the activities of land conveyancing in England & Wales revolves, that role is played by Notaries in the case of the Netherlands . So any further automation in land conveyancing in the Netherlands comes in the realm of the Notaries and has to be initiated by them.

However, there are some similarities too in their approaches. In both countries, the e-Conveyancing program has an incremental structure. It is being developed and delivered through a portfolio of activities and projects, amounting to a series of service improvements that can be built up to realize the full e-Conveyancing vision. The aim is to stage a pilot implementation of the full set of services as soon as possible. A stakeholder-wide implementation program could then take many more years to complete. Initially, use of the eConveyancing services will be voluntary but there may come a point when use of the service by everyone in the conveyancing process will be overwhelmingly in the public interest.

13.5. Proposed e-Conveyancing Models In England & Wales The e-Conveyancing process usually begins with the seller

instructing real estate agents, probably by using the internet. The real estate agent finds out a buyer and then contacts the buyer’s and seller’s conveyancers by e-mail. The conveyancer takes the client’s instructions. The conveyancer then use case management software to feed in the basic information needed to proceed and obtains details of the title to the property via Direct Links to the Land Registry or the National Land Information Service. Next he or she begins to prepare the conveyancing documents.

The seller’s conveyancer uses the e-Conveyancing service to transmit the draft contract from his case management system to the buyer’s conveyancer; the automatic validation checks would compare contract data with Land Registry data and electronic messages and would indicate any discrepancies. At this time, a new notional register would be built on the system indicating, as each document is prepared, what the new register would look like. There would also be a facility for conveyancers to view Land Registry’s Day List prior to exchange of contracts, in order to ascertain whether or not there is a pending application which may adversely affect the transaction – for example a bankruptcy notice.

At the contract stage, there would be an electronic equivalent of the contracts. Contracts would be exchanged electronically when buyer’s and seller’s conveyancers had signalled that agreement had been reached and contracts had been signed and released for electronic exchange. The system would provide for automatic exchange of contracts relating to all transactions in a property chain.

For this and other purposes, conveyancers might need to have electronic signatures and authentication from a recognised Certification Authority. Buyers and sellers might need to empower conveyancers to sign by written authority.

A substantive register entry would be made to note the contract; the Register would automatically be frozen and would provide a priority period for the ensuing registration on completion. During this period the draft electronic transfer and any draft electronic charges will be agreed and finalized.

These documents will then be signed electronically in anticipation of completion just as they are in the existing paper system. Shortly before completion the parties to the transaction (and all parties in the chain) would signal their readiness to complete in accordance with the terms of the contract. They will do so probably by using an extension of the chain matrix, which will indicate first that all necessary documentation is signed and secondly that all the financial arrangements are in place.

Registration would take place with completion of transaction. The changes signalled in the notional register would be verified and the new edition of the register would be finalized on the system.

All financial obligations, including Stamp Duty Land Tax and Land Registry fees as well as payments between buyers, sellers, lenders and conveyancers, would be settled through an Electronic Funds Transfer system. With the help of the e-technologies, the amounts of Stamp Duty Land Tax and Land Registry fees would be correct in virtually all cases (HM LandRegistry 2003).

In The Netherlands, the e-Conveyancing model being attempted in the Netherlands is a more realistic one. Whenever, a Notary wants to create a deed, he logs on to the Web Services of the Land Registry System of Dutch Kadaster, through his computer in his office. The system checks his password and gives him access to the services.

He then accesses the template of the concerned deed in the

digital library. The deed form templates get displayed on his Monitor. The Notary feeds in all the required information.

The software generates an XML and PDF file which looks exactly like the standardized paper deed. After satisfying himself the Notary obtains hard copy printouts. The Notary then gets the deed executed by taking the signatures of all concerned (e.g.: buyers, sellers and witnesses) in his presence. He then signs on the deed and make copy of the same and hand over to the buyer and seller and keep the original with him.

The Notary then runs the hashing (SHA-1 hashing algorithms) on the digitally generated documents (both PDF and XML) which do not contain any signatures. Then he super scribes the hashed files with a Request for Registration of Deed (RRD) message or any other such request messages, as applicable. The Notary once again accesses the web services of the Dutch Kadaster using his password, then encrypts all these files using his Private Key and enters his Digital Signature certifying the execution of the deed and sends the entire document to the Kadaster. (These documents do not contain any physical signature). On receiving the document, the Kadaster checks whether it has been sent by the authorised person basing on the information from a Trusted Third Party.

The Kadaster then decrypts the message, verifies whether that document has been changed, verify the validity of the Private Key and Digital Signature, the identity of the holder of the Private Key used for the Digital Signature etc. with the helpof Asymmetric Cryptography Techniques. (This technique has been explained in later detail in this report). For an independent check, the document is once again compared with the XML and PDF files created by the Notary initially for executing the deed to ensure that the document has not been tampered with subsequently. If satisfied the Land Registry updates the database, else return the document back to the Notary (Stolk P and Lemmen C 2003; Leenders 2005).

13.6. E-Conveyancing: Security Issues Security is one of the key requirements for all the stages of the conveyancing and registration processes, including the associated electronic funds transfer service. This includes physical, logical and procedural security measures, as well as the security of e-documents or data. Data stored by the component services have to be protected against loss, corruption and access by unauthorized personnel. The e-Conveyancing service must gain the confidence of users by strict adherence to an appropriate level of security. It must be capable of achieving security accreditation through the production of, and demonstrable adherence to, an appropriate accreditation document set that details the risks and countermeasures to be taken.

The e-Conveyancing service must strike a balance between security, usability and cost. Access must not be irksome or onerous, but equally security must not be compromised.

Security must not be cumbersome and should not reduce usability and scalability. One of the weakest links, as far as the security of e-Conveyancing is concerned, is the e-mail exchanges of documents between different stakeholders from geographically separated locations using internet.

Unfortunately, e-mail exchanges on the Internet are almost totally unprotected. e-mail communication in plain text can be intercepted at every intermediate Internet hardwires (such as

routers) or even on the communication lines where the information passes. This information can be misused in a number of ways (Utimaco Safeware AG 2002). Keeping in view of its importance of the security of documents transmitted via emails, various security aspects related to the exchange of documents through e-mails have been discussed below.’

13.7. Security Risks of Data and Processes of e-Conveyancing The risks, the data and processes of e-Conveyancing, would be exposed to can be grouped under the following five categories: Integrity: The e-Conveyancing service must ensure the integrity of data and messages against accidental or deliberate malicious alteration from the point at which they are sent by the originator to the point at which they are received. Integrity of the service must be demonstrable such that any changes to any data or message between the sender and the recipient can be identified.

Authenticity: The e-Conveyancing service must be capable of identifying and authenticating the buyers’ and sellers’ conveyancers (there may be several users on each side,), each party’s lender(s), other Government departments with interfaces to the service, individual conveyancers, Land Registry staffs, anyone else authorized to have access to the service.

Non-repudiation: The service must ensure the integrity, authentication and non-repudiation of data and information exchanged, after any agreed alterations between the parties. No party using any part of the e-Conveyancing service must be able to deny that they had sent or received any document(s), message(s) or data that had been sent or received.

Audit trails: Comprehensive audit trails of all activities that take place within the e-Conveyancing service are required.

Privacy: The e-Conveyancing service must provide assurances that privacy is maintained in the documents, data, messages and information exchanged via the component services between users and any ancillary parties (such as lenders and clients). It must be capable of ensuring that unauthorized persons cannot read a document even if they gain access to it.

13.8. Countermeasures for e-Conveyancing Security The solutions based on Public Key Cryptography and other access right control measures, it is possible to protect all of these categories of risks as given below (Utimaco Safeware AG 2002): Integrity: Digital Signature and hash values secure the integrity of information, Authenticity: Digital Signature, encryption, user login and certificates guarantee the authenticity of the sender, Non-repudiation: Digital Signature and certificates as well as time-stamps make information or transactions undeniable, Privacy: privacy of information can be protected through encryption and access rights control.

13.9. Public Key Cryptography (Asymmetric Key Cryptography) Public Key Cryptography is a form of cryptography which generally allows users to communicate securely without having prior access to a shared secret key, by using a pair of cryptographic keys designated as Public Key and Private Key, which are related mathematically but it is not possible to deduce

the Private Key of a pair from the Public Key. The Private Key is generally kept secret, while the Public Key may be widely distributed. The output of this technique is called a Digital Signature (Wikipedia 2005). There is only one Public Key cryptosystem that is in wide acceptance today: This is called RSA; its named for its inventors Rivest, Shamir and Adelman (Stolk P and Lemmen C 2003); the letters RSA are the initials of their surnames.

13.10. Digital Signature A Digital Signature is nothing but a method for authenticating digital information, analogous to ordinary physical signatures on paper, implemented using techniques from the field of Public Key Cryptography. The term Digital Signature has also been used as a broader term encompassing both Public Key Digital Signature techniques and Message authentication codes. As per this scheme, the Private Key, which is kept as secret, is used for signing the document and the Public Key, which is freely distributed, is used for verifying the signature (Wikipedia 2005).

13.11. Certificate-based Authentication As anyone who is in possession of a particular Private Key can produce an identical Digital Signature, the Digital Signatures created using a secret Private Key and then checked using a suitable Public Key proves only to the extent that a particular document was signed with a particular key, but not necessarily by a particular person. But in the case of Certificate-based Authentication, it is assumed that the owner of a particular secret key whose unique ID is saved in the certificate is the person who actually used this key for signing that particular document. So, it is important that the owner of the key protects the secret key assigned to him and do not pass it on to other people. It is also important that no one obtain it illicitly.

13.12. Smart Cards and Key Files The presently used RSA keys are of 1024 bits. As these 1024 bit hexadecimal numbers are difficult to remember, currently the technologies offer two main ways for "carrying" these secret keys. They are Smart cards and Key Files (Aufreiter 2001).

The Smart cards can be compared with small computers which can store data and keys and also execute encryption and signature operations themselves. The key can be stored on a smart card in such a way that it can never be read by another device, but instead is only used by the smart card itself. The data on a smart card are well protected against unauthorized access from outside, such as electronic measurements or analysis using electron microscopes. Using its built-in "computer", smart cards can identify their authorized owner even without the help of other devices, by checking a PIN or a password that the user enters. If the PIN proves correct, the card will create Digital Signatures for its user. Once the PIN has been saved, it can never again be extracted from the card, and is only used internally by the card itself. The same applies to secret keys.

A cost effective alternative to smart cards are Key Files which usually use a standardized format .Key files contain one or more secret RSA keys and certificates for a user. The file is encrypted using a PIN or password. Before a user can use the secret key for a signature, they must enter the correct PIN. Although key files are a cheap solution, they do however have a range of disadvantages when

it comes to security. As a result, they are only really suitable for providing "unimportant" Digital Signatures.

In contrast to smart cards, key files can be copied, so the fact that they have been stolen may not even be noticed. Once copied, the PIN can be found out by trying lots of different combinations. If it is tried on a smart card, it would lock access after a few attempts. Further, in the case of Key Files, when a signature is being created, the key must be loaded into the computer's RAM in plain text, but on smart cards it always stays on the card.

13.13. Entering and Verifying Digital Signature For any one to sign a digital document and share with others, he should first acquire a key pair (private and Public Key) and a smart card (or other “secured signature creation device”). The smart card has the private signature key, Public Key and a X.509 v3 certificate, which confirms unequivocally that the key pair belongs to a user, which is issued by a Trusted Third Party (TTP).

For entering the Digital Signature the person displays the document to be signed on the monitor, checks the document, get satisfied and decides to enter his Digital Signature; calculates the Hash Value (‘Message Digest’) of the document to be signed. He then uses his smart card and identifies himself using his personal identification number and password. Having identified himself, he clicks on the “sign” (seal). The Smartcard then execute RSA (Asymmetric Cryptography) signature on the hash value and encrypt the message digest (hash value) with the Private Key which is stored internally in the smart card and then signs the document. As a result of this encryption the Digital Signature, the current time stamp and the corresponding X.509 v3 certificate are appended to the data, which are being signed.

The private (secret) part of a signature key does not leave the Smart card at any point of time. The public part of a signature key is exported from the Smart card to the signed message (Wikipedia 2005).

The verification of the signature is done in several steps. First, the signature and the Public Key of the signature key from the certificate are extracted from the delivered signature block of data. Then the file is decrypted using the RSA Public Key. After the decryption with the public part of the signature key, the original hash value can be extracted from the PKCS#1 Block.

Then, it is compared with the new calculated hash value of the original file. If both hash values correspond, the integrity of the original file is confirmed. On the basis of the time stamp included in the signature block of data, it is checked whether the certificate of the signature key has been valid at the time of the signature (beginning of validity period < time stamp < end of validity period) and its signature is verified with the help of the public part of the key of the certificate issuer (from the root certificate of the CA). Finally, it is checked whether the delivered certificate, identified by its ‘Common Name‘, is on the list of the revoked certificates (Certificate Revocation List, CRL).If these checks are positive, the authenticity of the original file is confirmed (Bernhard and Kaltschmidt 2003)

13.14. Trusted Third Party (TTP) & Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) In cryptography, a Trusted Third Party (TTP) is an entity which facilitates interactions between two parties who both trust the third party; they use this trust to secure their own interactions.

In the case of Digital Signature, the issue of Public Keys must be done in such a way that the Public Key claimed to belong to a

person must actually belong to that person. This is commonly done using a trusted third party called Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and the association between the key and user is attested by the operator of the PKI, called a Certificate Authority (CA).

So a Public Key Infrastructure is an arrangement which provides for third-party vetting of, and vouching for, user identities. It also allows binding of Public Keys to users. For a good secured messaging application, the Public Key Infrastructure should manage the lifecycle of keys and certificates for all the users through key generation, creation of certificate, creation of certificate revocation list (CRL), maintaining directory browsing facility for collecting certificates etc. This results in the need to support the following standards X.509v3, Certificate Revocation List (CRL) and/or OCSP, LDAP and optionally.

There are two independent and reliable Public Key infrastructures (Certification Service Provider (CSP) or Trusted Third Party (TTP)) in the Netherlands namely Pink Roccade Megaplex and Diginotar, authorized to issue Digital Signatures and authenticate the Digital Signatures on the documents. They generate electronic keys and publish electronic certificates in which it is declared that an electronic key is related to a person after satisfying itself with the identity of the person to whom the key is issued. They also maintain the list of valid signatures and invalid signatures. Every body can check the certificate with the original CSP. The list of invalid signature is called Certificate Revocation List (CRL) (Stolk P and Lemmen C 2003; Leenders 2005).

13.15. Cryptographic Hash Function A hash function takes a long string (or message) of any length as input and produces a fixed length string as output, sometimes termed a Message Digest or a Digital Fingerprint.

Determination of whether or not any changes have been made to a message (or a file) can be accomplished by comparing message digests calculated before, and after, transmission (or any other event). These algorithms are called secure because, for a given algorithm, it is computationally infeasible to find a message that corresponds to a given message digest, or to find two different messages that produce the same message digest. Any changes to a message will, with a very high probability, result in a different message digests. This will result in a verification failure when the secure hash algorithm is used with a Digital Signature algorithm or a keyed-hash message authentication algorithm.

However, the Federal Information Processing Standard specifies the following four secure hash algorithms - SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for computing a condensed representation of electronic data.

13.16. Encryption In cryptography, encryption is the process of obscuring information to make it unreadable without special knowledge.

Typically, Public-Key techniques of encryption are much more computationally intensive than purely symmetric algorithms (Wikipedia 2005). The public-key cryptography algorithm uses prime factorization (the factorization of a number into its constituent primes, also called prime decomposition) as the trapdoor one-way function (Worfram Research Inc 2005).

13.17. Crypto Server In big organizations like Land Registry, the number of electronic

transactions (e.g. sending signed messages: proofs of receipt, proofs of registration etc...) is often so big that the electronic signature with the help of a smart card is not easy to realize. The crypto server is a pragmatic solution in such a situation. The Crypto Server is a Hardware Security Module (HSM) based on a manipulation-proof micro processor which recognizes and wards off physical attacks. Security-relevant information as e.g. cryptographic keys and secret data is buffered on a manipulation-proof and non-volatile board memory of the HSM to guarantee the highest level of integrity and confidentiality (Bernhard and Kaltschmidt 2003).

13.18. Conveyancing: Implementation Strategy This section describes the component services of eConveyancing and how they could be implemented so that the e-Conveyancing vision is realized. The HM Land Registry of England and Wales has carried out extensive consultation (with all the stakeholders) and research to have a clear understanding about their requirements, their concerns. The services explained below are the outcome of this elaborate exercise (Locke 2004).

13.19. Central e-Conveyancing Service Access to the Service: The e-Conveyancing services should be built in such a way that the users are able to access the service from any site through standard web browsers; users are not required to purchase special software to use the service; and the component parts of the e-Conveyancing service are capable of interfacing with a range of other IT services already known and used by stakeholders.

Network Access Agreements: Access to the Central eConveyancing Service should be limited to users under the terms of Network Access Agreements worked out in consultation with all the stake holders.

Hierarchy of Roles / User profiles: The e-Conveyancing service must have a facility to establish a common functionality for defined roles and establish user profiles (for example, a more limited access for users involved only in preparing conveyancing documents and a higher level of access for those users needing to authenticate documents and conduct conveyancing business).

Management of User Access: User access to the e-Conveyancing service has to be managed and monitored. This should include monitoring both functions and data to which access is allowed or restricted. Users must be able to access all relevant data.

Execution of Transactions: To facilitate the routine activities of the users each transaction done through the e-Conveyancing Services should be allocated a unique identifier; users must be able to create and amend an electronic contract by using either their own document creation software or the facility available in the central service; a mechanism for signaling agreement to any changes, either before, or after signing, is required; there should be some form of document management system in order to enable parties to be sure that they are reviewing the latest version of the contract, highlighting the most recent changes; and an audit trail enabling changes to contract data to be tracked and parties making amendments to be identified, is also required;

Interoperability: The e-Conveyancing service should make

optimum use of XML (eXtensible Markup Language) and XML schemas to enable the extraction of relevant information in the digitally signed contract as it is electronically transmitted between the buyer’s and seller’s conveyancers and should be used to build the Notional Register. The agreed XML schemas should be openly available for any interested parties and should be formally published.

Creation of a Notional Register: The e-Conveyancing Service must be capable of generating a ‘Notional Register’ showing the proposed new edition of the register, should the transaction proceeds to completion with registration. It should indicate those entries to be cancelled from the existing edition of the register and the new entries to be made, as far as, can be ascertained from the data provided. It should identify for cancellation all the register entries relating to the seller(s) (including any legal charge(s)) any other ephemeral register entries (such as cautions and statutory charges).

Mandatory Data: In order to create the new register it is mandatory to supply certain data in conveyancing documents.

This should be identified using XML schemas. Mandatory data include the title number, property description and full names of buyer(s) and seller(s). This is the information required to build the Notional Register.

Validation Processes: As the contract is made available by the seller’s conveyancer to the buyer’s conveyancer through the eConveyancing service registration data have to be identified and validated against the existing register to confirm that mandatory data required in e-documents have been supplied; the validation of that data against information held on the register of title and the validation instructions should be sent to the originators of missing or erroneous data, giving details of validation issues for resolution.

Storage of Conveyancing Data: All data and information committed to the Central e-Conveyancing Service relating to transactions is to be held by the service throughout the life of the transaction. All information should remain confidential between the parties to the transaction, except where it interacts with the register of title. This will provide both an audit trail of any changes to the data used to build the Notional Register and also enable the Land Registry to assist with any enquiries at that stage. After completion with registration, data and information on e-Conveyancing transactions should be archived and should be available only to Land Registry.

Message Generation: The Central e-Conveyancing Service must be able to generate messages for users in certain circumstances.

These include: validation instructions (together with the reasons), notification of the draft documents, messages to/from the Electronic Fund Transfer service, notification that completion with registration has been effected etc.

Withdrawal from Transactions: The e-Conveyancing service must facilitate immediate withdrawal from a transaction from all parts of the service.

Freezing Register: When contracts are exchanged the Central eConveyancing Service should note the existence of the contract (using the XML data extracted from it) on the register of title. At exchange, after the contract is noted, the conveyancer acting for the buyer should have the option to freeze the register pursuant

to the contract for sale. The register should be frozen for a specified priority period, or until completion date, whichever is the sooner. The facilities for users to withdraw the freezing of a title upon the mutual agreement of both sides are also needed.

Statement of Accounts and Instructions to EFT Service: The Central e Conveyancing Service should enable users to create a statement of accounts for each transaction they are dealing with.

The end user should enter data details and instructions through their Case Management systems and send to the Central eConveyancing Service in the run-up to completion. The Central e-Conveyancing Service should verify the details, calculate the net amounts required to effect all settlements across all transactions in a chain and should confirm the completion statements to users.

Transfer: Once contracts have been exchanged, the temporary file of contract data held by the Land Registry should be deleted and a file of transfer data created. This will comprise the validated contract data and details of the transfer form to be used. The draft transfer should be able to be viewed and accessed by both sides for amendment and/or agreement. Any changes or additions to the transfer data should be automatically re-validated.

Date/Time: All data and messages passing through the Central e-Conveyancing Service must be date and time stamped. The Central e-Conveyancing Service must have the ability to check the chronological order of related data in a transaction, and provide warning messages in the event of items being shown in the incorrect order (such as a lease coming into effect before the transfer to the lessor).

Completion with Registration: The Central e-Conveyancing Service must be capable of achieving completion with registration for all linked transactions as one seamless activity, once users have signalled their readiness to complete on the completion matrix. At completion the register should be unfrozen, the transfer data should be archived, the noting of the contract should be cancelled and the Notional Register should be converted to the new edition of the register. A message to confirm completion and authorize the release of keys should be triggered.

User Training & Information: Effective accredited training methods and materials are required to ensure that all users can confidently conduct their businesses in the e-Conveyancing environment.

Access to Technical IT Help: Effective user support is an important element of the new e- Conveyancing service.

Assistance should include provision of a telephone and online helpdesk facility; this should enable users to report technical incidents and receive help and support in diagnosing problems.

Capability to Handle Fluctuation in Volume: The eConveyancing service must be capable of handling high volumes and periods of peak activity.

Systems Maintenance: Routine maintenance and upgrades have to be achieved while the service is live, but have to be scheduled at such a time as to minimize any disruption to the service.

Back-up and Disaster Recovery: The disaster recovery tests should be run regularly to ensure business continuity. A disaster recovery plan for the e-Conveyancing service should be developed to ensure that the level of service specified in

Network Access Agreements with users can be sustained in the event of the plan being activated.

Technology Upgrades: The e-Conveyancing service should takes advantage of advances intechnology and maintains a progressive program of improvement and development.

Change Management Policy: The e-Conveyancing service must be able to adapt to accommodate changes arising from service review.

13.20. Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Service The service should also be capable of processing electronically the range of additional payments associated with house purchases such as conveyancersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and estate agentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fees, Land Registry fees and other disbursements. The EFT service must interface effectively with all associated services so that payments are effected promptly and users are notified automatically of transmission; instructions to pay are capable of change up until the last minute.

13.21. Channel Access Service Channel services will provide conveyancing practitioners and other property professionals with the means of access to eConveyancing services. In their simplest form, they will enable and support access for users and interface with their computers and case management systems.

13.22. Recommendations Introducing e-Conveyancing system in any country is a highly complex process which, call for very thorough preparation in order to ensure the successful phased introduction of the new services, wholehearted participation of stakeholders and the legal obligations are met throughout the program. This can be achieved only if, all the stakeholders have a common understanding about the system being built, the functions each services in the system performs, the order in which each of these services would be introduced etc. All these professionals presently involved in Land Conveyancing have their own preferences, priorities, concerns and limitations. The way they conduct their business also varies considerably.

To carry all these stakeholders together, all through the developmental And implementation process of e-Conveyancing, it is to be ensured that they develop confidence in this e-Conveyancing Program and gain by participating in the process. This explains the importance of having a well thought after Business strategy in the development and implementation e-Conveyancing. A set of general Business Strategy recommendations for the successful design, development and implementation of a new eConveyancing system is described below.

13.23 .Self Restraint The existing system of manual conveyancing can cause immense anxiety and tension to everyone concerned, due to the involvement of and interdependence between the large numbers of players in conveyancing. However, it is not prudent to switch from a tried and tested system of conveyancing unless it can be demonstrated that any proposed system will reduce or banish many, if not all, of the negative aspects of the current system.

So, before attempting e-Conveyancing in any country, what is

thought to be the main problems with the current paper-based system, and how those might be improved by a fully electronic system built on the vast improvements in computer technology that have already taken place in that country should be clearly outlined.

13.24 .Step by Step Approach The whole program should not introduced as a one-off bigbang affair and instead should be developed and delivered in a modular and incremental basis through a portfolio of activities and projects, amounting to a series of service improvements that will build up to implement full e- Conveyancing vision. A stakeholder-wide implementation of services should be attempted only after staging and proving a pilot implementation of each service under a program.

13.25. Win-Win Situation A logical extension of the idea of Lemmen, van der Molen and Shennach (2004), shows that the introduction of e-Conveyancing would bring tremendous benefits, to all the Stakeholders (along with the Kadaster) too. It would give them new tools to do and manage their job better and cheaper; serve their customers better and offer added services. It would help them to either reduce the human resources or create additional jobs with the existing human resources.

It would also facilitate electronic distribution of workload to free resources; irrespective of the geographic location where they are available resulting in reduction of wastage due to idle resources in one place while there is excess workload in another location. So, there is too much for the organizations to gain by participating and contributing in the program. It is a Win-Win situation for everyone.

13.26. Human Resource Management For large organizations like Kadaster, with large number of employees employed on jobs using labor- intensive tools and methodology, this period of change over to the e-Conveyancing is the period when the management has to exercise utmost restraint and compassion towards the employees.

During this period employees would be weighed down by the fear of loosing the job, pressure to upgrade or acquire new skills, fear of getting disrupted from the existing place of work, fear of fresh and younger employees without sufficient knowledge and experience (according to them) joining the organization and bossing over them, and the chances of they loosing their traditional significance and employees from different disciplines getting more prominence etc.. So, the success of the program depends considerably on how the management is able to cope with this difficult transition.

However, this is an exercise, worth the pain, in the over all interest of the society.

13.27. Empowerment and Accountability It is evident by now that there is a need of a strong leadership for ensuring and managing the coordination and cooperation of all the stakeholders for the design, development and implementation of the program. The Land Registry Offices of the countries are expected to play this role. But the Land Registry offices in most of the countries in the present form would not be able to play this highly demanding role. There is a need to empower and equip them with authority, power and

liberty to take and implement quick decisions in respect of reengineering and restructuring the Land Registry; making capital investment to follow the best business practices for and while taking this program smoothly and effectively ahead.

There is also a need to make them accountable for all such decision taken by them and ensuring that the best accounting practices are in place for doing so (van der Molen P 2003).

It maybe noted here that both HM Land Registry and Dutch Kadaster are not financed from the consolidated fund of the respective governments through annual budgets. Instead they are self financed autonomous organizations with clear mandate to serve the society cheaper and better by following the best business and accounting practices. However, keeping in view of the sensitivity of the business they are in, they are still under the remote and sensible control of the government in order to ensure that Land Registry does not take advantage of their monopolistic position and use their business as a source of income. It is a good example for any other country to follow.

13.28 .Business Requirements It is important to ensure that the new e-Conveyancing process and supporting systems successfully meet the business requirements of Land Registry and other stakeholders, and is financially and commercially successful.

So, organize the development of the e-Conveyancing program in such a way that the stakeholders can continue their existing business unaffected; ensure that the amount of investment to be done by the stakeholders for the development of e-Conveyancing systems and services and the cost of subsequent operations of the business using those services is much less than the economic benefit they derive in the form of reduction in the cost of operation, manpower and time and increase in the business over the years; ensure that the new e-Conveyancing systems and processes inter-operate smoothly with business operations and services carried out by all the stakeholders outside the direct control of the program; ensure that the participation in the program represent a sound commercial proposition to all suppliers and service providers involved in itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development and delivery so that they would be attracted to voluntarily participate and invest in the development and implementation of e-Conveyancing system (HM Land Registry 2003).

13.29. Business Change It is important ensure the effective phased introduction of econveyancing, and the successful reengineering of all relevant business processes within Land Registry and in the wider conveyancing community. So, ensure that the Land Registry and all stakeholder organizations are assisted and guided to manage successfully the changes in their organizational culture, organizational capability, business structure, and operations so that they can easily integrate themselves with the new eConveyancing system; ensure that all these transition from the existing organizational culture, organizational capability, business structure and operations to the desired new eConveyancing future is planned and managed in a controlled manner, through the phased introduction of elements of the complete vision; ensure that all the organizations involved in the e-Conveyancing program are committed to introduce the necessary changes in their respective organizations and are willing to cooperate in the overall change process; ensure that

such changes are not introduced as a one-off big bang affair and are introduced in a modular and incremental basis; ensure that such phased introduction of services and facilities are carefully planned through consultation with all the stake holders and ordinated to meet the requirements of stakeholders (HM Land Registry 2003).

13.30 .Stakeholder Relationship Management and Governance It is important ensure that stakeholders in e-Conveyancing cooperate on its introduction and operation, and that all formal and informal relationships are managed successfully. So, ensure that the relationships between Land Registry and other bodies are managed through Network Access Agreements, Licenses, Service Agreements and other formal instruments; ensure that the Land Registry, in its role as manager of the program, maintain contact with stakeholders to their involvement, ensure that all the stakeholders have been clearly explained and "bought in" to the vision of e-Conveyancing; ensure that they continue to co-operate in its implementation and in the achievement of all the necessary business change; ensure that the stakeholders are informed regularly of all developments and given opportunities to input their requirements and concerns to Land Registry; ensure that a structured relationship is managed with external bodies to involve them as necessary in decisions on the design, development, and operation of the new services; ensure that the relationships with professional body enable Land Registry to meet its legal obligations; and ensure that the necessary external services and facilities like service from IT industry are available as required for the design, development and operations of the new services (HM Land Registry 2003).

13.31. Legal Issues It is important to ensure that the land transaction done through e-Conveyancing system is legally acceptable. So, ensure that all the statutory rules, which will be required in order to permit the lawful operation of an electronic conveyancing system, are in place at the appropriate time; and ensure that the system, as it is developed, is legally fit for purpose (HM Land Registry 2003).

The opportunity of bringing in massive changes like introduction of e-Conveyancing should be effectively utilized for the cleaning up of the overall system for the common benefit of the society.

13.32. Technical The program has a major ICT component. So, the successful development and operation of new and modified ICT-based systems and services is at the heart of the achievement of the vision. It is also important to ensure that all such technical solutions envisaged will be viable and will be successfully developed, implemented and operated. So, ensure that the land Registry in consultation with the stakeholders and other external bodies manage or facilitate the preparation of specification, design, development and implementation of all new and modified ICT-based systems and services; ensure that programme authority for all technical issues in the programme are established and made operational; ensure that the ICT systems and services involved will include those developed especially for e-Conveyancing and those currently in use which will require modification; ensure that systems and services which are within Land Registry, under the control of Land registry itself, external contractors and service providers of Land Registry/Kadaster and systems which are within stakeholder organizations are

included for design, development and implementation; ensure that all such systems and services are integrated into a coherent technical structure that will support the objectives of the program and also ensure that all such systems and services are subjected to the technical requirements and constraints laid down by the program

13.33 .Sourcing and Procurement It is important to ensure that all necessary internal resources, and external provision of services and expertise, are successfully acquired and managed. So, ensure that external contractors have been procured, wherever necessary for the development and delivery of at least some of the services currently identified in the service structure; ensure that all procurement exercises are conducted with due propriety and a high expectation of a successful outcome; ensure that all the activities relating to procurement processes and the subsequent management of the contracts and relationships are established and documented; and ensure that proper choice(s) of supplier or service provider has been done as it is the most critical factors in the overall success of the programme (HM Land Registry 2003).

13.34. IT Service Delivery It is important to ensure that all the services making up eConveyancing is successfully introduced and delivered operationally to the conveyancing community. If the eConveyancing service is not acceptable to the user at the point of service delivery, the whole service will be deemed a failure. As the various services involved are delivered and used by a variety of organizations, the introduction into service and management of all the services need to be planned, co-ordinated and implemented to provide a seamless service to the end user. It covers the services to be directly managed by Land Registry and all the external services that will constitute to the overall service (HM Land Registry 2003).

13.3. Data & Process Security Issues The e-Conveyancing service must gain the confidence of users by strict adherence to an appropriate level of security. The eConveyancing service must strike a balance between security, usability and cost. Access must not be annoying or time consuming, but equally security must not be compromised. Security must not be cumbersome and should not reduce usability and scalability.

13.36. Digital Signature Today using the solutions based on Public Key Cryptography and all other access control mechanisms, it is possible to protect the integrity, authenticity, non-repudiation and privacy of the data and process which jointly form e-Conveyancing service, though, still there is a need to come with a secured, legally acceptable, technologically feasible and cheaply and easily adaptable alternative for the present signature system, for empowering the wider society with the facility of digital signature.

There is a legitimate public expectation that the change to a comprehensive ICT based system such as e-Conveyancing for dealings with land will produce clear and demonstrable benefits

to the society. But all over the world the e-Conveyancing is in its infancy.

There is considerable difference in the institutional frame work within with these countries operate and approaches they adopt. As already seen, while in England & Wales an all encompassing view of e-Conveyancing has already been drawn and all the development is being planned towards this goal, where as, in the Netherlands more realistic and immediately achievable targets are being set for implementation. While both have its own merits and demerits, both the developments are heading towards one common goal of bringing in transparency, accountability and efficiency in land dealings by making use of the emerging ICT to serve their customers cheaper and better.

So, there is a need for every country to involve and consult all the stakeholders and other professional bodies, as a first step towards the implementation of e-Conveyancing, to firm up the idea about the model to be built, which meet their needs and aspirations. The result of such exhaustive consultations should form the basis for the legislative reforms, the preparation of the conceptual models and determination of what services would deliver the most early benefit to stakeholders, and framing their implementation plan and the prioritization of delivery of services to maximize the benefit to the customers in those countries.

It should be born in mind all the time that, if the eConveyancing service is not acceptable to the user at the point of service delivery, the whole service will be deemed a failure.

Chapter Fourteen : The Experience of Hungary in Modernizing a Land Registration System

14.1 Introduction This chapter describes the Hungarian experience in modernizing a land registration system. It does not start from the position of trying to create a new land Registration system; rather it seeks to maximize the potential of the existing system through a modernization program one that is broadly in line with the United Nations recommendations. It was prepared by the Hungarian experts Messrs L. Niklasz, A. Podolcsak, G. RemeteyFulopp, and by Mr. R. Baldwin (United Kingdom).

The aim of the modernization program in Hungary is to support the creation of a market economy by easing the transfer of property ownership and by supporting reforms while guaranteeing title to land and property as a sovereign act of the State. This annex shows how Hungary has been able to identify its requirements, and then move forward in a planned modernization program which has not only produced direct and immediate benefits to the land registration sector, but also provided support for wider aims.

The transition to a market-driven economy is the greatest challenge facing Hungary at the present time. Hungary has clearly signalled its intention to move from a centrally planned, command-based economy to an economic structure similar to that of the European Union member countries. The command economy was characterized by: (a) A legal framework which executed administrative

procedures through a regulatory framework which had the full support of the legal process. The result was that low-level activities of the administrative system were defined by law, placing severe restrictions on the activities, and also on the methods that could be used to support these statutory obligations. Consequently, even minor changes in procedures required an amendment to the relevant act; (b) A reliance on centralized budgeting and planning, which reduced the opportunity for local innovation and placed the emphasis of responsibility upon compliance with ministerial level directives, rather than encouraging the administration officers to assume localized responsibility, where relevant; (c) A lack of knowledge of the true costs of operations undertaken by the administrative sector. At worst, this led to a perpetuation of activities that were unnecessary, or at best activities were undertaken without due regard for the costs/benefits of those activities and of their financial implications; (d) A vertically oriented command structure, with few direct lines of communication for technical staff, other than through the administrative management process, which created bureaucratic difficulties in the execution of the day-to-day activities. The horizontal communication lines were weak; (e) An abrogation of the decision-making process, whereby decisions were undertaken at a centralized senior level, with the consequent risk that the decision makers could appear remote from the real problems; (f) A philosophy which depended upon State budget allocation for the execution of activities, rather than seeking an understanding of user needs (public and private sector) and then seeking means of cost recovery; (g) The maintenance of large sectors of the economy under direct government control, which reduced the involvement of the private sector and small and medium sized enterprises in particular.

While the government is now taking steps to overcome these problems, the transition process cannot take place overnight. The social and political implications of the restructuring are severe, and the well publicized route of mass privatization of State industry does not always appear to benefit the people themselves.

The accurate and up-to-date maintenance of land ownership records is fundamental to the efficient and legal transfer of land within a free market economy and is the responsibility of the State in Hungary, as in most other European countries. This responsibility is carried out through the act of land registration, which thereby guarantees the legal title to land and property.

Land registration in Hungary is based upon a multi-purpose cadastral system which consists of an accurate cadastral map and a set of legal and administrative records (property sheets) which record property description, ownership and financial obligations or other restrictions applying to the property. Land use, valuation, land classification and land protection are also recorded.

The land registration system is the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, which administers a hierarchy of 19 county land offices, 115 district land offices and a separate capital land office and Budapest district land office for the 23 districts of Budapest.

With the exception of Budapest, the system is able to provide a register of property ownership that is reasonably up to date.

However, the system is unable to respond to the changing demands of a market-based economy.

A key component in the modernization of the land registration system is the â&#x20AC;&#x153;computerization of land officesâ&#x20AC;? project. The specific aim of this project is to modernize the existing paper-based records system by introducing modern management methods and computerized information systems into the land offices. This will transform the land offices from a bureaucratic organization with a slow response and a restricted range of services into an organization able to provide: (i) Rapid and secure processing of land registration applications; (ii) Security of credit through title guarantee and loan registration; (iii) Stimulation of the land market by easing the conveyancing of properties; (iv) On-line electronic query services.

The modernization of the cadastral mapping will provide: (i) Computerized digital mapping for the recording of property boundaries; (ii) Accurate large-scale data sets suitable for use as base mapping by other users; (iii) A single unified mapping base which can be rapidly updated and maintained.

These specific aims will support the establishment of national decentralized sets of computerized land information (land administrative and legal records, as well as large-scale digital base maps). This has wider implications for land administration and economic development.

The nature of land information is such that it is of immense importance to many different government sectors, both at a national, strategic level, and also at a local government level.

Agriculture, environment, health, security, local authorities, as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and large public and private sector groups such as utilities, marketing, construction, retailing and distribution, are all key users of geographic information.

The information services of the land registry are currently focused purely on the interests of the land registration sector itself; however, the opportunity exists for making these data available to other groups with consequent quality of life and economic benefit to all.

At an international level, the European Union (EU) model shows the importance of being able to present up-to-date information for regional planning and economic development. The Ministry of Agriculture has already begun to examine the implications of future EU membership and the key to all of these activities is in supplying accurate statistical data to support senior decision making.

The implications for land administration and economic development are that the project will provide support for: -The market reform process; -The EU harmonization process; -The production of agro-statistics and spatial reporting units; -Land and property valuation and the development of land markets; -The economic viability of agriculture.

The implementation of these wider aims are downstream issues.

14.1.1 Key issues and the identification of user needs The following are the perceived key issues which confront the land registration sector at the present time. The listing is not exhaustive, but does characterize the current Hungarian situation.

The process of estimating economic worth is directed by technology and ideas. In the important realm of real estate valuation, technology is seen in the form of the three traditional approaches to valuation. Evolution in the three approaches, in valuation practice, has followed historically from changes in academic theory. Changes can come slowly, however (e.g., the use of regression analysis in the market comparison approach), and an expected ongoing lack of change in some aspects of the technology (e.g., measuring depreciation in the cost approach) reflects both inattention from academic theorists and a lack of motivation by valuation practitioners.

The ideas critical to valuation relate to the logic of what conditions create economic worth, and what circumstances elicit the need for an estimate of value. Situations that call for greater and better understanding of valuation are takings (a major issue is just compensation), taxation (particularly the impediment of efficient investment in capital), and transitions (the economically important reallocation of land from lower-valued to higher-valued.

Valuation is the term generally used for the process of estimating some measure of the economic worth of an asset, particularly real estate. While the practice of valuation always has drawn on technology â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially the technology of finance and, more recently, econometrics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is based, more fundamentally, on ideas regarding what notions of economic worth are being estimated.

Technology has been evolving, of course, but the ideas are evolving as well.

To a great degree, it is possible to predict the direction of future stages in the evolution of real estate valuation ideas based on recent academic work, because the world of real estate valuation practice , appraisal and assessment , traditionally has lagged the academic literature by a few generations.

The valuation technology used by practitioners in the 21st century also is likely to be largely dependent on the valuation technology that has been developed by academics over the last several decades of the 20th century.

Predicting the nature of future developments in valuation ideas and technology is useful not only for helping practitioners anticipate the skills they will need to master, but also in helping a wider audience better to understand the great public issues related to real estate valuation.

14.2. Registration of title The absolute guarantee of legal entitlement to property in Hungary is achieved through the process of registration of title, whereby the State maintains legal and administrative records and cadastral maps which unequivocally define the property units, their ownership, and record any financial or other encumbrances placed on them.

A feature of the Hungarian system is the unique property identifier, which unifies the cadastral mapping and the legal and administrative records.

Registration of title, the maintenance of the large-scale base maps, the multi-purpose nature of the information recorded, and the maintenance of the whole by a single organizational structure are great strengths of the Hungarian system. This must be protected as a fundamental priority. It is necessary to promote awareness of the strength of the Hungarian system, and the unique advantages that accrue from a single integrated land management sector, in order to protect a unique national asset.

14.3. Land compensation and privatization activity

The land compensation and privatization programme has involved the redistribution of almost 5 million hectares and the creation of almost 2 million new property units. Former owners and other individuals entitled to compensation are issued with gold crown vouchers, which are then used in an auction system to subdivide allocated areas into smaller individual units, based upon the land classification (i.e. nominal value), area available, and the number of bids. The former members of agricultural cooperatives also receive gold crown vouchers.

The process is managed by the National Compensation Office, in partnership with the land offices, and the results have yet to be incorporated into the land registration records. According to Ministry of Agriculture figures, it is estimated that by April 1995, the auctioning process was approximately 90 per cent complete, and an estimated 55 per cent of these property units were physically marked out in the field. When the process is completed, the results are stored in digital computer-readable form.

One side-effect of this compensation process is the fragmentation of land units, often into thin strips which are not viable for individual agricultural purposes. This program needs immediate support for the assimilation of the new ownership records into the land registration system; completion of the physical marking-out of the properties; and the consolidation of the fragmented land units. The modernization program must provide the technical systems at the land offices to support the assimilation of these data as a priority.

14.4 .Completeness and computerization of legal and administrative records Outside Budapest, the existing paper-based property sheets which record the legal and administrative records are largely complete and up to date. The EU PHARE computerization of land offices project has introduced personal computers and databases into the district land offices in order to provide a computerized inventory of the contents of the 6.5 million property sheets.

The first page of each property sheet contains the primary descriptive information, and all of these pages have now been computerized. The second and third pages contain ancillary information and these are being entered by the district land offices. It is estimated that 35 per cent (June 1995) of pages 2 and 3 have been entered since the second half of 1993, and more than 800 of the approximately 3,200 municipalities are now completely loaded, and considered to be legally in force. The significant benefits of computerization will become apparent only when a significant proportion of the records are available in computer readable form.

14.5. Completeness and computerization of cadastral maps There are an estimated 60,000 cadastral maps at a variety of scales (varying from 1:1,000 - 1:4,000) and in different projection systems. The maps are maintained by the district land office (by law) and copies are provided to other users. The maps vary in their completeness and currency of content. It is estimated that 4 per cent of the maps are already digitized.

Digital map information also exists from the 1980s in Budapest and the quality of this data has been studied by a Swiss aid project. In the urban areas there are different demands for digital large-scale spatial data compared to those rural authorities

located on the Great Plain. It is necessary to have accurate data concerning the exact status of the cadastral mapping on a national basis. A priority basis has to be established for deciding which maps are to be computerized first, as land registration purposes alone will not justify the investment.

14.6. Budapest situation The capital and district land offices of Budapest are unable to keep up with the blood of applications dealing with changes to the property sheets. It is estimated that a backlog of over 200,000 has built up (June 1995) and an application can take over a year to process. By comparison there are only some 2,000 changes per year made to the cadastral maps and this is not a problem. The extraordinary situation in Budapest requires an immediate response.

This solution should concentrate on the land registration records.

14.7. National standards The introduction of digital technology for the management of cadastral map standards requires new and appropriate standards to be created for the definition of content, data acceptance and quality control. and also the digital exchange of information. Under the guidance of the National Committee for Technological Development (OMFB) and with the involvement of the Institute for Geodesy, Cartography and Remote Sensing (FOMI) and also representatives from the private sector and other interested parties, initiatives have been created to address these problems. The development of national standards for digital cadastral mapping and data exchange standards must be supported.

14.8. Ownership and copyright The situation concerning the ownership and copyright of the land registration data and the cadastral map data is not clear. For example, while the district land offices are responsible for the updating and maintenance of these records, the information is provided to FOMI, which then is able to sell these data to users.

There are regulations concerning pricing policy, however the situation concerning who has ownership, copyright, and is entitled to the income thereof needs to be examined and clarified. The issues of copyright and legal ownership of data must be clearly addressed and precise guidelines set as to how they may or may not be used.

14.9. Cost recovery It is estimated that only 4 per cent of the total budget for the maintenance of the land registration sector comes from revenue generation. This compares unfavorably with the Netherlands, which has complete cost recovery, and the United Kingdom, which has 66 per cent for its mapping activities, and has total cost recovery for its land registry. A move to significant cost recovery by the land registration sector of Hungary is clearly possible, if the land offices can supply the right products. There needs to be an awareness of marketing, product development, and the definition of products and services. It is necessary to investigate cost recovery mechanisms, and then establish targets for achieving cost recovery over a period of time.

14.10. Institutional issues

The current organization of the land registration sector consists of a network of 115 district land offices, 19 county land offices, FOMI, and the main Department of Lands and Mapping located within the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters in Budapest.

There are over 4,000 employees, and the organization also places significant contracts outside this sector, in particular with the three former State-owned surveying enterprises. However, it is appropriate to question if this is the optimum institutional organization. Two recent EU PHARE studies have advocated moving to a separate agency status with full budgetary and regulatory authority, and with an emphasis on cost recovery and local accountability. It is necessary to conduct a review of the current institutional framework, and examine alternative models for organizational structure and seek to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of such change.

14.11. Market opportunities The original purpose of the cadastral map was to provide a record of property boundaries. Other government sector (and private sector) users are now emerging who have requirements to use these data as a base map for other purposes. The Ministry of Agriculture is now in a position to identify products based upon the land registration records and cadastral map resources and make these available as marketable products. The potential income from the marketing of digital products needs to be investigated.

This may provide sufficient financial justification for carrying out the digitizing of cadastral maps in certain cases.

14.12. On-line electronic access to data The market transition in Hungary will significantly increase the volume of transactions to be processed by the land offices. This is especially significant in Budapest, where there are more than 200,000 outstanding applications for change of ownership, mortgage entry, or some other change to the land registration records.

The provision of on-line computerized access to land registration data is at an early stage, but this may provide in early opportunity for providing a client â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;self-serviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for routine activities such as requests for copies of property sheets. There are issues concerned with the identification of services, the security of the records, and the scope and visibility of the data. The provision of online access will change the nature of the services requested from the land offices.

14.13. Land consolidation The land compensation program has reduced the average size of agricultural land units by a factor of 10, and has resulted in many land units which are clearly unviable for economic use.

There is an urgent need to support the consolidation of these land units through land exchange at a local level, based on voluntary initiatives of the interested parties. There is also a need to support this consolidation on a national basis.

A German-Hungarian bilateral project has been launched with the objective of testing appropriate technical procedures and methodologies in selected pilot areas. This will produce recommendations which will support the consolidation process, and thereby support the generation of agriculturally viable units.

It is necessary to urgently develop a programme to support land consolidation through appropriate legal, organizational and technical measures.

14.14 .Legal issues There have been a number of changes in the law relating to land issues in Hungary which have provided a framework for the compensation program, supporting the computerization of land records and the adoption of digital technology.

The opportunity now exists for examining the existing legal framework in terms of potential restrictive practices; simplifying the regulatory framework and reviewing the legal code; reviewing the credit arrangements and resolving the issues concerning copyright and ownership. There is an opportunity to review the legal framework and identify areas where changes can benefit society and the operation of the land registration sector.

14.15. Education and training The existing training and education in land surveying and land registration is of a high standard at university and college level.

However, in view of the increased demands for the combination of information technology (IT) and land registration skills, there is a requirement to review the existing education and training programs, and to ensure that they are correctly targeted.

There are both short-term aims and long-term aims. The development of a highly trained workforce, with high ethical standards, good technical and technological skills, and with high professional standards, and a clear professional development path is essential to support the long-term aims of the modernization of the land registration sector. A review body should be appointed to examine the whole question of professional development (i.e. educational requirements, recruitment, training, promotional paths), in consultation with professional bodies and universities and colleges.

There are a number of wider issues that assume importance in the national and international use of information resources which form an essential part of a land registration system. These are concerned with: 1. Land information services; 2. Supporting the safe and secure transfer of title, ensuring the security of credit against property assets; 3. Stimulation of land markets and development of a valuation sector; 4. Developing the role of the private sector and the participation of the local authorities, utilities and other NGOs; 5. Agricultural land use and classification assessment/monitoring; 6. Support environmental protection and sustainable agriculture; 7. Supporting the economic viability of agriculture; 8. Generating agro-statistics in line with national and international requirements and supporting the move to EU harmonization, in terms of compliance with EU directives and the establishment of the required reporting units for demo-graphic, agricultural and other purposes.

14.16. The modernization of land registration in Hungary The land registration sector is currently facing challenges from a number of sources: (a) The market transition which was introduced in 1989 has stimulated the land and property sector. It is estimated that as much as 20 per cent of the national GDP comes from the land and property and construction sectors of the economy.

The transition process has introduced mass privatization,

increased individual home ownership, and increased demand for land registration information; (b) The land compensation programme has created two million new land parcels, involving more than five million hectares. All of this has to be managed, auctioned, divided, set out, and the results assimilated into the land registration sector; (c) Privatization of State farms, cooperatives and State industry all place demands on land registration records; (d) Increased conveyancing has resulted from significantly increased home ownership through a programme of subsidized purchases, the compensation programme, and increased commercial development. These problems are particularly acute in the large urban centres; (e) Large-scale establishment of housing associations. The large scale establishment of housing associations, and the resulting change of registration entries has produced a situation where district land offices can suddenly receive a request for the wholesale transfer of assets, which may involve several hundreds or even thousands of property units; (f) Wider economic issues. There are wider economic issues concerned with the development of land markets, valuation, land use, land classification and land protection, as well as downstream issues concerned with EU harmonization, problems concerning reporting units, agro-statistics and the economic viability of agriculture.

The Ministry of Agriculture recognized these problems at an early stage and put into effect the â&#x20AC;&#x153;computerization of land officesâ&#x20AC;? project, financed by PHARE (Poland-Hungary Assistance for Reconstruction of the Economy), with counterpart funding from the Government of Hungary. This project is aimed at providing the technical facilities to allow the land offices to computerize the records; assimilate the new compensation data units; and support the wider long-term aims of support for the economic reform.

The computerization of land offices project involves of a technical assistance team and a full-time Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture project manager. The technical assistance team consists of an international and a Hungarian technical adviser, and a bilingual program assistant.

The overall strategy of the long-term technical assistance team has been to develop a fundamental strategic approach for land registration which is technically, organizationally and financially sound. Such an undertaking requires many different aspects of the problem to be investigated. The approach is to use the technical assistance team to help develop a strategy and the long-term components of the problem, and to identify specific tasks that are consistent with the overall aims of the project and are then undertaken by short-term consultants, both international and Hungarian. These short-term consultants have specialist knowledge of the task area. The overall aim is to integrate the results of the consultancies into a final approach.

The technical assistance team has reviewed the earlier six-stage strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture and then developed the TAKAROS information systems strategy, which supports the cadastral mapping and land registration data updating and management at the district land offices. It also provides geographical information services and technical support for the county land offices. A second priority has been to support the modernization of the Budapest district land offices.

14.17. Progress in the modernization (1992-1995)

The first phase of the project (stage A, March 1992-September 1993) followed the initial Ministry plan, that is, it retained the existing institutional structure and legal framework, and concentrated on providing a fast and interim solution for the modernization of the management of the land registrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legal and administrative records. This allowed the district land offices to respond to the increased demand for services and also to support the compensation program.

The first phase of the project called for the installation of personal computer-based local area networks (PC LAN) and property sheet management software (CDPRS) at all of the 115 district land offices. By the end of 1993, all district land offices were equipped with the hardware and software for property sheet management. The page one data (location, description) was transferred to the district land office systems from the national database of page one data maintained by FOMI, and a start was made on the data loading of the ownership and financial data (pages two and three of the property sheets).

An extensive analysis of the management and IT requirements of Budapest land offices was carried out. This project identified activities and functions to be supported by the modernization programme and demonstrated that the CDPRS approach could not meet the functional and performance requirements. Three alternative information systems strategies were examined, and one of the strategies was adopted after careful review and debate.

This second phase of the project (stage B, September 1993-May 1995) was characterized by a careful examination of the user needs for the support of land registration and cadastral mapping. A number of studies were carried out, including: 1. A study of the large-scale cadastral mapping requirements of Hungary, involving a team of four international and Hungarian experts, who submitted a final report in July 1994, prepared under the coordination of a United Nations regional adviser; 2. A study of the role of the county land offices, which examined the information requirements and activities currently carried out at the county land offices; 3. A review of the first part of the modernization. The implementation of the PC LAN equipment and the adoption of the CDPRS software within the district land offices were examined; 4. An examination of the national standards situation. This concentrated on the data exchange and cadastral map contents; 5. An examination of the status of the compensation data. This examined the compensation process and sought to document the procedures and establish the status of the compensation data produced; 6. Development of the TAKAROS information systems strategy.

Development of a strategy for the modernization of the cadastral mapping and its integration with the land registration records.

Specific technical activities were carried out, including: 7. Acceptance testing of the personal computers and local area networks; 8. Software suitability studies of FOMI-developed products (decision support soft-ware and application registration software), and a feasibility study of the use of optical character recognition (OCR) for property sheet encoding; 9. Cabling recommendations for the Budapest district land offices, and also for the 115 district land offices; 10. Preparation and issue of tender for supply of hardware and software to the Budapest district land offices; 11. Preparation and issue of tender for supply of hardware and software to the 115 district land offices.

One of the problems encountered was the availability of up to-date,

accurate information concerning such topics as cadastral map status (number, condition, media, content, currency, projection, age), compensation data (amount, storage media, geographical distribution), and the rate of property sheet data loading. A simple personal computer-based system was used to regularly collect and update this information.

One of the aims of the modernization process is to introduce modern ways of thinking, including management, personal responsibility, job involvement, and an awareness of the importance and integrity of the professionals involved. This is supported through a program of seminars, visits to land offices; the issue of a regular project newsletter; and the support for international meetings and study tours, which have included study tours to Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. As part of the communication activity, electronic data processing managers have been invited to work with members of the computerization project team.

14.18 The next steps (1995-1997) The following are the specific planned activities for the immediate future.

14.19. TAKAROS district land offices The district land offices were to be equipped with the TAKAROS systems during the second half of 1995. This will provide the basic tools needed for the digitizing of the cadastral mapping, and will embody the results of the national standards work.

The integration of the cadastral map records and the legal and administrative records will be ensured during the data loading, and afterwards all activities (map and property sheet) will have il single point of entry, thus guaranteeing the integrity of the system. This activity effectively creates over 100 systems for map digitizing. allowing a “bottom up” and “parallel processing” approach to this problem.

14.20 .TAKAROS county land offices The county land offices detailed user requirements analysis will be carried out, and the procurement will proceed in the next phase for two counties (to be extended nationally the following year). Special attention will be paid to land use, information service requirements, agro-statistics and valuation data.

14.21. Budapest district land offices A separate project is to be established for Budapest involving a technical assistance team. This will be implemented according to a carefully agreed strategic plan, which includes the active involvement of a Swiss aid team to support the digital conversion of the map data, and its integration with the existing EU PHARE procurement for the property sheet management software.

14.22. Management information system The increasing requirement for accurate information concerning the background data and the monitoring of the EU PHARE project implementation call for the design and implementation of a nucleus management information system (MIS) which can form the future core of a corporate MIS.

14.23. National standards Support will be provided for the FOMI cadastral map content standard and the spatial data transfer standard of the GIS Data Transfer Working Group.

14.24. Strategic studies in support of land registration A number of strategic studies will be necessary to resolve some of the outstanding issues. This will include the detailed design of the county land office system and the compensation data results.

This could also include legal and institutional issues, ownership and copyright, as well as analysis of the particular information requirements of other NGOs, local authority and private sector users.

14.25 Land and property valuation The support required for agricultural and urban land and property valuation, and also the development of land markets, are to be specifically investigated.

14.26. Marketing and services The introduction of the TAKAROS systems allows an opportunity for the land offices to transform their information services and become proactive suppliers of structured spatial information. The county land offices are to be developed as the regional centres for spatial information, and this will involve the development of marketing skills, product development, project management, and the definition of goods and services to be supplied.

14.27. Education and training The role of the professional organizations, the career structure of the surveyor in Hungary, the short- and long-term educational and training requirements of the land offices should be carefully reviewed. The opportunities for wider participation, at an international level, should be examined, and possible partners identified. A TEMPUS Joint European Project involving Belgian, British and Hungarian institutions is now being carried out which will develop a distance learning course in geographic information systems and land information systems.

14.28. Wider economic and market changes The importance of the wider economic benefits of a modernized land registration system, and the advantageous position of Hungary, with its multi-purpose cadastre already in place, need to be emphasized. The importance of title and credit security, the demand and availability of credit for agricultural development, the effect on the land and property markets are important in the urban sector. The agricultural sector has seen a severe reduction in the size of its land units, with a consequent impact on the viability of agriculture. The importance of land use/land protection, agro-statistics, reporting units and EU harmonization issues must all be examined and understood.

14.29. Liaison with other projects There is a fundamental shift away from considering the purely technical issue associated with the modernization of the land registration sector. In part this can be attributed to a growing internal awareness of the need for accurate information to

support decision-making; in part it can be attributed to the awareness of the special interests of bodies outside the main land registration sector. There is a greater awareness of the need for harmony between projects, both within the modernization framework and in terms of supplying results to other users and projects. This liaison between projects should continue to be given great importance.

The land registration system in Hungary has a clearly defined place in society, and an implicit acceptance by the population.

The system works and has up-to-date legal and administrative records, but with major deficiencies in its large-scale mapping.

Specific localized problems do exist, which include the extraordinary Budapest situation, the land compensation data, and the future land consolidation problems (which have yet to be worked out).

The wider benefits and implications are becoming clearer. The support for the market development process, the viability of agriculture, the development of land markets, land use and land (and hence environmental) protection, EU harmonization, all of these demands place emphasis on the important role of spatial information systems as technical tools to support decision making.

It is the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and the land office network to meet these demands in order to promote the interests of the citizens of Hungary in a manner that supports the current activities and protects the interests of future generations. It is becoming clearer that the Ministry needs to harmonize all aspects of its activities (internally and externally) and cooperate with other government sectors, both locally, and internationally in order to meet these objectives.

14.30. Hungarian Example Hungary is an example in Central Eastern Europe which proves the advantages of the Unified Land Registry System. In Hungary the cadastre and legal registry (Grundbuch) was integrated on legal basis and institutional level in 1971 already.

As many countries in Europe and all over the world from the middle of the 19th century lands and real estate properties were double registered. On one hand land and real estate cadastre was created for the purposes of the state and politics for taxation.

On the other hand there was the factual land registry, which the negotiable and mortgaged real estate was involved in.

The land registers were aiming at the security of the ownership the undisturbedness of the land transactions as well as the creditors' interests. The difference between the land registers and land tax cadastre can be recognized by the diverging structure and authorization, since the land registers were within juridical scope while the land cadastre was a part of the public administration.

The cadastral map served as common basis for the land registers and for the land cadastre. The land registers and the land cadastre were parallel used and mutual data exchange took place between them. After some time this fact resulted in double data registration, but the data stemmed from another sources were not really authentic in the home files, and this fact caused a lot of uncertainty in the use. Although in the majority of the countries the two organizations are still existing under different authority, due to traditions and difficulties in legal changes, but there are examples where the legal registry and the cadastre was integrated on legal basis and organizational level. (The Netherlands,

Czech Rep. Norway, Slovak Rep.)

14.31. Aims and Systems of the Unified Land Registry There are two aims to be pursued. Legally the land registers provide a kind of defense for the titles, ,, etc. to real estate and also they give certainty for the bona fide holders as well as they promote the advantageous financial obligations for planning and for supplying statistical data for the government an organization of land utilization.

The Unified Land Registration consists of 1, Real estate registration map-this is identical with the cadastral map and serves also for land surveying purposes.

2, Property sheet consists of three parts Part I. the descriptive data(parcel number, address, site area, features of cultivation, soil quality, etc. ) Part II. Titles i.e. data relating to the ownership (name, birth, address, personal ID. number, etc.)

Part III. All the other titles and deeds (mortgages, restrictions, easements, etc.)

3, the land book contains the descriptive data of every real estate inside the community arranged according to the parcel number order showing the extent of the total area as well.

The Unified Land Registry system register all of the land and real estate properties, including condominiums and the entire country is covered by large scale 1:1000-1:2000 cadastral maps.

The system is multipurpose nature, containing wide range of the descriptive data and rights (parcel number, address, boundary co-ordinates, building, land use, etc. ownership rights, mortgage, restrictions, easements, etc.

The land lease registration is also their responsibility but separate registration with link to the land registry. In broader sense the Land Administration institution is also responsible for the topographic mapping, remote sensing supporting agriculture and providing maps for the payment of the EU agricultural subsidies.

The structure and the content of the unified land registry system prove that the system can fulfill all the requirements what the two separate systems - cadastre, land record together.

Furthermore the system allows to enlarge the land and property related data content.

There are objections sometimes against the unified land registry system, especially in Europe, saying that the separate legal registry (Grundbuch) acts under court and the unified land registry is not able to guarantee the same legal security. It is not true. The institutional structure guarantees the first and second instance within the public administration and after the second instance decision clients can go to court.

14.32. Reasons of establishing the unified land registry system in Hungary 1. Data integrity and consistency was not well maintained in the two records 2. To avoid parallel data updating and registration 3. Reducing number of staff and cost Thanks for the Unified Land Registry legal and institutional system, when Hungary introduced the multi party democracy and the market economy, the country could achieve the most important tasks, like privatization processes, compensation, registration of new ownership and technical modernization, computerization of the Land Registry quicker and more effectively then the majority of countries in Central Eastern Europe.

Chapter Fifteen : Land Registration: Land Value in Taxation (LVT) Country experiences

15.1 What is Land Value?

The challenging question of capital improvements plays a critical role in the ideas surrounding real estate valuation. The zoning conundrum, for example, relates to the efficient application of capital improvements on land (most prominently, buildings). At the same time, what generally is thought of as pure land value in the United States often is largely the value of capital improvements to the land? The reason is that land developers in this country are responsible for producing the on-site infrastructure that serves their developments.

Thus, the price developer receives for â&#x20AC;&#x153;landâ&#x20AC;? includes compensation For providing such improvements to the land as streets, sidewalks, and utility distribution facilities (e.g., sewers, water and gas pipes, and electric cables). In a new development project, the value of this capital tends to be worth approximately half of what often is mistakenly thought of as the value of land.

It is important to identify the value of land, as opposed to a combined value of land and any capital attached to the land, because the implicit tax rates on land and capital can not be understood unless the value of each component is known. Public officials can not administer a conscious graded tax system, or a total site value tax system, without the means of estimating the value of land and the value of capital improvements.

Alternatively, if the goal of an ad valorem taxation system is to tax land and capital equally, it is necessary to estimate accurately the value of land so that any inequality that exists in the tax rate applied to land and the rate applied to physical capital can be identified.

Because of the inherent difficulty of separating the land component of real estate sales data from capital, determining land value may continue to perplex both valuation practitioners and academic theorists. Longstanding logical conjecture on what creates value in land parcels of different size or configuration is, to some extent, unsupported by systematic studies; at the very least the received doctrine seems to tell an incomplete story. Previous conjecture has suggested, for example, that a parcelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s value first increases at an increasing rate as size increases from a very small level, a phenomenon called

assemblage or plottage. The underlying logic is that someone with a parcel too small to put to an economically beneficial use would pay a premium price for added acreage up to the minimally effective size; while this relationship may indeed exist, it has not been validated repeatedly by empirical evidence.

Then beyond that critical size, denoted by an inflection point in the value function, previous conjecture posited value increasing at a decreasing rate (as implied by depth rules), a phenomenon that has been called plattage. The underlying logic is that the price of build able land must include a premium for the infrastructure. Here the described relationship is unlikely to be correct with respect to very large parcels having essentially no infrastructure.

There is no great amount of evidence that average price per acre is less for parcels that are very large than for those that are merely large. A new conjecture that may be worth exploring is that, at least for parcels exceeding a fairly large number of acres (i.e., beyond sizes for which plattage exists), value once again increases at an increasing rate, approaching a proportional relationship asymptotically from above as size grows. This conjecture may suggest that analysts should develop new functional forms to model land markets. It might be possible to estimate this asymptotic value, albeit with large forecast errors, even though data on very large tracts (e.g., a section or larger) is not available in statistically useful quantities.

15.2. Concurrency Some states are requiring “concurrency” for new developments.

This strange language means that developers either must produce the public off-site infrastructure needed to serve a new development (e.g., schools, fire houses, police equipment, sewer treatment facilities), or they must finance the public sector’s provision of this infrastructure by depositing sufficient money into a government fund prior to proceeding with their development activity. Concurrency therefore is an extreme version of an impact fee. It is sold to voters as simply a user charge (a payment required to offset the public sector’s cost of providing the service), but concurrency actually represents a huge new lump-sum tax on capital investment. Because this severe tax interferes with the efficient allocation of capital, it is important to find ways to reduce concurrency requirements.

First, it may be necessary to educate people that a stream of taxes through time can be financially equivalent to a lump-sum tax.

The mathematics to show this equivalence is straightforward; it is a simple present value of an annuity function. The financial device for spreading a lump-sum tax over time is a bond: municipal governments can issue bonds to raise the money to provide infrastructure for new developments. The lenders who buy the bonds willingly accept lower payments than on bonds of equal risk issued by corporations, because the interest they receive on municipal bonds is not taxed as income at the federal level; the federal government thereby provides an interest subsidy to local taxpayers in jurisdictions that borrow money to provide infrastructure or other public services. Yet because revenue bonds’ lenders are repaid solely from revenues generated by the funded projects, and not from general tax receipts for which local residents bear direct responsibility, municipal revenue bonds would be an attractive financing device even in the absence of the interest subsidy.

Second, many new developments are net tax contributors even in the absence of concurrency requirements. Luxury housing and

many other types of projects could be expected to generate yearly property taxes that more than pay for their annual use of public services, including infrastructure. Thus, the cumulative effect of the concurrency mandate on developers (whether passed along to buyers or extracted from the selling price of undeveloped property), plus the ordinary annual property tax that purchasers of newly built houses pay, is a cost to the ultimate owner that greatly exceeds, perhaps more than doubles, what a full annual user charge would be.

A common misconception is that if all citizens are taxed during an Episode in which the infrastructure required by new development is paid for by a bond issue, then preexisting taxpayers are subsidizing the new taxpayers. Existing residents, as some would see it, already have their schools, parks, and fire stations in place, so newcomers should have to ante up to provide such support facilities for themselves. This view is wrong on two fronts.

First, existing residents do not come to the bargaining table with infrastructure services eternally in place. They bring the remaining lives of wasting physical assets that will have to be maintained, and ultimately replaced, with tax money (possibly fronted by bond issues) collected from the entire community.

Thus the newcomers’ tax payments will, at the very least, play the same role in replacing existing infrastructure that longstanding residents’ payments play in providing infrastructure to new neighborhoods.

Yet property owners in the new development could well do more than merely trade tax dollars with those having longer tenure. If a new development is a net tax contributor, then the taxes it generates will more than cover the payments on bonds issued to pay for its needed infrastructure, as well as operation and maintenance, and the new development will end up subsidizing the preexisting properties, even without a concurrency requirement.

The likelihood that a new development would be a net tax contributor is high, if only because brand new improvements would tend to have higher market, and therefore assessed, values than otherwise similar older, existing improvements.

Requiring concurrency for net tax contributors is less the application of a user charge than a form of extortion.

A societal problem results, in that concurrency represents a profound disincentive to produce productive developments, and thus acts as a brake on economic activity – once again, the result of what effectively is a tax on capital improvements. Newcomers certainly should pay their fair share of the cost of local government services, and a reasonable argument could be offered that it is appropriate to pay for these services with ongoing user charges. Of course, as noted, a stream of ongoing fees can be replaced with a financially equivalent lump-sum payment.

If part of public services’ expected cost is handled through a required lump-sum impact fee, then this lump sum should be computed as the negative of the present value of the expected net tax contribution. Therefore, while the levying of impact fees can be justified when a new development is expected to be a net user of local tax dollars, there should be a greater use of negative impact fees, in the form of lump-sum payments from jurisdictions to developers, since there are so many cases in which projects are expected to be net tax contributors.

An important task for assessors particularly, but also for appraisers

asked to value proposed or existing projects, is to identify which developments are expected to be net tax contributors, and which are not, so that communities will not impede the efficient allocation of capital. Local officials should encourage activities that can provide long-term fiscal benefits, rather than subsidizing high visibility projects, such as civic centers, that actually may be net tax consumers.

15.3. Valuation Ideas The ideas that underlie the need for estimating real estate value are profound. Takings, taxation, and transitions are the big three; they are reasons for valuation that provoke great public controversy. The outrage felt by most citizens when land is taken for public “purposes” rather than direct public uses may spill over into such related areas as how just compensation is conceived of and estimated, as well as whether more restrictive zoning regulations require compensation.

Property taxation is a topic that will continue to generate controversy.

Caps on permitted annual increases in assessed values create impediments to the transfer of real estate ownership that gum up the national labor market. Assessment advantages provided to farmland interfere with our rural to urban land use transitions, while over-zoning in favor of certain land uses (e.g., residential zones and exclusive industrial zones) distorts relative land values and the balance of land uses.

15.4. Takings The taking of property rights, which governmental units complete under their eminent domain power to condemn privately owned real estate, has rocketed into the public consciousness recently with the famous case of Kelo et al. v. City of New London et al., 545 U.S. 469 (2005). In that case a Connecticut municipal authority condemned homes in a non blighted area as part of a plan to promote private economic development in the city.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s support of the takings in its Kelo ruling provides the natural conclusion to the decades-earlier Poletown Neighborhood Council v. City of Detroit (410 Mich. 616) case, in which the Michigan supreme court in 1981 affirmed Detroit’s right to condemn longtime residents’ modest houses, business properties, and churches for resale to General Motors for the stated “public purpose” of creating jobs (actually, moving jobs) and strengthening the local property tax base.

The Poletown ruling rested on a questionable idea, since the city paid substantially more to buy Poletown neighborhood properties than it charged GM for them, and the state supreme court ultimately (and unanimously) reversed the Poletown decision in 2004’s County of Wayne v. Hathcock (471 Mich. 445) case. But in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo decision, local governments now might appear to be largely unconstrained in their ability to take private property for the express purpose of selling it to another private owner to develop. Appearances, however, can be deceiving.

An important point raised by the High Court in Kelo is that local Jurisdictions have broad takings powers unless applicable state or local laws restrict them. Reacting to their own newfound powers, and to outrage expressed by large numbers of citizens, some officials at U.S. state and local levels have undertaken aggressive measures.

Supreme courts in some states (notably Michigan and Ohio) have found the taking of private land for a mere public “purpose” to be unconstitutional. In addition, legislatures in a number of states (including Illinois) have begun passing statutes that close down municipalities’ option to take property for economic reasons alone, while ordinances proposed in some communities would prohibit the acquisition of property under eminent domain unless supermajorities of local councils voted in support. Direct voter initiatives on November 2006 ballots in several states (including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Michigan) have also limited governmental takings powers. The public’s outrage might be expected to spill over into such related areas as how “just” compensation is conceived of and estimated.

The Price of Everything, and the Value of Nothing To modify a quote by Oscar Wilde, standard appraisal tools disclose the price of everything and the value of nothing. The point of this modification is that there are value concepts that have been beyond the realm of the appraiser – although limitations imposed on appraisers may have been too constraining in some contexts.

One constraint that has the potential for creating trouble is the definition of “just” compensation for eminent domain takings: market value. This definition is something akin to the expected price (some appraisers think in terms of the most probable price) under a particular set of conditions. There must be something wrong with this limitation, because almost everyone who has had their property taken is angry with the compensation. What is wrong is that market value does not fully compensate for what most owners lose in a taking.

Compensation is too low because there is an accompanying consumer surplus that currently is not compensable, but is a real component of value. Total value for an owner, sometimes called investment value in appraisal, is the sum of the expected selling price and the surplus. The total market value plus consumer surplus for all the property in a particular local market is the area under the demand curve for that market. Urban economists who focus on the long run, the open city, imagine that this surplus ultimately is bid away. But this view is erroneous.

Consumer surplus for real estate is durable; it can not be bid away by identical bidders from other cities. The reason is that the long-lasting surplus, which tends to relate closely to tenure in a given location, is costly to create, yet can not be sold.

The basis for this surplus consists largely of advantages such as information and social contracts that emerge through longevity; examples would be trusted relationships with neighbors and local service businesses. It also can be affected by the property’s special suitability to an owner’s unique circumstances, such as special improvements that an owner favors but a typical buyer would not, or proximity to the home of an elderly parent; it also might reflect an owner’s sentimental attachment to a property.

These types of advantages can not meaningfully be transferred to a buyer when the property is conveyed, so consumer surplus generally does not affect the estimation of compensation owed for takings in U.S. jurisdictions; the surplus above market value typically does not enter the analysis. The idea that it could, though, is not as far-fetched as it once might have seemed.

England’s “home loss payment” system, which statutorily awards an additional 10 percent of market value when owner

occupants lose their homes to “compulsory purchase” (eminent domain), reflects an attempt to compensate for lost surplus, while France provides for an even more substantive 20 percent premium over market value. Yet even more compelling is a successful November 2006 Michigan ballot proposition that created a payment standard of at least 125 percent of market value for forcible takings in that state.

The Mill Acts in colonial America, often cited as a key point in the history of U.S. takings law, reveal an intention to address, if perhaps indirectly, issues relating to the owner’s surplus.

Operators of mill ponds, which were the public utilities of the day, were required to pay 150 percent of the market value of the loss when they flooded the land of others. The direct purpose of this sort of compensation requirement was to ensure that there would be a limit on such takings, and to increase the likelihood that property moved from lower- to higher-valued uses. (In addition to the intended improvement in allocate efficiency; this sort of requirement might be used to achieve distributional justice.)

Questions arise in the Poletown and Kelo cases regarding the possibility that the property did, in fact, move from higher- to lower-valued uses. If the designated buyer would be willing to pay no more than market value, while any existing consumer surplus would cause the current owner to attribute a higher thanmarket value to the property, then a forced sale under eminent domain displaces a higher-valued use with a lower valued use.

Because the price someone willingly would pay relates directly to the productive value that could be derived from the purchased item, a condemnation sale priced to include only market value easily could pass ownership to a party that will use it less productively, for individual or commercial benefit, than would the displaced owner. Movement from higher- to lower-valued uses therefore is inefficient.

An eminent domain system that legally permits public bodies to ignore a private owner’s idiosyncratic value determinants thereby leads to an inefficient level of compensation,9 which in turn could bring about a less-than-optimal investment in physical capital on land, as well as too little investment in social contracts and information. Imagine an eminent domain compensation schedule that is intended to deal with the kind of consumer surplus described.

Suppose that someone who has purchased property within a year of when it is taken is paid 100 percent (plus a slight premium to compensate for transaction costs, such as search and moving) of the estimated market value, whereas someone who has held property ten years or more gets 150 percent (plus the relocation premium) of market value. Some kind of schedule of intermediate compensation could fall to owners with more than one but less than ten years of tenure.

Clearly, some dispossessed owners would be overcompensated, because after a tenure of many years changes in their circumstances would have devalued their special information, social contracts, or access to specialized improvements or proximate properties in the given location, such that they already might have considered selling voluntarily despite the expectation of receiving only the “bricks and mortar” value.

Indeed, it typically is when changed circumstances devalue the surplus that an owner puts up a “for sale” sign, advertising a willingness to sell at a market price that excludes the nontransferable surplus.

Some owners also would be overcompensated or under

compensated by this type of plan based on the size of the premium; the 50 percent figure used for illustrative purposes here is, of course, arbitrary. A more rigorously estimated magnitude might be attributed to particular household/business characteristics through survey research, involving questions such as the percentage premium over market value the respondent would require for willingly selling on the survey date.

It would not be surprising, for example, to see very high premiums required by business owners who had made capital investments to serve specific needs of nearby land users more effectively, or by owners forced to sell land held by their families for many generations.

The analyst would use econometrics to relate the expected premium to the household or business characteristics found. A system of premiums based on owner attributes would be likely to capture the effects of longevity, and perhaps of special improvements. Of course, because surveys can be fraught with their own problems, an inexpensively administered compensation plan based on an arbitrary premium over market value, such as England’s or Michigan’s, might be the most practical means to realizing significant improvements over current compensation practice. While this type of plan could not fully prevent the transfer of land to a party that valued it less than the current holder (whose consumer surplus might be far more than the 50 percent or other administered premium over the market value), it would enhance efficiency by assuring that any transfer would be to a user who at least valued the acquired property substantially more than does the marginal (market-value paying) translator.

15.5. Partial Rights More and more, partial property rights are being conveyed through voluntary or involuntary arrangements. Examples include such real estate interests as conservation easements and pipeline easements. A group concerned with maintaining open space might purchase a conservation easement on a parcel, through which the owner subsequently is prevented from developing the land. It should be intuitively clear that the value of the right to prevent development depends on the likelihood that the land would have been developed in the absence of the easement.

In economic terminology, it would be said that a conservation easement’s value is based on the value of the owner’s implicit option to undertake development: the higher the development option value, the higher the easement value.

The value of the development option obviously varies directly with the land’s suitability for development (by features such as location and topography). The value of the right to wait – to monitor changes in the economy, and the progression of development in the nearby area – can result in a parcel’s highest and best use actually being to remain vacant. Therein lies a dilemma for land markets and communities. For a conservation easement to be highly valuable, it would have to remain operative for a long period of time, perhaps saddling future generations with higher construction, infrastructure, and commuting costs as they must develop around protected locations.

Conversely, such an easement lasting for a short number of years might be essentially worthless to the grantee, because even if the easement did not exist some time would have passed before development occurred. A coherent use of the eminent domain power is for obtaining pipeline, and other public utility, easements. The reason is that the holdout problem is accentuated

when a network of pipes or wires must connect to be valuable.

Ordinarily, a pipeline easement is worth considerably less than the fee value of the land burdened by the easement (it should cost less to obtain the right bury some pipe on a strip of land than to buy the strip outright).

Theoretically, the right to run the pipeline could be worth more (require a higher payment in an arm’s-length transaction) than the fee value if that right substantially disrupted the use of the remainder (i.e., the part of the parcel not affected by the easement). But this circumstance is hard to imagine on a practical level, especially if the pipeline company is responsible for any damages resulting from pipeline accidents.

Indeed, a buried pipeline would more likely enhance the remainder’s Value through the resulting open space. If a holdout could demand an excessive price for granting the pipeline company an easement on a parcel that had become strategically critical solely because of the pipeline company’s earlier actions, the result would be to prevent property rights from moving to a truly higher-valued use. The primary reason for eminent domain even to exist is to address this type of holdout situation, in which public officials fear that the community will see too little in public capital improvements if each investment a public utility makes merely raises the expected cost of obtaining additional needed land.

15.6. Taxation Property taxation is a subject that will continue to generate controversy. Issues such as caps on assessments will have to be addressed. Most jurisdictions in the United States have graded taxation systems, under which land is taxed at lower rates than are buildings, resulting primarily from attempts to favor farmland – a sort of anti-Georgist sentiment that should be corrected, unless the intention is to continue impeding both investment in capital improvements and the application of land to its highest-valued use.

15.7.Assessment Caps A number of states, including Michigan, have instituted assessment caps in the California “Proposition 13” mold. Caps of this nature limit the annual increases in assessed property values to some small specified percentage, or to the rate of growth in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower.

This limit remains in place until there is a sale. Of course, if everyone in the state has the same legislated advantage, then there is no absolute benefit for the taxed population; tax rates simply adjust to generate the revenue that voters approve of through their elected representatives. What rate caps actually do is to confer a relative advantage on residential properties with the most widely sought physical or location features. These houses’ values would appreciate the most rapidly, and their owners would face skyrocketing value assessments, in an unfettered market accompanied by a nondiscriminatory tax regime. Therefore the caps create unfairness through allowing for disparate treatment.

Yet even more troubling is that inefficiency engendered by the caps, and by this questionable relative advantage, imposes a tremendous burden on the economy. The burden is that consumer surplus is increased for greater tenure far beyond what normal conditions (such as informational advantages) would dictate: those who have considerable longevity at particular locations are likely to value their properties more than

any new buyers conceivably would, solely because of a legislated tax benefit. The result is that property fails to move to higher valued uses, or at least into the hands of parties who would value it more highly than the current owners if not for an artificial constraint on the market.

The economy is less able to direct labor resources (typically younger households) to where they might be needed; relocation costs are kept prohibitively high because housing capital remains in the control of favored parties (often older households) who otherwise would find it socially and economically advantageous to live elsewhere.

The reluctance to sell exhibited by those who own the fixed number of advantaged properties indirectly affects the demand side of the market, as those owners reserve their homes for themselves rather than to transact with others who might derive high utility from the physical or location features but would not be entitled to the tax advantages. This “reservation demand” on the part of the current owners constitutes part of the total demand relationship (Wicksteed 1933, 785) for the type of property with the most desired features. The result is a slowing in the rate of transactions, and the sales that do occur are characterized by higher prices than would be observed in a market driven by more typical economic motivations. (It should not be surprising that the movement of property to higher-valued uses is impeded when buyers not only must pay excessively high prices, but also, as new owners, must then pay inordinately high ad valorem taxes.) The reduction in transactions surely is apparent to real estate brokers, title insurers, and other industries that benefit from property sales.

15.8 .Agricultural Land Contemporary property taxation regimes do not treat all land uses equivalently; farmland, for example, often is afforded favorable treatment. In Illinois, farmland is assessed under a formula that appears to be something like value-in-use. It is not precisely value-in-use, because the statutory capitalization rate and theoretical income are conceptually incompatible.

The capitalization rate is based on a nominal discount rate, whereas the projected income concept is a real, rather than a nominal, magnitude. Thus, assessed value is a function of the rate of inflation. Farm assessments therefore fluctuate; they fall with higher inflation and rise as inflation declines. What is not incorporated into the assessments that determine property taxes on farmland is the value of the development option, which generally is quite high for unimproved land located near sites that already are intensively developed. As a result, farmland in close proximity to cities is under taxed, and therefore is held out of development longer than it otherwise would be. The outcome obviously is similar to that brought on by assessment caps on homes: real estate fails to move to uses that would be higher valued in an unfettered market.

Yet whereas assessment cap proponents seem most concerned with the potential “sticker shock” of rising tax bills, rather than with changes in ownership or use, proponents of a property tax system biased in favor of farmland sometimes are motivated by a desire to see farm property remain in agricultural use.

The irony is that this policy merely reduces the intrinsic value of the development option, leading the owner to speculate by withholding, but only for the time being, the land from the development market. Opponents of tax preferences for

agricultural use would point out that, regardless of how worthwhile the speculative motive is, policies that subsidize speculation are not efficient (but neither should speculation be singled out for targeted penalties, such as special taxes on capital gains). The point is that there are conflicts surrounding agricultural land assessment that may have to be dealt with differently in the future than they are in the present.

15.9. Transitions Transitions in land use will depend on the sophistication of property value estimation, primarily estimation techniques relating to land (and to land versus capital improvement) values.

Reductions in land value caused by regulations such as zoning will focus the attention of both developers and public sector decision makers on modifying those regulations.

15.10. Zoning In a situation involving two contiguous land uses that have evolved in the absence of any zoning restrictions – think a residential area and a commercial area, with a boundary separating the two – the equilibrium allocation of land to the different uses would not be the economically efficient allocation.

The equilibrium condition is for land within the interior of the residential area to sell for more than an equal-sized and topographically similar parcel in the nearby commercial area.

The reason is that buyers would offer less for residential land bounding on the commercial area than for buffered land in the interior of the residential area; residential boundary land is negatively impacted by noise, light, and congestion from the adjoining commercial activity.

In this equilibrium situation, land in the commercial area but bounding on the residential area should sell for the same price as land on the residential side of the boundary. If it did not, buyers in this unrestricted environment could engage in a form of arbitrage by buying lower-cost commercial land and putting it to residential use without facing any more exposure to negative influences than the boundary residential land already endures.

And because nearby residential activity creates no additional problems for commercial users (rendering residential the “higher” use), commercial land along the boundary would be expected to sell for the same price per unit as land in the interior of the commercial area.

An efficient outcome, on the other hand, would be for prices in the interiors of the two land use areas to be the same; if efficient conditions prevail then two equal sized parcels that are physically and locationally similar should not sell for different prices merely because of their expected uses. (Lower prices would be expected along the boundary, where the boundary residential land faces the negative impact of adjoining commercial use.)

Therefore, if a zoning regime were to determine the amount of land that could be put to each use, and if the zoning were to be allocatively efficient, the outcome would be equal land values in the interiors of the land use areas. For this reason there is tension between free-market equilibrium and efficient zoning; it should be a common occurrence for developers to attempt to get zoning changed (moving toward the equilibrium outcome) even if zoning officials do an efficient job of allocating land to various uses.

If, however, a zoning plan is accompanied by different interior land prices in the two zones, then the regime is characterized by an efficiency problem. If the commercial zone has a higher price per unit of land – indeed, what is observed in the presence of the most common zoning error – then the zoning authority has over-zoned for the residential use by constraining commercial use too much.

For the commercial zone to demonstrate the lower price per unit of land there would have to be an exclusive zoning plan under which too much land has been designated solely for commercial use. This result would be impossible in the presence of cumulative zoning, which allows higher uses in the zoning hierarchy to operate in lower-use zones, and thus prevents the forced expansion of the lower use, a situation that would be analogous to pushing on a string (finding too few designated residential parcels, residential developers would become active bidders for vacant commercially zoned land).

One important aspect of the appraiser’s job is to value land. Through appraisers’ professional efforts, the correctness or error in zoning policy is made clear. Thus, planners should look to appraisal as a check on the efficiency of their activities.

15.11. Land Classification Table : Land Use Situation Classification 1. Irrigated Paddy Field 3. Land Based On The Weather 5.Irrigated Field 7. Dry Land 9. Cultivated Land 11.Transportation 13. Fruit 15. Mulberry 17.Tea 19.Rubber 21.Garden Plots 23. Forest 25. Shrubbery 27. Open Forest 29.Un-Formation Of Forest Planting Site 31. Glacier And Perpetual Snow 33. Wasteland 35. Nursery 37. Native Pasture 39. Sand 41. Artificial Pasture 43. Bare Soil 45. Bare Rock Gravel Land 47. Raised Path 49. Industry And Mining Only 51. Special Use 53. Others

2. Railway 4. Road 6. Rural Road 8. Civil Airport 10. Vegetable Plot 12. Dock And Harbor 14. Water Surface Of River 16. Water Surface Of Lake 18.Water Surface Of Reservoir 20.Water Surface Of Pit And Pool 22. Wetland 24. Tidal Flat 26. Channel 28. Hydraulic Structure 30. Water Fields 32. Obsolete Site 34. Forest Lands 36. Alkaline Land 38. Improved Grassland 40. Grass Lands 42. Un-Utilized Lands 44. City And Town 46. Rural Residence 48. Lands For Residence, Industry And Mining 50. Salt Pan 52. Reed Bed

15. 12. The Market Comparison Approach Most of the academic effort in creating new valuation technology has focused on the market comparison approach.

Adjustment Grids As has occurred in so many areas of human endeavor, it was the growth in computing power in the second half of the 20th century that has enabled, and at the same time has driven, movement away from the appraisal industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longtime standard market comparison technique, the adjustment grid, to other methods. Of course, increased computing power also has allowed for the grids to be adjusted in a more automated fashion, but primitive equipment was never the main problem with this technique. One central conceptual problem associated with adjustment grids is reconciliation: producing a defensible single point estimate from individual estimates related to a small number of comparable sales.

Another conceptual problem is the estimation of adjustment factors (Colwell, Cannaday, and Wu 1983). While it can be argued that the most supportable adjustment factors are the coefficients produced in a regression analysis, this view does not address the problem for a practitioner whose tool kit is limited to matched pairs. It is fortunate that the use of matched pairs can be elevated to contemporary statistical standards through the use of nonparametric tests of hypotheses, and yet made simple enough for application by most practitioners through the availability of preset spreadsheet templates.

Remaining problems with adjustment grids are those that vex econometricians in other applications as well, such as co linearity (the tendency of seemingly separate value determinants to be related, as when larger homes in a particular market also generally have been built with better quality materials and workmanship) and excluded variables (the inadvertent failure to recognize important value-determining features within a regression model, as when an analyst is unaware that houses built by a particular contractor consistently sell for higher prices in the affected locality). Adjustment grids do have one primary advantage over much of the academic valuation work of the 20th century. With their focus on a few comparable sales in close proximity to the subject property, they are useful in producing reasonable predictions of value.

However, adjustment grids effectively obscure the reasons for value differentials across neighborhoods. Of course, if there are sufficient comparables within neighborhoods to allow for the use of adjustment grids, then analysts who wish only to estimate specific propertiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; values do not find it necessary to estimate or understand the sources of value differences across neighborhoods.

15.13. Hedonic Regression Regression analysis (hedonics) represents the first major property valuation technology transferred from academics to practitioners. Academics had begun using regression analysis, in fact, in the 1920s. An auto industry analyst gave this technology the name hedonics in the 1930s, to convey the idea that value relates to features that provide the user of an item with pleasure or utility, borrowing from a psychological term involving pleasant states of mind. Although hedonics has not become widely adopted yet within the appraisal profession, its use has moved beyond such great pioneering practitioners as Gene Dilmore.

Regression has found a place among many more private appraisers of the next generation, and also among some important public sector jurisdictions where assessment officials use regressions in mass appraisals for ad valorem tax assessment purposes. The cost of regression analysis programs is extremely

Mlow (e.g., it is a feature within Microsoft Excel), so this technological application is available to virtually any valuation practitioner who would care to use it.

By the end of the 20th century, academics had moved well beyond straightforward regression analysis, as the size of available data sets grew along with computing power. The increasing availability of relatively large sets of sales data has been instrumental, along with increased computing power, in facilitating appraisers’ movement toward the use of hedonics.

However, a problem with basing a regression analysis on a large data set is that a single pricing model in unlikely to have relevance over a geographical area sufficiently wide to provide a substantial quantity of observations. The analysis might produce positive spatial autocorrelation, meaning that similar values would be attributed to properties simply because they are located “near” to each other. Alternative computational solutions to this problem reflect, to some extent, deeply held points of view on the merits of improved technical response to error terms versus improved theoretical understanding: is the solution one of better handling the part of value that remains unexplained by the regression, or one of developing spatial models that provide richer explanations of variations in value? One solution is to take spatial modeling much more seriously.

The econometrician/appraiser of the future may look to using more sophisticated variables that represent the abstract characteristics of important spatial phenomena. Neighborhoods might better be represented by the population characteristics of the residents (Colwell and Munneke, 2006a), or there might be price (i.e., boundary) effects at the edges of neighborhoods. There could be local pimples and pocks on the value surface that reflect minor shopping, work, or industrial centers (i.e., positive spatial autocorrelation, as noted above, in which high values are associated with other high values) [Colwell and Munneke 1997]; or the price surface could exhibit scallops alternating high and low values within certain types of blocks where corner lots might be more or less valuable than interior lots (i.e., negative spatial auto-correlation, in which lower values are found close to high values).

These features can be modeled without disruptions to the entire value surface. Similarly, the impact of odd linear features, such as a railroad crossing the cityscape, can be modeled. Other examples include limited-access highways and important surface features such as streets, lakefronts, and rivers.

These features can be handled like one dimensional version of the two-dimensional pimples and pocks described in the previous paragraph. The value gradient, the function that describes how changes in land value relate to movement away from the central business district (CBD) center or other important location, can be modeled flexibly so that the parameter estimate depends on direction, and not merely on distance. Including both distance and direction accommodates the star shaped city so frequently theorized by early economists, illustrated in textbooks, and observed in many modern urban areas, but so infrequently found in the models of modern empirical researchers (Colwell and Munneke 2006b). These sorts of enhancements to empirical models are not difficult to make, so once they have been demonstrated – by academics or by practitioners – it is reasonable to expect that they will find their way into a broad range of valuation tools over time.

A radically different kind of solution is to use some type of

mechanistic approach to estimating property values. Mechanistic approaches include spatial autocorrelation schemes, kernel methods, and splines, such as piecewise parabolic multiple regression analysis. If these approaches were to lead researchers away from carefully modeling the true spatial relationships, their adherents could be considered cults of ignorance.

Nevertheless, there is legitimacy in the views that these approaches represent. First, there is beauty in a cult of ignorance if a simple prediction of individual property selling prices, and not a fuller explanation of underlying relationships, is the only goal. Secondly, new phenomena (i.e., blips in the value function appearing in space where they were not anticipated) may be observed in the results of these methods. Those who favor spatial autocorrelation schemes attempt to adjust for the positive spatial autocorrelation so often found in property sales data.

Making the needed adjustments requires that the analyst weight observations based on some proximity measure, like geographical distance. This technique is referred to by its proponents, immodestly, as spatial econometrics. It addresses the error of assuming that the value function is constant across space; its kinship to the traditional adjustment grid is obvious where comparables are weighted to produce a point estimate of value for the subject property. Unfortunately, its application requires some ready measure of comparability, such as simple distance, without regard to the comparableâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s direction from the subject property.

Using distance alone is wrongheaded, but the problem certainly will be corrected in the near future â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the next decade or so. The correction will make use, no doubt, of the notion that many value anomalies in the urban setting are linear: best modeled not as hills or craters in the value surface, but as ridges or valleys.

That is, similar pricing effects are often found along roads, rivers, or lakes, with profound differences from values of otherwise similar properties a block or two away from these features. So looking only at distance from an important reference point does a poor job of explaining value differences. Distance in a particular direction, such as along the same road or even on the same side of the road as the subject property, may do much better.

Addressing the central deficiency of this solution to the problem (treating value models as constant across space) may prove to be relatively simple. A rich solution may be one that incorporates both improved modeling and adjustments for spatial autocorrelation. Still another solution is to use a kernel, semi-parametric technique referred to as Lowess, an acronym for locally weighted regression. This sort of application is much like the previous solution, in that it allows for a variable pricing model. But it does so based on the crude assumption that distance from a subject property (actually, distance from a point in space) is what determines comparability; a function such as the tri-cube is used in weighting the sales surrounding the subject. Imagine a circular window of data that is centered geographically on each prediction or subject property.

A separate regression is run for each such window. For a Gaussian kernel (i.e., weighting based on the normal density function), all the data is used for each regression. The Lowness technology produces a value estimate for each point on which a regression is run. More than likely these points are on a spatial grid. It does not produce a value surface. The reader who sees that the estimated points have been connected to construct a surface

should realize that there is no econometric justification for this surface to exist. It is always possible to run more and more regressions in order to make the spatial grid finer and finer, and in the limit, there is a smooth surface. However, questions arise regarding the informational content obtained from, say, more regressions than data points.

Finally, there is a semi-parametric solution that allows for the entire data set to be utilized in one regression, but this solution fails to address the issue that the parametric coefficients on the non-spatial variables might vary across space (of course, restraint in the area of coverage can reduce this problem). This solution, called piecewise parabolic regression, is essentially a simple spline. It utilizes a notion called bray centric coordinates to locate the data points within the squares of a spatial grid. This technique legitimately produces a value surface that is continuous: kinked at the grid lines, but smooth (i.e., differentiable) within the grid lines (i.e., the is value curves are hyperbolic, whereas vertical sections are parabolic).

15.14. Legal Issues and Changes As stated earlier, for most jurisdictions the laws relating to property transfer are extremely complicated, and so it is not a simple matter to convert paper-based systems built up over several centuries to straightforward electronic processes (UNECE 2000).

In general, though both England & Wales and the Netherlands have been carrying out financial transactions through electronic media and the Financial Acts approve the electronic transfer of documents, utilization of Digital Signature etc. for that purpose, as the Land Registration Act and Rules relates to paper documents, 'true copies' on paper, and analogue procedures, the Land Registration Act did not approve the usage of Digital Signature and digital execution and transfer of deeds in land transactions (van der Molen P 2001). So the Land Registration Act and Rules needed to be amended with legislative provisions to enable the implementation of e-Registration Conveyancing in the form envisaged for the realization of e- Conveyancing.

However, even after amending all the outstanding legal issues, the e-Conveyancing as envisaged in the Netherlands still requires a written deed of conveyance to be kept by the notary public and an automatically generated electronic copy to be submitted to the registrar. The notary public accepts the liability for any difference between the electronic copy and the original written deed.

No electronic document is given compulsive evidence, but the written registration does not have this in the present system either. Therefore the electronic signatures do not affect the existing legal certainty (Louwman2002). Whereas in the case of England & Wales, by law, all the competent persons are permitted to draw deeds and approach the Land Registry for registration.

Further, the registrations in the Land Registry do constitute compulsory evidence. So, it is not enough if a certified copy of the deeds are sent and archived in the Land Registry (Meadows J and Richardson J 2005).Much of the legal actions exercised by the Notaries in the Netherlands on the signed paper documents are required to be carried out by the Registrars in the Land Registry in England & Wales, basing on the digital deed submitted to them (in the event of implementation of e- Conveyancing).

Therefore the Digital Signatures do affect the existing legal certainty.

All these added together causes insurmountable problems in the realization of the e- Conveyancing vision in England & Wales.

Though various alternatives are being tried and tested, so far, they are no where near to a satisfactory solution. Till such time, they come out with a secured, legally acceptable, technologically feasible and cheaply and easily adaptable alternative for the present signature system for empowering the wider society with the facility of Digital Signature, the prospects of the implementation of e-Conveyancing as envisaged looks to be doubtful. As it is mentioned in the report of Land registry(HM Land Registry 2005), it also requires passing of secondary legislation (Rules) for receipt by Land Registry of digital deeds.

However, this opportunity of introduction of e-Conveyancing has been used by the HM Land Registry and Law Commission to carryout an exhaustive review of all those legislations related to e-Conveyancing, without limiting the entire exercise to amend only those aspects affecting the implementation of eConveyancing, by addressing and plugging the limitations and loop holes in those legislations noticed till then and drafting a fool proof and contemporary legislation in all respect(HM Land Registry and Law Commission 1998; Inland Revenue 2002).

Accordingly, the present Land Registration Act 2002 of England and the accompanying rules add more structure to the basic concept of electronic documentation and establish a relationship between the creation of those documents and their use in an eConveyancing system (HM Land Registry 2003). The Finance Bill 2003 of England paves the way for stamp duty to be processed simultaneously with land registration (HM Land Registry 2003).

15.15. Repeat Sales Analysis Academics and practitioners mean rather different things when referring to the analysis of repeat sales. To practitioners, repeat sales analysis involves taking differences or ratios for the purpose of estimating appreciation in value relative to an initial date or condition. According to traditional textbook presentations, for example, a house selling in December 2006 for 10 percent more than the seller had paid in December 2004 provides evidence that local market values have been rising by about 5 percent per year; a higher resale price subsequent to major renovations provides evidence of the market value of the improvements made.

To academics, repeat sales analysis is a regression technique in which the ratio of prices is the dependent variable (in contrast to hedonic analysis, in which the price, or perhaps the logarithm of price, is the dependent variable). The initial academic use of repeat sales analysis was to develop price indexes through time; however, the technique can be hybridized with hedonics to reveal changes in spatial relationships, such as the introduction of new positive or negative externality sources. The point of repeat sales technology is that inferences can be drawn when sales data omit important property attributes, if thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re sufficient numbers of repeat sales and if the repeat sales properly represent the population of interest.

15.16. Geographic Information Systems There are valuation applications that are not part of the econometric tradition. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) may contain some of these applications. Of course, these systems are perfectly fine spatial data bases, but they may be pushed beyond their true capabilities. With these systems, there may be features that draw maps of value (e.g., iso-value maps or 3-D

value maps) based on data points in space. Since these features are black boxes, it must be assumed that the systemsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to produce surfaces from point data is based on some type of averaging routine, but not on econometrics. If this assumption is correct, then professional users of GIS should be wary of the seemingly amazing features of these systems. Instead, it is best to use GIS for its database features, and to stick with standard econometrics for the analysis.

Any map of value needs to be based on a program that holds a lot of property features constant, if it is to be useful in any practical sense. For example, property improvements might be held constant for some purposes. Doing so leads toward the ability to map land value. However, unless the analyst realizes that land value is a nonlinear function of parcel size and thus holds size constant as well, the result is useless. On the other hand, if the GIS is provided with econometrically estimated land values for a constant sized parcel, then the system can produce credible maps, with appropriate caveats for the interpolation of values between actual points at which there are estimated values.

It is even better to estimate a value surface econometrically and represent that surface graphically, rather than to estimate discrete points and then provide some mysterious interpolation between the points to allow for graphical representations.

15.17. Contingent Valuation Contingent valuation (CV) has been gaining adherents, particularly among those who would estimate the value of environmental features. CV analysis is based on survey research: asking respondents hypothetical questions, such as what would you require as a discount if you were to purchase property that is impacted by this technique not only is subject to all the common criticisms of surveys, but in addition is subject to a fundamental criticism from neoclassical economics: that the survey addresses only the demand side of the market. It does not reflect the marketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supply side; that is, it does not reveal the frequency with which the horrible condition is found within the region surveyed.

For example, if 70 of 100 potential buyers would insist on paying prices lower than they would pay for otherwise similar property unaffected by the adverse condition, but only 20 of the 60 available local properties suffered from the condition, then the expectation should be that the affected properties would be purchased by 20 of the 30 buyers not requiring discounts. Their outbidding of those who were troubled by the condition would lead to sale prices not substantially discounted from those expected for unaffected parcels.

Thus, the analyst can not determine the horrible conditionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pricing effect by the survey alone; no manipulation of the survey results can lead, by itself, to any conclusion regarding expected prices in market transactions. No averages or more sophisticated statistics, no charts, nothing will produce a legitimate estimate of the impact on expected prices unless information about supply is simultaneously incorporated with the results of the survey.

Because this simple principle should not be difficult to communicate, there is reason to hope that the future will hold more sensible uses of contingent valuation than have been seen in the past.

15.18 .The Income Approach

Early in the 20th century, appraisers used a wide range of income approach applications (Colwell and Cannaday , but by the century’s end these applications had narrowed to gross income multipliers, net income multipliers (direct capitalization), and detailed pro forma discounted cash flow analysis (manual, and later electronic, spreadsheets with income, expense, net present value, and internal rate of return calculations). Multiplier applications, in which value is estimated as a function of a single year’s income (gross income for gross income multiplier [GIM] analysis, net income for direct capitalization), continue to be important to valuation practitioners.

However, academics never really have bonded to the use of multipliers and, as a result, practitioners have not moved beyond determining multipliers by computing averages.

It should have been recognized that the relationship between a property’s value and its ability to generate a given gross or net income is instead one that can, and should, be estimated with conventional econometric techniques. This oversight is another problem that is likely to be remedied in the near future.

The reduced cost of computing power has tremendously influenced the nature of the income approach. The numerous income approach applications that were used by appraisers during much of the previous century emerged primarily to keep computing costs in check. They were based on various simplifying assumptions to make the valuation equation more compact, thereby reducing the need for computation. One such assumption holds that buildings or other capital improvements will produce constant annual income streams during their useful lives, and when an improvement’s useful life comes to an implicitly assumed abrupt end the income immediately goes to zero (because with no remaining life for the improvements the property is worth the land value only).

This “one-hoss-shay” assumption (so named from an Oliver Wendell Holmes poem about a buggy that provides 100 years of reliable service and then immediately falls apart), which is familiar to economists who are capital theorists, was commonly included in simplified applications of the income approach.

Fortunately, the need for this sort of simplifying assumption was eliminated by the advent of electronic spreadsheets. It is no longer especially helpful to find some clever, or not-so-clever, means of making a single equation easier to compute. The computer’s brute computational force easily can produce a present value or rate of return estimate for any projected stream of future cash flows.

The interesting question regarding computational aspects of the income approach is whether all the evolution that is going to be seen has been seen. The answer is that it probably has not. There is an intended play on words here; future developments in pro forma analysis may be probabilistic. A natural extension of the use of spreadsheets is to want to see them become animated, to employ them in exploring the implications of alternate futures.

Monte Carlo simulation allows for the analysis of different states of the world by incorporating one or more stochastic processes.

For example, if a random walk were incorporated into the projected stream of income or expenses (or some other parameter, like the vacancy rate), then each period for which the model is run would show the magnitude increasing or decreasing by some amount with, say, a 50 percent chance of each. Averaging the results of a very large number of runs provides a more reliable estimate of value than could any traditional pro forma analysis based on a single set of assumed

parameter magnitudes.

The analyst could enhance a Monte Carlo analysis with a Wiener process, in which some important variable would change through time by moving, each period, according to a particular probability distribution. Brownian motion is a more elaborate process, in which the analyst allows a drift term to be added to the Wiener process. Of course, a question that must be addressed is how the analyst chooses the distributions. The answer may be through surveying experts in the market. An especially compelling survey question would involve the greatest, the most common, and the smallest year-to-year change in a relevant variable that the expert has observed during his or her years of experience.

These three magnitudes can become the parameters of a triangular probability distribution, one that resonates with many practitioners. Through an averaging of repeated simulations of the future, the Monte Carlo analysis can produce estimates of the expected value and standard deviation of a propertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s likely selling price and internal rate of return, along with estimates of such conditions as the probability of default on a mortgage loan. Since there are commercial add-ins for Excel that offer Monte Carlo capability incorporating simulation analysis into appraisals has become a fairly simple matter.

While this type of attention to quantitative techniques could put the income approach on a more secure computational footing, some observers would contend that what the income approach instead needs is simplification through a theoretical reexamination. For example, constraints imposed by market participants and regulators may limit value in ways not recognized by those who would view more computation, in an era of declining computing costs, as a perfect substitute for thinking.

15.19. The Cost Approach Cost approach applications are built on three important components: building cost, land value, and depreciation.

Weaknesses exist in our current abilities to handle each of the three. Practitioners continue to deal with depreciation often through some form of rule of thumb, and when using the cost approach they frequently give short shrift to land valuation.

Academics generally have steered clear of the cost approach almost entirely, as if it were an unwelcome carryover from classical economics in the neoclassical age.

Because all three cost approach components have been insufficiently studied, they are subjects that are ripe for innovation. But innovation may not come.

15.20. Building Cost Appraisers often compute estimated building costs by referring to, or at least double checking with, commercially available cost manuals. Despite their widespread use, however, these manuals have not been critically reviewed by independent researchers intent on explaining the assumptions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which might be highly questionable â&#x20AC;&#x201C; incorporated in the figures presented.

For example, what happens to the cost estimate as square footage is increased and quality is held constant, or as square footage is increased and quality is increased, or as a constant square

footage is spread over one story rather than two How reliable are the local market area adjustment factors? Because appraisers often find talking with contractors more enlightening than using cost manuals, an important question that academics might address is whether the analysis of local builders’ invoice data is a more theoretically supportable way to estimate construction costs than is the seemingly more scientific use of cost manuals.

15.21. Land Value Valuation practitioners tend to estimate land value using rules of thumb, such as price per square foot or per acre.

Today academics know, however, what the savviest practitioners knew a century ago: that the assumptions underlying such rules often are completely wrong.

Value is not likely to be proportional to land area; for example, a residential lot with 50 feet of frontage and 600 feet of depth is not likely to sell for the same price as a nearby lot with 150 feet of frontage and 200 feet of depth. This lack of proportionality may be one of the most stable relationships observed in connection with land values, yet today many appraisers fail to recognize it – or at least to incorporate it in their work.

A number of findings from academic research deserve to be incorporated into appraisal practitioners’ tool kits for valuing land. First among these findings is the importance of value gradients; Colwell and Munneke (1997) provide a review of the related literature.

Although academic research has focused on gradients that are region-wide, some focus on sub regional gradients is also worthy. The importance of relative lot size within a neighborhood, an idea that relates to the public good aspect of private lots, is another significant development. Finally, variation in nonlinear pricing of land across an identified market may indicate whether assembly (creating one large parcel from smaller existing parcels) or subdivision (creating many smaller parcels from one large existing parcel) is land developers’ more typical activity.

15.22. Depreciation More fully explaining depreciation is an important key to developing coherence in the cost approach. Unfortunately, not much theoretical work has been done toward helping academics and practitioners understand depreciation. For example, it is not unusual for a depreciation model to treat an asset as losing value continuously over a presumed useful life, whereas the reality may be that the emergences of conditions that cause value losses, and the undertaking of cures to address these conditions, instead are lumpy in terms of their timing and severity.

Finding a valid way to quantify this lumpiness would have a great impact on the estimation of depreciation schedules. If an analyst knew the prices at which a sample of properties recently had sold, and possessed reliable estimates of land values and the current cost of constructing improvements of the type in question, computing actual depreciation for the sold properties would be simple. The next step would be developing a regression model to explain the variation in depreciation based on relevant property attributes known to the investigator.

Of course there would, as always in the use of regression analysis, be concerns over modeling and data problems, but the results

would be much more defensible than are standard, straight-line age/life applications. Depreciation is ultimately an empirical question, a market phenomenon that should be estimated based on some form of market comparison.

15.23. Reconciliation of Approaches to Value Practitioners traditionally have devoted considerable time and thought to reconcile their findings from the three valuation approaches into a single value estimate. There is a high probability that future appraisers, on the other hand, will feel less driven to reconcile the various approaches to value than their counterparts in the past have been. The reason is that appraisers are not likely to rely on multiple valuation approaches in the future. After all, if the approaches are used correctly, each tends to have applicability to a particular context, and in some cases there is little crossover.

The market comparison approach has the widest applicability; it is useful in valuing residential, commercial, industrial, or agricultural property, and useful in applications involving both the type of property that typically would be occupied by its owner and the type that is rented to tenants. It most commonly is used when data on property attributes is available.

An appraiser who lacks sufficient knowledge of property attributes can make effective use of repeat sale analysis, as long as there have been a sufficient number of repeat sales of a relevant type.

Hybrid methods can infuse property attributes, especially changes in location such as the appearance of an externality, into repeat sales analysis when information on property attributes is scarce but not totally unavailable.

The income approach is applicable only to property of a type that is purchased primarily for its ability to generate income.

Otherwise, its use can lead to biased results. For example, the income approach will produce too low a value estimate systematically when used in estimating the value of a single family residential property in a neighborhood where houses seldom are rented, because landlords in that area have lost the bidding wars to owner-occupants who value housing there more.

The beauty of the income approach is that its use does not require much data on physical property attributes, as long as the appraiser has identified a relationship between value and a measure of income for the applicable type of property in the applicable market area.

However, making effective use of the income approach is increasingly dependent on more complete and accurate income and expense information. Long gone are the days when appraisers could get away with the same assumption of vacancy rate or expense ratio across their many incomes property appraisals.

The application of gross income multipliers will require, in the future, econometric estimation since, for example, GIMs vary systematically with age (a newer rental property might be expected to generate its income stream for a longer time period than a property with older improvements, such that the newer income propertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GIM would be higher).

At the same time, GIMs tend to decline systematically as gross Income increases, presumably reflecting higher expense ratios incurred in maintaining larger properties. It is meaningful to relate value to a gross income measure, of course, only if it can be assumed

that all similarly classified properties have the same expense ratios; the GIM therefore is a fairly blunt instrument.

Yet appraisers using the slightly more surgical net income multiplier (direct capitalization) technique also will have to meet tougher standards, as more complete data and better data management tools force them to limit their use of a given capitalization rate to properties that meet increasingly stringent tests of comparability.

The cost approach is useful primarily for setting an upper bound on the value of property with newly constructed improvements. It is a competitor of the market comparison approach when data includes property attributes, such that depreciation can be meaningfully estimated.

However, it is not likely that the cost approach will fare well in this competition, since it is based on more indirect comparisons than is the market comparison approach.

15.24 .Valuation Technology The technology applied in real estate valuation practice often is subsumed under the three approaches to valuation traditionally identified by appraisers: the market comparison, income, and cost approaches.

The 20th century was characterized by some movement at the practitioner level from traditional adjustment grids to regression analysis within the market comparison approach. The income approach actually experienced a narrowed array of choices during the 20th century. The cost approach, on the other hand, changed little during the 20th century; it remains rather primitive even today, and not much of consequence seems to be afoot that would bring about immediate changes.

15.25. Globalization and Real Property Values Globalization continues to be difficult to define, but easy to point out. Increased access to international markets, outsourcing of work, internet communication and sales, and more are evidence of globalization.

The economics of globalization and its impact on property is, in theory, fairly clear cut. Mobile capital will seek the highest rate of return. As the barriers to mobility fall (for example, financial markets open up, transportation becomes cheaper, tariffs and other taxes fall), capital moves more easily among countries. This mobility of capital has been hailed as one the driving factors in the potential â&#x20AC;&#x153;race to the bottomâ&#x20AC;? of taxes worldwide since, under certain conditions, taxes will lower the rate of return to capital.

Countries with high taxes on capital will be at a competitive disadvantage vis-Ă -vis other countries, so there is pressure to bring tax rates on mobile capital down to match those of other countries. Increased capital flows can increase productivity, leading to higher levels of economic growth. Increased investment, expanding businesses, and increased employment will increase the demand for real property thereby putting pressure on the prices of land and structure. So, we might expect that the march of globalization would yield significant gains in property values.

Some evidence on the progress of globalization and investment can be found by studying the flow of foreign direct investment around the world. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD, 2006) produces FDI flows for most

countries the world. We see that in the post-2000 boom-to-bust, FDI dropped substantially between 2000 and 2001. By 2004, we see some recovery of investmentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; with most of the growth occurring in the developing countries. As a frame of reference, in 2004, FDI in-flows worldwide were over 3 times what they were in 1990. In developing economies, they were over 6 times as great at 1990 levels.

Although it may seem that the technology and ideas surrounding real estate valuation are headed in extremely complex directions, the changes will be less overwhelming if their nature can be anticipated. It is useful to keep in mind that the movement to multiple regression analysis began only about half a century ago, as access to computers became widely available; the use of this now-common technique previously had been thought to be quite complicated, even exotic.

Computer hardware will continue to evolve, but more importantly For valuation practitioners, the software that supports hedonic applications will evolve in the very near future in a way that allows what still seems, in many ways, exotic and complex to become common and accessible. Yet at the same time that analysts come to benefit from desktop tools that are easier to use, they will have to deal with the problem of diverging market comparison applications. While it is possible that a winning technique, or a winning combination, will emerge, it is more likely that different tastes and different objectives will drive continued divergence. With regard to taste differences, some will try to build hedonic models that include all possible variables, whereas others will try to capture blips in the value surface with autoregressive schemes, kernel methods, or spines.

Creative combinations of these two different viewpoints may prove to be especially productive. On the other hand, it seems unlikely that combinations of autoregressive schemes, kernel methods, and splints would be productive, because these techniques are similar in their objectives. Applications of the income approach have moved away from the multiplicity of reduced form equations toward complex pro forma spreadsheets, and toward empirical direct capitalization and multipliers. This pattern can be expected to continue, but it also is likely that spreadsheet applications will incorporate Monte Carlo analysis in the future.

The cost approach continues to exist in a very primitive state.

While there are obvious enhancements that could be made, it is doubtful that any of these enhancements will be explored and implemented in the world of valuation practice. The reason is that more carefully crafted and substantiated depreciation estimation techniques require the same type of data that is found in hedonics, yet the application is less direct. There is also much that could be done in terms of reviewing, as well as moving beyond, the cost manuals; the question is whether anyone will be motivated to do the necessary work. Land value estimation is an activity especially in need of ongoing study and experimentation.

The good news here, however, is that the motivation for creating better techniques is substantial, because land valuation plays a profound role in guiding development, regulation, and taxation.

Indeed, the ideas that support real estate valuation, and that drive the demand for estimating property values, will continue to evolve. It can be anticipated that sophisticated valuation methodology will be thrust into the public arena in the future to a greater extent than is seen today. The fields of real estate taxation and land use regulation are two of the public policy

arenas in which valuation theory and practice might be expected to become much more important. Their importance relates not only to compelling economic questions of efficient allocations and fair outcomes, but also to political realities.

Great controversies are likely to emerge with regard to valuationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in taxing and regulating land and its improvements, because there are entrenched interests that will be affected.

All land and the construction on it has value. This value depends on the purpose for which that value is determined. For example, value of a building for insurance purpose is different than the selling value of that property. Land valuation is the process of assessing the characteristics of a land to determine value. The use of a particular property valuation technique is dependent on property type and the purpose of the valuation. In the land valuation, it is a common understanding that the value and potential of a property are fundamentally determined by its location.

In Karnataka, a well-established system is available for Land Administration as well as for Land Valuation. Though Government of Karnataka has set up computerized land record kiosks (Bhoomi centres) in taluk1 offices to provide farmers with the Record of Rights, Tenancy and Cultivation (RTC), technologically, this is far away from the use of GIS, GPS and RS for the effective use of these technologies for easy and effective tax calculation.

However, there are many more steps towards e-governance in Karnataka.

15. 26. Current Valuation Method Followed In Karnataka The origins of fiscal cadastres that support a system of land valuation, and land tax can be traced to Egyptian times. On the other hand juridical cadastres, information systems that underpin the legal registration of land in support of land transactions are far more recent. Over time many of these cadastral systems have evolved beyond their primary purposes to provide the basis for general land administration systems. In many countries, Central Valuation Authority is responsible for administering government valuations and the fiscal cadastre.

As per the Karnataka Act (2003), a Central Valuation Committee (CVC) has been constituted under the chairmanship of the commissioner of stamps. It may be noted that the department of stamps and registration is one of the top revenue earners to the State. Representatives from various departments include Directorate of Town Planning, Bangalore City Corporation, Bangalore Development Authority, Income Tax Department, Karnataka Public Works Department and Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The need for including the representatives of officials of the local/planning authorities is that, one of the main factors to be considered in assessing the Land Value is the Zone use of the land as prescribed by the planning authorities and the maximum built up area that can be constructed in the land as per the Development Control Rules. A representative from Income Tax department is included because the guideline value is considered the base for computation of capital gains tax if the guideline value is higher than the sale value.

The Karnataka Act envisages the constitution of market valuation sub-committees in each sub-district and district for the purpose of estimation and revision of the market value guidelines of the properties.

The members of the sub-committees are drawn from departments of

Revenue Survey and settlement Public Works Municipal Councils or Town Panchayats.

15.27. Estimation of Market Value Guidelines The CVC sends instructions along with general policy guidelines by first week of October every year to all the sub-committees for estimation of market value guidelines for the next calendar year and call for objections / suggestions of the public. The subcommittee decides on the estimation of the market value rate for the guidelines and prepares a statement showing the average rates for agricultural land and residential commercial industrial sites.

The data is then sent to the registrar of the concerned district in the last week of December every year. The registrar verifies and records his views and sends it to the CVC in the first week of January of the next calendar year.

15.28. Various parameters considered for Land valuation by CVC: A. In case of agriculture land 1. Classification of land as dry, garden, wet and the like 2. Classification under various classes of soil in the survey records.

3. Other factors which influence the valuation of the land in question 4. Value of adjacent land or lands in the vicinity 5. As far as practicable, the nature of crop and average annual yield from the land for the last five consecutive years; 6. Determination to road and market distance from village; 7. Facilities available for irrigation such as tanks well and pump sets.

B. In case of house sites 1. The general value of house sites in the locality 2. Proximity to road / railway station / public transport 3. Distance to market shops and the like 4. Amenities available in public offices, hospitals and other educational institutions 5. Development activities and industrial improvements in the vicinity 6. Land tax and valuation of sites with reference to taxation records of the local authorities concerned 7. Any other features having a special bearing on the valuation of the site 8. Any other special features like bore well in addition to public water supply, lawn, garden and swimming pool

C. Properties other than lands house site and buildings 1. The nature and conditions of the property 2. Purpose for which the property is being put to use 3. Any other special features having a bearing on the valuation of the property.

4. With regard to commercial property, functional qualities may include: 5. Location influences (accessibility to the market place, proximity to suppliers of raw materials and important nodes such as railway stations, car parks and open spaces) 6. Physical attributes (size, shape, age and condition) 7. Legal factors (lease terms and restrictive covenants) 8. Planning and economic factors (planning constraints, permitted use and potential for change of use).

15.29. Actual Market Value

In reality, the actual market value is altogether different from that of guidance value. Market value is usually determined by a sale of a property in a competitive market between two prudent and knowledgeable parties and represents the highest price that one can get for his property under current market conditions.

The market value for a residential site / house in an urban area would be estimated based on the following factors (These parameters are derived from literature (Yomralioglu and Nisanci 2001) and interviews with limited number of site purchasers in Bangalore).

1. Nature of the land like BDA, Housing Co-operative Society, Converted, CMC, Grama thana.

2. Availability of basic services 3. Permitted number of floors 4. Permitted construction area 5. Landscape, view 6. Access to street 7. Environment 8. Parcel location within block (corner, middle) 9. Street frontage 10. Available utilities 11. Distance from nuisances 12. Neighborhood quality 13. Land parcel shape 14. Currently usable area 15. Distance to city center 16. Commuting time to the working place 17. Distance to educational centers 18. Distance to health services 19. Access to bus stand / railway station / airport 20. Access to highway 21. Distance from noise 22. Distance to shopping center 23. Soil condition 24. Topography 25. Distance to recreational areas 26. Distance to religious place 27. Distance to play garden 28. Distance to fire station 29. Distance to police station Apart from these parameters, availability of finance, Interest rate on housing loan and incentives from the government in the form of income tax rebate etc., decides the demand for house / site.

Bangalore being the hub of IT activities is growing very fast.

Also, IT companies are providing a good perk in the form of housing loan that attracts income tax rebate. Many other sector employees are also in the process of acquiring a plot or house as they can avail housing loan with attractive interest rate (Interest rate has been dropped significantly from 18%-20% during beginning of 1990s to 7%-8% today)

15.30. Guidance Value Vs Market Value â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issues Guidance values are those fixed by the Department of Registration and Stamps through the above process. These are the minimum values that a property in specified areas is supposed to fetch and on which stamp duty and registration charges are to be paid. The value varies from area to area; also, practically, different from that of market value.

Market value is the most probable sale price of a real-estate property in terms of money assuming a competitive and open

market. A buyer would purchase the land / property with market value, not as per guidance value. It varies from area to area but not in accordance with guidance value.

Issues If the purchase value is more than the guidance value, the stamp duty and registration charges are to be paid on the purchase value as mentioned in the document (sale deed). In case the value of property is less than guidance value, the stamp duty and registration charges are collected as per guidance value. As such the land value itself is high in Bangalore because of the rapid urbanization also, when stamp duty and registration charges are also high, people find various ways to avoid / reduce the registration charges through disclosing the less value in the document, or holding the property through General Power of Attorney, affidavits, by declaration of delivery of possession and avoid registration. All these hardships can be avoided if the guideline value is fixed following a proper procedure so that the difference between it and market value will be marginal.

15.31. Potential of Modern Technologies The urban development is a complex phenomenon; also changing rapidly. Hence, it require enormous amount of dynamic data to support the decision system. RS technology has proved to be time effective and cost effective to provide such data.

High-resolution satellite data can be used for base map preparation, land-use map preparation and many other maps of the urban area, which can be updated frequently. This base-map can be made more accurate using GPS. These data, along with GIS software, has enabled surveyors to create more detailed maps for surveys. This information, when further combined with other systems such as communications devices; computers and software can perform a wide range of tasks. GPS, along with GIS software, can provide a reliable and efficient system, which serves various applications like traffic planning, vehicle tracking, land-use modeling, urban growth, etc.; including land valuation.

15.32. Remote Sensing Aerial photography played a major role in cadastral mapping; presently high-resolution satellite data is providing the needed accuracy for cadastral level mapping at 1:4000 or better scale.

Use of RS data for tax assessment is also not new in India.

Maharastra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) has successfully utilized geo-referenced village (cadastral) map for sugarcane crop identification and revenue targeting in command areas. These maps were integrated with crop maps which facilitated to identify parcels where sugarcane crop is grown. Village wise crop area statistics provide revenue target for the field officer to collect levy. Many such programs are launched by various Departments. One such example: Department of Space has launched program to create a seamless Cadastral Referencing Database for Karnataka and Gujarat with the respective state remote sensing centers.

GPS Triangulation became the basis of all modern mapping. Today, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has become a significant alternative to triangulation, which establishes the positions of

points on the surface of the earth using artificial satellites.

The base map prepared using satellite data can be made more accurate using GPS. One can also measure the exact height, dimension of the plot, exact location of infrastructure like underground pipe, telephone lines, optical cables, water supply pipes etc., using GPS. The primary advantage of GPS is that the property tax administer can determine the location of any point without maps in the field. Comparing information from field sightings with ownership plots in the office can determine property ownership. This will help identify improvements, which are not on the assessment roll, location of gravel pits and oil drilling rigs, and other properties far from urban areas. GPS is an important tool for the property tax administrator, however, parcel descriptions needs to be considered from the land registry.

GIS GIS allows users to input data from various sources like remote sensing, traditional cartographic maps, aerial photographs and other textual information. The power of GIS lies in the ability to combine spatial and attribute data to account for location’s impact on property values. Once GIS is developed, various other users can also share and use the data more effectively.

Geocoding is one of the best tricks we can do with GIS. What's not exciting about watching a file of sterile tabular address data suddenly take shape and illustrate themselves on a city map?

But mention to a colleague that you're trying your hand at geocoding, and you'll likely see a quick flinch, maybe even a shudder. I've seen veteran ESRI Tech Support staff – people who laugh in the face of projection problems and license server administration – shy away from the topic. Why the drama? Like many subjects, the more you know about geocoding, the more success you'll experience with it.

Geocoding is the term used for the process of assigning a locationally reference, such as an address, to absolute spatial coordinates. We all benefit from geocoding, whether we're searching for ATMs within walking distance of our office, seeking a convenient place for a group to meet by geocoding members’ home addresses, or identifying disease "hotspots" by geocoding case data and performing cluster analysis.

Some software vendors will convince you that geocoding is just a matter of a few mouse clicks. More honest GIS users will add that successful geocoding requires good input address data, which is hard to find. While helpful, this becomes painfully obvious the moment you take the geocoding wheel. The real key to improving your geocoding results lies in understanding the variety of pieces and players involved in the outcome.

Take the classic geocoding scenario: You import a table of addresses into your GIS and let the software match each one to an address range in a street centerline file. The software returns interpolated point locations which you map and further analyze.

Input address quality is not the only variable affecting your results! You have just relied on at least one reference data set as well as a slew of algorithms, some of which include user-defined parameters, embedded in your GIS software that identify the “best” address match.

15.33. Use of Modern Technologies in Karnataka

The Local authorities in India, (specifically in Karnataka) have understood the requirement of GIS in their everyday operations.

In most of the cases Local Authorities have initiated to develop new Urban GIS applications to provide wide range of analysis capabilities.

Few Initiatives by Karnataka Government to use Geo-ITC are: a. Industrial Estate Planning through GIS in Karnataka by Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB), b. Property enumeration & mapping system for Bangalore

by Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) which is the local GIS hub, c. Digital urban management program - Evolution of Bangalore GIS model by Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) d. Bhoomi by Revenue Department, Government of Karnataka e. GIS based cadastral database generation for Karnataka State Remote Sensing Center However, there is a need to have an integrated approach to share the data as well as the infrastructure to use the technology in a more effective and efficient way.

15.34. Suggested Approach Various factors influencing the property value in long run can be seen from four angles : Social, Economic, Government and Environmental aspects(Tuladhar 2004). Population changes, Rate of household formation, Life style options and Education matters mainly from social point of view, where as Income level, Employment, Demand and Supply are the major Economic concern. However, Environmental aspects like Climate condition, Topography, Position and Desirability of areas as well as Government regulations, zonation by Government are also important factors influencing the land value.

15.35. Factors affecting the Land Value All the factors affecting the land value can be analyzed in GIS environment. GIS is undoubtedly useful in decision making of land valuation. The advantage of GIS is that land characteristics can be incorporated in an objective way. Both tangible and intangible land valuation factors could be taken into account during the valuation process. The parameters derived from a combination of the selected land valuation factors, can be spatially analyzed using GIS. Land value can then determined as a single unit figure, which represents all factors affecting the land as compared to others. Once, these GIS database is ready, following advantages can be envisaged: a). Each factors considered for land valuation can be given a weight based on its importance. This could be in two forms.

1) Importance value or weight within a layer, say nature of plot 2) The weight could be relative with respective another layer/parameter. In a GIS environment, one can easily model and arrive at a best land valuation map giving a comprehensive value based on all the factors affecting the land value. b).Similarly, one can prepare a market value map after collecting the actual market value. This map can also be build from the parameters affecting the market value. Some of the parameters may be very important while deciding the value and others may not be very critical. However, one can easily arrive a very appropriate value based on its relative importance.

Another advantage is the one can consider the previous years land value map as a base for the next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s calculation. This can be easily compared with market value map.

Guideline value map and market value map can be compared easily. It is possible to explain the discrepancy if found as each value has been arrived as a combination of various factors.

1. A visual land valuation model can be created which will be readily understood by individuals unfamiliar with CVC procedures and also the valuation professionals.

2. Before deciding the land value, valuation sub-committee can seek the public opinion / objection / suggestion. In this mode it becomes easy for the pubic to participate actively in calculation of land value.

3. These information can be published on the web/internet where user can access to know the value of site/plot of his interest thus providing a transparency in the system.

Integrated Database Management System could serves a large variety of users such as municipalities (CMC), real estate brokers, provincial governments (BATF,BMP etc.), insurance companies, financial agencies (including bank), utility companies who provides public services (BWSSB, KEB, Bangalore telecom etc.,) various ministries, courts, individual citizen, notaries, etc ., Land administration system in India was originally set up to raise revenue from Land. In the State of Karnataka a State Tax called Land revenue that is collected by the Revenue Department is used and has proved to be quite effective.

However, in urban areas where rapid changes are occurring, there is a need to use the modern techniques like RS for Land use change detection, GPS for establish the positions of points on the surface of the earth and GIS to study the implication of these changes and for re-valuate the taxes. A comprehensive property valuation module which will enable general public to know the cost of their property.

15.36. Stamp Duty Stamp duty is a form of tax that is levied on documents.

Historically, a physical stamp (a tax stamp) had to be attached to or impressed upon the document to denote that stamp duty had been paid before the document became legally effective. More modern versions of the tax no longer require a physical stamp.

15.37. Australia The federal government of Australia does not levy stamp duty.

However, stamp duty is levied by the states on various instruments (i.e., written documents) and transactions. The rates of stamp duty vary from State to State, as do the nature of the instruments or transactions subject to duty. Some jurisdictions no longer require a physical document to attract what is now often referred to as "transaction duty."

Major forms of duty include the transfer duty on the sale of land, businesses, shares and other forms of dutiable property; mortgage duty; lease duty and duty on the hire of goods.

Rebates or exemptions are available from transfer duty and mortgage duty for those purchasing their first home.

On 20 April 2005, it was announced by the Treasurers of various States or Territories that they will phase out a number of duties over the course of the next five years. However, duty on transfer of ownership in land will remain.

15.38. Hong Kong According to the Schedule 1 of Hong Kong Stamp Duty Ordinance Cap.117 (in short, SDO), Stamp duty is charged on some legal binding documents which are classified into 4 heads: 1. Head 1: All transactions of sale or lease of interests in Hong Kong immovable property.

2. Head 2: The transfer of Hong Kong Stock.

3. Head 3: All Hong Kong bearer instruments.

4. Head 4: Any duplicates and counterparts of the above documents.

One of examples is shares of companies which are either incorporated in Hong Kong or listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Other than the said shares, the HK Stock is defined as shares and marketable securities, units in unit trusts, and rights to subscribe for or to be allotted stock. Stamp duty on a conveyance on sale of land is charged at progressive rates ranging from 0.75% to 3.75% of the amount of consideration. The maximum rate of 3.75% applies where the consideration exceeds HK$6 million.

15.39. Singapore From 1998, stamp duty in Singapore only applies to documents relating to immovable property, stocks and shares. That means that when a person purchases property in Singapore or shares traded on the Singapore Exchange, the transaction is subject to stamp duty. Applicable rates and more information can be obtained from Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.

Legislation covering Singapore Stamp Duties are found in the Stamp Duties Act.

15.40. Ireland 1. Stamp duty is charged on various items including 2. Credit/ Debit cards 3. ATM cards 4. Cheques 5. Property transfers

15.41. United Kingdom The scope of the United Kingdom's stamp duty has been reduced dramatically in recent years. Apart from transfers of shares and securities, the issue of bearer instruments and certain transactions involving partnerships, stamp duty was largely abolished in the UK from 1 December 2003. "Stamp duty land tax" (SDLT), a new transfer tax derived from stamp duty, was introduced for land and property transactions from 1 December 2003. SDLT is not a stamp duty, but a form of self-assessed transfer tax charged on "land transactions". "Stamp duty reserve tax" (SDRT) was introduced on agreements to transfer certain shares and other securities in 1986.

15.42. United States Although the federal government formerly imposed various documentary stamp taxes on deeds, notes and other transactional documents, in modern times such taxes are only imposed by states. Typically when real estate is transferred or sold, a real estate transfer tax will be collected at the time of registration of the deed in the public records. In addition, many states impose a tax on mortgages or other instruments securing loans against real property. This tax, known variously as a mortgage tax, intangibles tax, or documentary stamp tax, is also

usually collected at the time of registration of the mortgage or deed of trust with the recording authority.

15.43 .Gain Tax & VAT A transfer tax is a tax on the passing of title to property from one person (or entity) to another. In a narrow legal sense, a transfer tax is essentially a transaction fee imposed on the transfer of title to property. This kind of tax is typically imposed where there is a legal requirement for registration of the transfer, such as transfers of real estate, shares, or bond. Examples of such taxes include some forms of stamp duty, real estate transfer tax, and levies for the formal registration of a transfer. In some jurisdictions, transfers of certain forms of property require confirmation by a notary. While notaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fees may add to the cost of the transaction, they are not a transfer tax in the strict sense of the term.

In the United States, the term transfer tax also refers to Estate tax and Gift tax. Both these taxes levy a charge on the transfer of property from a person (or that person's estate) to another without consideration. In 1900, the United States Supreme Court in the case of Knowlton v. Moore, 178 U.S. 41 (1900), confirmed that the estate tax was a tax on the transfer of property as a result of a death and not a tax on the property itself. The taxpayer argued that the estate tax was a direct tax and that, since it had not been apportioned among the states according to population, it was unconstitutional. The Court ruled that the estate tax, as a transfer tax (and not a tax on property by reason of its ownership) was an indirect tax. In the wake of Knowlton the Internal Revenue Code of the United States continues to refer to the Estate tax and the related Gift tax as "Transfer taxes." In this broader sense, estate tax, gift tax, capital gains tax, sales tax on goods (not services), and certain use taxes are all transfer taxes because they involve a tax on the transfer of title.

Most taxes distort economic decisions. If labor, buildings or machinery and plants are taxed, people are dissuaded from constructive and beneficial activities, and enterprise and efficiency are penalized due to the excess burden of taxation.

This does not apply to LVT, which is payable regardless of whether or how well the land is actually used, because the supply of land is inelastic market land rents depend on what tenants are prepared to pay rather than on the expenses of landlords, and so LVT cannot be passed on to tenants.

The only alleged direct effect of LVT on prices is to lower the market price of land. Put another way, LVT is often said to be justified for economic reasons because if it is implemented properly, it will not deter production, distort market mechanisms or otherwise create deadweight losses the way other taxes do.

A correlation between the use of LVT at the expense of traditional property taxes and greater market efficiency is predicted by economic theory, and has been observed in practice.

Proponents allege that the necessity to pay the tax encourages landowners to develop vacant and under-used land properly or to make way for others who will. The claim is that because LVT deters speculative land holding, dilapidated inner-city areas are returned to productive use, reducing the pressure to build on green-field sites and so reducing urban sprawl. For example Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has taxed land at a rate six times that on improvements since 1975, and this policy has been credited

by its long time mayor, Stephen R. Reed with reducing the number of vacant structures in downtown Harrisburg from about 4,200 in 1982 to less than 500. LVT is an eco-tax because it ostensibly discourages the waste of locations, which are a finite natural resource.

15.44. Reduced speculation Real estate bubbles direct savings towards rent seeking activities rather than other investments, and can contribute to recessions which damage the entire economy. Advocates of the land tax claim that it reduces the speculative element in land pricing, thereby leaving more money for productive capital investment and making the economy more stable.

15.45. Loss of asset value Land value is the discounted present value of expected future after-tax rents; so by increasing the taxation of those rents, LVT would reduce the value of all real estate owners' holdings.

Critics suggest that a rapid reduction of real estate values could have profoundly negative effects on banks and other financial institutions whose asset portfolios are dominated by real estate mortgage debt, and could thus threaten the soundness of the whole financial system. If the value were reduced to zero or near zero by recovering effectively all its rent, as some LVT economists suggest is possible,[citation needed] total privately held asset value could decline by 25% or more, a massive reduction of private sector wealth.

Georgists argue that the reduction in private rent collection would result in a corresponding increase in net wages held by laborers and net interest from capital held by investors, and most suggest a gradual tax shift.

15.46. Implementation There are several practical issues involved in the implementation of a land value tax. Most notably, it needs to be: 1. Calculated fairly and accurately, 2. High enough to raise sufficient revenue without causing land abandonment, 3. Billed to the correct person, and 4. Legal in the jurisdiction in which it is applied.

15.47. Simplicity and certainty In theory, levying a Land Value Tax is straightforward, requiring only a valuation of the land and the identity of the landholder.

There is no need for the tax payers to deal with complicated forms or to give up personal information as with an income tax.

Because land cannot be hidden, removed to a tax haven or concealed in an electronic data system, the tax can not be evaded.

However, critics point out that determining the value of land can be difficult in practice. In a 1796 United States Supreme Court opinion, Justice William Paterson noted that leaving the valuation process up to assessors would cause numerous bureaucratic complexities, as well as non-uniform assessments due to imperfect policies and their interpretations. Austrian School economist Murray Rothbard later raised similar concerns, stating that no government can fairly assess value, which can only be determined by a free market.

When compared to modern-day property tax evaluations,

valuations of land involve fewer variables and have smoother gradients than valuations that include improvements. This is due to variation of building style, quality and size between lots.

Modern computerization and statistical techniques have eased the process; in the 1960s and 1970s, multivariate analysis was introduced as a method of assessing land.

15.48. Sufficiency of revenue Some have argued that a land value tax alone cannot raise large enough revenues if LVT were to replace all other taxes. In a case event where a jurisdiction attempts to levy a land tax that is higher than the entire landowner surplus, it would result in the abandonment of property by those who would be paying and a sharp decline in tax revenue.

15.49. Requires clear ownership In some countries, LVT is nearly impossible to implement because of lack of certainty regarding land titles and clearly established land ownership and tenure. If the government can not ascertain the proper owner, it cannot know from whom to collect the tax. The phenomena of lack of clear titles is found world-wide in developing countries and is in part the subject of the work of the Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto.

In African countries with imperfect land registration, the landlord can be elusive and significantly more difficult to tax than occupants, but most governments require that tax collectors track owners down nonetheless so that the burden of the tax does not fall on the poor.

15.50. Legality in the United States In the United States, there have historically been two alleged legal obstacles to the implementation of land value taxes at the state and local level: uniformity clauses and Dillon's Rule. At the federal level, land value taxation is legal so long as it is apportioned among the states.

15.51. Uniformity clauses The United States legal system includes "uniformity clauses", which require that all taxation is applied evenly within a jurisdiction. Although the federal Uniformity Clause has never been an issue, many state constitutions have their own uniformity clauses, and the wording and interpretation of these clauses varies from state to state. For example in 1898, prior to an amendment of the Maryland Declaration of Rights which now specifically allows for land value taxation, the Maryland supreme court ruled that the use of land value taxation in Hyattsville was unconstitutional. However, the uniformity clause in Pennsylvania has been broadly construed, and land value taxation has been used since 1913.

Each state will have its own legal stance or lack of any stance on LVT; some uniformity clauses explicitly allow some types of classifications of property, some have no uniformity clause, and some do not specifically discuss land qua land at all. Except for the Maryland case of Hyattsville, no state courts have squarely ruled that land and improvements are actually "classes" of property such that uniformity clauses are applicable.

As a general rule, as long as each type of property (land,

improvements, personal) is taxed uniformly there is no constitutional obstacle. In addition, no court other than the 1898 case in Maryland has actually struck down an attempt to implement land value taxation on the basis of a state uniformity clause.

Even in rather strict uniformity clause states, it is unclear whether the uniformity clause actually prohibits separate land value taxation. Some states have other constitutional provisions for example in New Jersey, which gives localities maximum home rule authority and have not adopted Dillon's Rule. While the uniformity clauses might be interpreted to prohibit statewide action, local action may be legitimate.

15.52. Dillon's Rule Although uniformity clauses do not seem to be a major obstacle in most jurisdictions to land value taxation, control of local authority by the state legislature remains a real obstacle, requiring the need for local enabling authority or the abrogation of Dillon's Rule. The theory of state preeminence over local governments was expressed as Dillon's Rule in a 1868 case, where it was stated that "municipal corporations owe their origin to, and derive their powers and rights wholly from, the legislature. It breathes into them the breath of life, without which they cannot exist. As it creates, so may it destroy? If it may destroy, it may abridge and control."

As opposed to Dillon's Rule, the Cooley Doctrine expressed the theory of an inherent right to local self determination. In a concurring opinion, Michigan Supreme Court Judge Thomas Cooley in 1871 stated: "Local government is a matter of absolute right; and the state cannot take it away." In Maryland, for example, municipal corporations have the right to implement land value taxation, but the counties, including Baltimore City which is treated as a county in Maryland for certain purposes, do not.

15.53. Ethics Land (unlike goods and services) has no cost of production. If an ample supply of land of equal desirability were available everywhere, there would be nothing to pay for its use.

In reality land acquires a scarcity value owing to the competing needs of the community for living, working and leisure space.

According to proponents, the unimproved value of land owes nothing to the individual efforts of the landowner and everything to the community at large. These supporters suggest that the value of land belongs justly and uniquely to the community.

Conversely, they argue that the reward for individual effort can belong only to the one who earns it, to spend, save, or give away as he or she may see fit.

In religious terms, it has been claimed that land is a common gift to all of mankind. For example, the Catholic Church asserts: Everyone knows that the Fathers of the Church laid down the duty of the rich toward the poor in no uncertain terms. As St. Ambrose put it: "You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are giving him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are meant to be for the common use of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich."

In distributes terms, land value also has been alleged to be much more mal distributed than income. While sizeable numbers of

households own no land, few have no income. For example, 10% of land owners (all corporations) in Baltimore, Maryland own 58% of the taxable land value. The bottom 10% of those who own any land own less than 1% of the total land value. This is a form of Gini Coefficient analysis. It is because of these distribution issues that land value taxation is sometimes suggested as a moderate, market-based form of land reform.

LVT is also purported to act as value capture tax. A new public works project may make adjacent land go up considerably in value, and thus, with a tax on land values, the tax on adjacent land goes up. Thus, the new public improvements would be paid for by those most benefited by the new public improvements -- i.e., those whose land value went up most.

15.54. Physicians The physiocrats were a group of economists who believed that the wealth of nations was derived solely from the value of land agriculture or land development. Physiocracy is considered one of the "early modern" schools of economics. Physiocrats called for the abolition of all existing taxes, completely free trade, and a single tax on land. Their theories originated in France and were most popular during the second half of the 18th century.

The movement was particularly dominated by Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (1727–1781) and François Quesnay (1694–1774). It immediately preceded the first modern school, classical economics, which began with the publication of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations in 1776. Smith took the term "laissez faire" from the physiocrats but gave it a somewhat different meaning connotation free enterprise or a free market economy.

A land tax was advocated by the Framers of the U.S. Constitution in 1789. Alexander Hamilton, gives the argument calling it the "most simple and most fit resource" for the several States. It was probably known to Franklin and certainly known

by Jefferson as they were ambassadors to France, where physiocracy had become popular. Jefferson brought his friend Pierre du Pont to the United States to promote the idea.

Thomas Paine contended in his Agrarian Justice pamphlet that all citizens should be paid 15 pounds at age 21 "as a compensation in part for the loss of his or her natural inheritance by the introduction of the system of landed property." This proposal was the origin of the citizen's dividend advocated by Geo libertarianism.

Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and originator of the "Single Tax" on land. He was the author of Progress and Poverty, written in 1879, and is the most influential advocate of land taxation.

The Henry George Foundation of America is a nonprofit foundation, founded in 1926 by some of the leading progressive Democrats in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Mayors Scully and McNair, City Assessor Percy Williams, State Senator and Allegheny County Democratic Chairman Bernard B. McGinnis, and Councilman George Evans (driving force behind Buhl Planetarium). Its national office is now located in Philadelphia, where Henry George was born.

The Center for the Study of Economics is a non-profit educational foundation, established in 1980 as the sister organization of the Henry George Foundation of America. Its

mission is to research land value taxation, to assist governments in implementation and to study the effect of land based property taxation where used. It suggests implementation where appropriate but does not support political candidates or become involved in the electoral process. The Center also gathers and disseminates articles, studies and monographs on the subject of land based taxation.

The HGFA and CSE use assessment data and have tax calculators to illustrate how "two-rate" taxation (lower on improvements and higher on land value) might actually be implemented and the effect on parcel by parcel basis in a variety of jurisdictions. They also sponsor the land value tax projects in Maryland, New York, Indiana, Washington, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and were instrumental in providing technical assistance (how to calculate rates, etc.) to the Pennsylvania cities that adopted two-rate taxation in the 1970s-90s. They continue to provide technical assistance and do implementation studies across the United States.

15.55. British Liberal Party In the United Kingdom, LVT was an important part of the platform of the British Liberal Party during the early part of the twentieth century - David Lloyd George and H. H. Asquith proposed "to free the land that from this very hour is shackled with the chains of feudalism". It was also advocated by Winston Churchill early in his career. The 1931 Labor Budget included a land value tax, but before it came into force it was repealed by the Conservative-dominated National Government that followed shortly after the Liberal Party remains committed to a local form of land value taxation and the main Lib Dems also list it among their long term intentions.

15.56. Contemporary economists In 1990, several economists wrote to then President Mikhail Gorbachev suggesting that Russia use Land Value Taxation in its transition towards a free market economy.

15.57. Land value tax systems United States Every single state in the United States has some form of property tax on real estate and hence, in part, a tax on land value. There are several cities that use LVT to varying degrees, but LVT in its purest form is not used on state or national levels. Land value taxation was tried in the South during Reconstruction as a way to promote land reform. There have also been several attempts throughout history to introduce land value taxation on a national level. In Hylton v. United States, the Supreme Court directly acknowledged that a Land Tax was constitutional, so long as it was apportioned equally among the states. Two of the associate justices explained in their summaries, stating: There have also been attempts since then to introduce land value tax legislation, such as: 1.The earliest known legislation was the Federal Property Tax Act of 1798.

2. In 1894, a bill was introduced by Representative James G. Maguire of California that would have introduced a Georgist taxation policy.

3.On February 20, 1935, Theodore L. Moritz of Pennsylvania introduced HR 6026, which would have implemented a national land value tax. It would have imposed a 1% tax on the value of land in excess of $3,000.

15.58. Single tax

The first city in the United States to enact land value taxation was Hyattsville, MD in 1898, through the efforts of Judge Jackson H. Ralston. The Maryland Courts subsequently found it to be barred by the Maryland Constitution. Judge Ralston and his supporters commenced a campaign to amend the state Constitution which culminated in the Art. 15 of the Declaration of Rights (which remains today part of the Maryland State Constitution). In addition, he helped see that enabling legislation for towns be passed in 1916, which also remains in effect today. In addition, the towns of Fairhope, Alabama and Arden, Delaware were founded as model Georgist communities or "single tax colonies".

15.59. Two-rate taxation Nearly 20 Pennsylvania cities in the USA employ a two-rate or split-rate property tax: taxing the value of land at a higher rate and the value of the buildings and improvements at a lower one.

This can be seen as a compromise between pure LVT and an ordinary property tax falling on real estate (land value plus improvement value). Alternatively, two-rate taxation may be seen as a form that allows gradual transformation of the traditional real estate property tax into a pure land value tax.

Primarily as a result of technical assistance from the Henry George Foundation of America and the Center for the Study of Economics, nearly two dozen local Pennsylvania jurisdictions (such as Harrisburg)] use two-rate property taxation in which the tax on land value is higher and the tax on improvement value is lower.

Pittsburgh used the two-rate system from 1913 to 2001 when an ineffective property assessment system led to a drastic increase in assessed land values during 2001 after years of underassessment, and the system was abandoned in favor of the traditional single-rate property tax. The tax on land in Pittsburgh was about 5.77 times the tax on improvements.

Notwithstanding the change in 2001, the Pittsburgh Improvement District still employs pure land value taxation as a surcharge on the regular property tax.

15.60. Other countries Pure LVT, apart from real estate or generic property taxation, is used in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Estonia. It is currently being introduced in Namibia, and there are campaigns for its introduction to South Korea and Scotland. Many more countries have used it in the past, particularly Denmark and Japan. Many pre-modern societies used land tax systems that were not based on the value of land, but nevertheless approximated a limited LVT by taxing agricultural land according to its yield or expected yield.

Hong Kong is perhaps the best modern example of the successful implementation of a high LVT. The Hong Kong government generates more than 35% of its revenue from land taxes.. Because of this, they can keep their other taxes rates low or non-existent and still generate a budget surplus. Several cities around the world also use LVT, including Sydney, Canberra, and many other Australian cities. It has also been used in Mexicali, Mexico.

The property tax on residential and commercial real estate has been a prominent topic of research in both public finance and urban economics. Typically an annual levy set as a percentage of the propertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market value, the property tax is a principal

source of revenue for state and local governments, a significant operating cost for business, and one of the biggest components of housing costs for many consumers.

The implications of the property tax for state and local fiscal positions and for spatial development patterns have been studied extensively and intensively.

The incidence of the property tax on residential real estate has been another focus of research. The question “Who Pays the Property Tax” is not only the title of a major work of the 1970s but also the topic of considerable research both before and after.

Thinking has evolved over time (Fisher, 1993). For a long time, the standard view among economists was that property taxes were regressive. The property tax was thought to operate as an excise tax on housing, with the tax proportional to consumption.

Because poor people spend a greater proportion of their current income on housing than do those with high incomes, the property tax, by this view, claimed a greater share of the income of the poor than of the wealthy (Jack Goodman , 2005, Harvard University ; Houses, Apartments, And Property Tax Incidence ).

But in the 1970s research showed the story to be more complicated. First, by alternative income measures the case for regressivity weakens. Specifically, because the income elasticity of demand for housing out of long-run income exceeds the elasticity based on current income, and is close to unity, the property tax by this alternative measure is closer to proportional to income—neither regressive nor progressive.

More fundamental re-thinking of the property tax during this period questioned whether it should be viewed as a tax on consumption rather than as a capital tax. Housing is an asset.

Like most assets, ownership is disproportionate among higher income households, especially when rental housing is included in the calculation. Viewed as a capital tax, the property tax is clearly progressive.

Research has also investigated how differences in property tax rates from place to place can affect property values, housing capital allocations, residential mobility, and tax incidence.

Differences in tax rates across jurisdictions also have been found to matter. Capital is expected to move from high to low tax rate areas, and similarly consumers would be expected to be attracted to low tax jurisdictions, all else equal. These movements of capital and consumers among taxing jurisdictions will themselves alter local property values, with the equilibrium results determined by demand and supply elasticity’s in each jurisdiction. The upshot is that the long-run equilibrium differences in property values, and incidence of the tax, may differ considerably from the initial impact of the tax. Even with all this work, large gaps remain in what is known about the residential property tax.

First, straightforward comprehensive descriptions of the incidence of the tax have been in short supply. Most studies have been based on specific municipalities or regions. There is a need for accurate national estimates and for comparable estimates across jurisdictions.

Second, differences in property taxes across property types have received little attention. Almost all the work has been on owner occupied single-family properties. Investigation of differences with rental properties, and multifamily rentals in particular, has been limited to anecdotes and case studies of

individual jurisdictions. Even those studies that compare across jurisdictions typically do so for only selected cities.

Here is a need to document in a nationally representative way the differences in these tax rates. Third, a careful investigation of the reasons for, and implications of, the differential taxation by property type is needed.

Chapter Sixteen : Comparative Study on Registration System in Bangladesh, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, India

16.1. Organization Structure of Registration Ministry, Kerala, India Minister for Registration

Principal Secretary Inspector General of Registration Joint I. G of Registration AIG Registration (Administration) DIG, Registration (Licensing) Accounts Officer, Welfare Fund

16.1.1. Central Office of Registration Department The Office of the Inspector General of Registration is the Central Office of the Department The Inspector General of Registration is the Head of Department. . The Joint Inspector General of Registration, Administrative Officer, Finance Officer, Law Officer and the Assistant Inspector General of Registration (Chit Schemes) head the eight sections in the Central Office and assist the Inspector General of Registration. Deputy Inspector General, of Registration (Licensing) The Deputy Inspector General of Registration attached to the office of the Inspector General of Registration functions as the Registrar of Firms under the Indian Partnership Act 1932 and is the licensing authority under the Kerala Document Writers' and Scribes' License Rules 1960.

The Kerala Document Writers Scribes and Stamp Vendors Welfare Fund scheme 1991.

The scheme is intended to provide for the welfare of the Document Writers, Scribes and Stamp Vendors with twin benefits i.e. lump sum payment to the family of a member in the event of death while in service and lump sum payment on retirement after a membership in the scheme for 40 years or on attainment of 65 years of age whichever is earlier.

16.1.2. Zonal Administration The Department is divided into four zones under the control of each Deputy Inspector General of Registration. The main function of the deputy Inspector General of Registration is inspection of sub Registrar Offices disposal of Inspection /Audit reports and enquiries on public complaints.

District Administration. There are 14 District Registrars (General) and 11 District Registrars (Audit). District Administration is done by the District Registrar (General) and auditing of Sub Registrar Offices are done by District Registrar (Audit) Total Sub Registrar's Offices 308 16.2 Responsibility of the Ministry of Registration, Kerala for the Enactment of Following Laws 1. The Registration Act 1908 2. The Kerala Stamp Act 1950 3. The Indian Stamp Act1899 4. The Special Marriage Act 1954 5. The Kerala Chitties Act 1975 6. The Societies Registration Act 1860 7. The Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act 1955 8. The Indian Partnership Act 1932 9. The Kerala Non Trading Companies Act 1961

10. The Prize Chits and Money Circulation schemes (Banning) Act.1978.(Central Act 43 of 1978)

16.3. Services The main functions in the sub Registry offices are the following:1. Registration of documents 2. Preparation of encumbrance certificates 3. Preparation of certified copies 4. Solemnization of marriages under the special marriage Act 1954 5. Registration of marriages celebrated in other forms as per the special marriage Act 1954 6. Registration of Chitties under the Kerala Chitties Act 1975 7.Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act.1955 8. Indian Partnership Act 1932 9. Power of Attorney

16.4. Registration of documents The Non-Testamentary Documents are to be prepared either by the licensed document writer or by the advocates. The document should bear the required stamp duty as per the Kerala Stamp Act 1959.The required registration fee has also to be paid in cash at the Sub Registrar Office at the time of presentation of documents. The Executant, Claimant or the Power of Attorney holder may present the documents. But either the Executant or the Power of Attorney holder should invariably be present for admitting execution of the document at the Sub Registry Offices.

16.5. Encumbrance Certificates Application for Encumbrance Certificates is to be presented before the Sub Registrar by the applicant in the prescribed form with required fee in person or by post. Application for Encumbrance Certificates for which fee has been paid at double the ordinary rate shall have precedence over those for which the feed has been paid at ordinary rate and application of Encumbrance Certificates is given separately.

16.6. Certified Copies Application for Certified Copies is to be submitted in the prescribed form by the applicant along with required stamp paper and fee .The application can also be sent by post. The amount required for stamp paper, fee and postage should be sent by Money Order. Application for Certified Copies for which fee has been paid at double the ordinary rate shall have precedence over these for which the fee has been paid at ordinary rate. The special Marriage Act 1954 The District Registrars and Sub Registrars are Marriage Officers as per the Act. The Special Marriage Act extends to the whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir and applies to citizens of India domiciled in the territories to which; this Act extends in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Solemnization of special Marriages.

A marriage between any persons may be solemnized under this Act provided the following conditions are satisfies. Namely: 1. Neither any party has a spouse living 2. Neither party is a idiot or a lunatic 3. The male must have completed the age of twenty-one years and female the age of eighteen years.

4. The persons seeking to marry must not be within the degrees of prohibited relationship.

16.7. Notice of Intended Marriages Both the parties to the marriage should give notice in writing in the prescribed form to the marriage officer of the district in which at least one of the parties to the marriage has been residing for a period of not less than thirty days immediately preceding the date on which such notice is given. .A fee of Rs 3 has to be paid for publication of notice. Notice will be published in the office of the Marriage Officer of the district within whose jurisdiction each of the parties to the marriage is permanently residing.

The notice may be presented before the marriage officers by both parties in person or by registered post. In the later case a fee of RS 3 for notice charge should be sent by Money Order. The Performa for the notice is given separately.( Please see Notice of Intended Marriage)

16.8. Solemnization of marriage The marriage can be solemnized on expiry of 30 days after clearing objections if any filed. The validity for the notice is 3 months. Before the solemnization of marriage the parties and three witnesses in the presence of the marriage officer should sign declarations in the prescribed form. The marriage can be solemnized in any form, which the parties may choose to adopt.

The marriages can be solemnized either with the office of the Marriage Officer or at such other place within a reasonable distance as the parties may desire. A fee of RS 10 has to be paid for solemnization. Certificate will be issued on stamp paper if RS 10 produced by the parties on payment of RS 2/- Registration of marriages celebrated in other forms These provision deals with the registration of marriages already are celebrated in forms other than the special marriage Act. The following conditions should be satisfied for the registration of marriages 1. The couple must have been married in some other forms and they must have been living as husband and wife ever since such marriage.

2. Neither party has more than one spouse living.

3. Neither party is an idiot or lunatic.

4. The parties should complete 21 years of age at the time of registration.

5. Both he the parties should reside within the jurisdiction of the Marriage Officer for a period of 30 days.

16.9. Registration A receipt of application signed by both the parties and also after publication of notice the marriage will be registered on the expiry of the notice period of 30 days. Certificate will be entered in the certificate book and shall be signed by the parties to the marriage and three witnesses.

A fee for RS 10/-has to be paid for registration. Certificate will be issued on stamp paper of RS 10/- produced by the parties and payment of RS 2/-. Services rendered by the Society Registrar (District Registrar) Societies Registration Act 1860 Societies under this Act are registered by the District Registrar on Malabar Area the registration fee is RS 25/- Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act 1955.

16.10. Societies under this Act are registered

by the District Registrars (General) It is applicable in Travancore area The registration fee is RS 100/-

Indian Partnership Act 1932 Application for registration as per this Act is to be submitted in the prescribed form with a fee of RS 15/-. The application with registration fee of RS 15/-may be presented directly to the Deputy Inspector General of Registration (Licensing) or it may be sent through post with required fee by Money Order Stamp Duty required for common types of documents.

16.11. Sale deed 1. Properties in Corporation area-RS 13.5% 2. Properties in Municipal area-RS -12.5% 3. Properties in Panchayat area-10% 4. Gift deeds-as above 5. Duplicate RS 10/6. Cancellation- RS 250/7. Settlement RS 5% 8. Revocation of settlement RS 100/9. Agreement RS 50/10. Agreement to live as husband and wife RS 50/11. Divorce deed RS 500/-

16.12. Partition (I)Partition between family members RS 5% for the amount of the value of the separated share or shares of the property. (ii)In any other case, 6%for the amount of the value of the separated share or shares of the property.

Partnership deeds- RS 1000/Power of Attorney (I)Executed for of the sole purpose of procuring the registration of one or more documents on relation to a single transaction or for admitting execution of one or more such documents- RS 25/(ii) When authorizing one or more persons to act in a single transaction other than the cases mentioned above- RS 50/(iii) To authorize not more than five persons to act jointly and severally RS 150/(iv) In any other case- RS 150/-

16.13. Registration fee 1.Registration of documents in Book I other than power of attorney -2% of the value.

2.Power of attorney- RS 50/3.Will RS 100/Cancellation of Will RS 100/5.Attestation of Power of Attorney RS 15/6.Duplicate RS 10/7.Filing of translation RS 10/8.Application for Private attendance- RS 50/9.Private attendance at Jails and Hospitals- RS 30/10.Registration on public holiday RS 30/11.Agreement to live as Husband and wife- RS 100/12.Divorce deed- RS 100/13.Application for Certified copies 1.Application fee- RS 1/-

2.Search fee for the first year- RS 10/3.Search fee for every additional year- RS 5/4.Copying fee for every 100 words or part thereof RS 4/14.Application for Encumbrance Certificates 1.Application fee RS 1/2.Search fee for the first year- RS 10/3.Search fee for every other year- RS 5/15.Societies Registration 1.Registration under central Act 1860- RS 25/2.Registration under Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act 1955- RS 100/16.Firms Registration 1.Registration fee- Rs 15/2.Filing charges- Rs 5/3.Copying fee- Rs 5/4.Search fee a. For the first year -Rs 4s/b. For every additional year -Rs 2/-

16.14. Registration Practices In Hyderabad. A.P, India I. Deeds II. RORs / Khatians /Parcels III. Maps/GIS Commissioner & Inspector General Of Registration And Stamps, A.P., Hyderabad.

Amendment To The Rules Made Under Section 69 Of The Registration Act, 1908.

No. G1/2271/97. - In exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1) and sub-section (2) of section 69 of the Registration Act, 1908 (Central Act 16 of 1908), the Inspector General of Registration with the approval of the Government hereby makes the following amendments to the Rules made under section 69 of the said Act. Definitions: In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and expressions shall have the meaning assigned to them, namely : i. 'Archival' means capturing data, including images, on the electronic storage media like the CD, the tape, the hard disk and the like, with the intention of preserving the same for long periods and for retrieving when required and includes re-archival. ii. 'CARD' or 'Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department' means the process of performing the various functions associated with the act of registration, through electronic devices like computers and scanners, to ensure an efficient , accurate and transparent delivery of services to the registering public; iii. CD or Compact Disk' means an electronic storage device on which data including images, can be stored in an electronic digital form; iv. 'CD Writer' means an electronic device used to copy data available in digital form on an electronic storage device on Co. a CD; v. 'Hardware' includes the electronic devices like computers, scanners, printers, CD writers which are used to capture, store and process data in a digital form. vi. 'Imaging' means the process of scanning the documents and managing the storage, classification and retrieval of the electronic digital images so generated; vii. 'Scanner' means an electronic device used in conjunction with a computer and a suitable software, to convert documents on paper into electronic digital images to be stored on electronic media and retrieved when required, and the words 'scanning' and 'scanned' shall be construed accordingly; viii. 'Software' includes a set of computer programs or coded instructions given to the computer systems to make the

latter perform different, predetermined functions and to generate the desired output.

16.15. Responsibility of the Inspector General i. The Inspector General of Registrations shall be responsible for administration of CARD and for ensuring substantial compliance with the provisions of this chapter. For this purpose the Inspector General may issue suitable circular instructions and such instructions have the force of standing orders for strict compliance by all the registering officers. ii. For the purposes of the sub-rule (1) the Inspector General shall specify, from time to time, the configuration of hardware and the software to be used in different categories of registration offices as may be required. iii. The Inspector General shall also cause supply of the hardware and the software specified in sub-rule(2) at all the registering offices, in respect of which a notification has been issued by the Government under section 70 B of the Act. iv. It shall be the basic responsibility of the registering officers to ensure that the hardware and software so supplied is always kept in a good state to ensure the continued availability of the CARD Services. The registering officers shall, at all times, use only the software notified and certified by the Inspector General and no other software. v. The Inspector General shall make adequate arrangements, including maintenance of the required stand by systems and spares and retention of the services of Technical Personnel, as may be required to enable the registering officers to comply with sub-rule (4).

16.16. Procedure to be followed: The registering officers shall follow the provisions of the Act and Rules in all matters other than those covered by this chapter. In case of a conflict between any provision of this chapter and any other Rule, the provision of this chapter shall prevail in relation to any computerized process specified.

16.17. Presentation of Documents: i. When a document is presented to him, the registering officer shall satisfy himself that it is fit to be accepted for registration with reference to all the provisions of the Act, Rules and the Standing Orders. In addition, he shall satisfy himself that the writing is legible and not faint or indistinct and that the document is written and signed in dark black ink such that it is fit for being scanned properly. ii. All documents presented for registration under Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department, shall be accompanied by an input form in the proforma. The registering officer may arrange to provide such assistance to the registering public as may be required to enable them to fill up the input forms and to avail the various services offered by the department without any difficulty. iii. Upon satisfying himself that the provisions of the sub rules (1) and (2) are complied with the registering officer shall affix his signature on the input form indicating the date and time of presentation. iv. The registering officer shall thereupon cause the presentation endorsement to be impressed in black ink

or to be printed by the Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system as specified in rule 52(1)(a) on the reverse of the first stamp paper used for writing the document. v. The procedure required under section 35 of the Act shall then be followed with regard to the admission of execution. vi. The registering officer shall then send the document together with the input form to the computer section for further process under the CARD system.

16.18. Registration checks slip i. The details of the executant, claimants, nature of the document, description of the property together with its boundaries shall be entered in the computer and a check slip printed and handed over to the person presenting the document under an acknowledgement. ii. The mistakes in spelling or in the description of the property or its boundaries, pointed by the party, in writing and under signature after verification of the check slip, shall be corrected in the computer and a revised check slip shall be printed and handed over to the party.

16.19. Issue of Receipt i. The deficit stamp duty, if any, and the registration fee and other amounts indicated in the registration check slip, shall then be collected and a receipt printed by the computer shall be issued to the party. ii. On payment of the deficit stamp duty, registration fee and other amounts, the document together with the input form, the registration check slip and the receipt shall be sent to the registering officer for verification.

16.20 Verification by the registering officer: The details of the registration check slip and the receipt shall be verified by the registering officer with reference to the original document to satisfy himself as to the compliance with the Act, rules and the standing orders and the adequacy of the stamp duty paid.

16.21. Registration of the document: i. After completion of the procedure prescribed in the rules 223 to 227, the registering officer shall admit the document to registration in terms of the provisions of sections 58 and 59. ii. The registering officer shall then assign a regular number to the document and mark it in dark ink on al the sheets of the document.

16.22. Endorsements and certificates: i. The endorsements and certificates required to be made under sections 58 and 59 and the relevant Registration Rules, shall be made on the document in accordance with the procedure prescribed. ii. The certificate of registration required to be made under section 60 of the Act, shall be made in the format shown below in respect of the documents registered under the Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system; Registered as No.----------------- of ------------------- Book 1----------------- Day of ------------------------------------------

S.E.

16.23. Scanning of the documents: i. After the process of affixing the endorsements and certificates is completed, the document shall be scanned, on both the sides of all the sheets including the maps and plans accompanying the document, using the scanner and the imaging software provided. ii. The registering officer shall satisfy himself that the document has been properly scanned following the procedure laid down by the Inspector General in this behalf. Thereupon, the following certificate shall be affixed on the reverse of the stamp paper used for writing the document, below the certificate of registration :"Certificate of scanning iii. The document has been scanned with the Identification Number xxxx-1- xxxx- xxxx . of the Registering Officer " iv. The documents presented for registration and registered alone should be scanned and copies of documents should not be scanned.

16.24. Return of the Document: i. After satisfying him that the procedures prescribed in the rules 223 to 230 are complied with, and especially that the document has been properly scanned, the registering officer shall return the document to the person authorized to receive the same, duly obtaining an acknowledgement there for. ii. For the purpose of monitoring and recording the receipt and return of the document, the registering officer shall maintain a "Document Register" in the format shown in the Appendix XIV. Entries in the columns (1) to (8) shall be made at the time of presentation, in the columns (9) while assigning a regular number to the document and in columns (10) to (14) while returning the document to the authorized person.

16.25. Archiving of the images: i. The images of the scanned documents together with the data relating thereto shall be archived on to CD's or tapes suitably labeled, using the CD writer and the computers under the Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system, as soon as the documents are scanned. ii. CD or tape after it is completely filled with images of scanned documents, duplicate and triplicate copies of such a CD or tape shall be generated, following such procedure as may be specified by the Inspector General in this behalf. iii. The Duplicate copy of the CD or Tape shall be suitably labeled and sealed and shall be sent to the District Registrar within three days from the date of generation. iv. The Duplicate copies of CDs and Tapes shall be preserved with District Registrar and shall be used for being produced as evidence whenever summoned by Courts. The Triplicate copies of CDs and Tapes shall be sent to Inspector General of Registration and Stamps in the first week of January, April, July and October every year for preservation. v. The CD's and tapes shall be preserved in such

conditions and taking such precautions as may be specified by the Inspector General in this behalf. vi. The CD's and the tapes shall be recopied or re-archived at such periodic intervals as the Inspector General may specify.

16.26. Documents registered manually: i. Certain documents will have to be registered manually under the following circumstances: a. Categories of documents not notified by the Government under section 70 B of the Act for registration under the Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system; b. Documents presented for registration when the Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system is out of order ; c. Documents which, in the opinion of the registering officer can not be registered under the Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system. d. The registering officer shall register the documents described in sub-rule (1) (iii) using the manual system, duly recording the reasons for resorting to manual system in the minute book. e. The details of the documents registered in Book 1 manually shall be posted to the computers before the close of official business in respect of the categories (i) and (iii) mentioned in sub-rule (1) and as soon as the Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system is restored in respect of the documents mentioned at (ii) of the sub-rule (1). This is required to ensure that the index particulars are complete in all respects irrespective of whether certain documents are registered manually.

16.27. Indexing: i. (1) The Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system maintains the Indexes I and II, specified in Chapter XIX , automatically in respect of all documents registered under the Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system and also the documents registered manually but whose details are posted into the computer in pursuance of the sub-rule (3) of rule 233. ii. Copies of the digital data of the Indexes may be maintained in such manner and in such number of copies and at such places as the Inspector General may specify.

16.28. Encumbrance certificates: i. Encumbrance certificates may be generated and issued under the CARD system conducting the search of the database electronically. ii. The result of search shall be preserved electronically for a period of twelve years.

16.29. Revocation, cancellation and rectification of deeds already registered: i. When a deed purporting to revoke, cancel or rectify a deed previously registered under the manual system, is presented for registration, such deed may be registered

following the procedure prescribed in this chapter and the foot notes specified under rule 118, shall be made on the copy of the document in the respective volume. ii. When a deed purporting to revoke, cancel or rectify a deed previously registered under the Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system is presented for registration, such deed may be registered following the procedure prescribed in this chapter and contra entries posted to the record relating to the original deed and a memo in the nature of a foot note shall be appended to such record such that the foot note is printed invariably when the original document is sought to be printed.

16.30. Security: i. Adequate security systems shall be developed and implemented to ensure that the data and images of the documents registered under the Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department system are preserved without any scope for loss , corruption or unauthorized access. ii. It shall be the responsibility of the registering officer and all the employees authorized to handle the systems, to ensure that the security measures prescribed are strictly adhered to and that the passwords and access devices are maintained confidentially at all times. iii. The Inspector General shall review the security plan periodically, at least once a year, to ensure that the security standards of the highest order are always maintained.

16.31. Infrastructure of Public Sector Information (PSI)-Excerpts from Draft Information Technology Act Bangladesh After the invention of computers and improvement in digital technology and communication systems dramatic changes have taken place in our lives. Business transactions are being made with the help of computers. Computers are being increasingly used by the business community and individuals to create, transmit and store information in the electronic form instead of traditional paper documents. Information stored in electronic form is easier, cheaper, much less time-consuming and less cumbersome than storage in paper documents.

Information stored in electronic form is also easier to retrieve and speedier to communicate. In spite of all these advantages and although they are aware of these advantages people in our country are reluctant to conduct business or conclude transactions in electronic form due to lack of legal framework. At present, many legal provisions (such as the Evidence Act, 1872, the Penal Code, 1860. the Bankerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Books Evidence Act, 1891, etc.) recognize paper based records and documents bearing signatures of parties and make them admissible in evidence in various disputes.

Electronic commerce eliminates the need for such paper based transactions and as such, transactions in electronic form are often not recognized in courts thereby retarding the growth of electronic commerce. Many legal rules assume the existence of paper records and documents, signed records, original records, physical cash, cheques, face to face meetings, etc. As more and more activities to-day are carried out by electronic means, it becomes more and more important that evidence of these activities be available to demonstrate legal rights and obligations that flow from them. As such, in order to facilitate electronic commerce, there is a need for a legal

framework and also for legal changes.

In 1996, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted Model Law on electronic commerce known as the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce hereinafter referred to as the Model Law. The Model Law establishes rules and norms that validate and recognize contracts formed through electronic means, sets default rules for contract formation and governance of electronic contract performance, defines the characteristics of a valid electronic writing and an original document, provides for the acceptability of electronic signatures for legal and commercial purposes and supports the admission of computer evidence in courts and arbitration proceedings. The Model Law does not have any force but merely serves as a model to countries for the evaluation and modernization of certain aspects of their laws and practices in the field of communication involving the use of computerized or other modern techniques, and for the establishment of relevant legislation where none exists.

In the above context, it is proposed to suggest enactment of a suitable law to facilitate electronic commerce and to encourage growth and development of information technology.

Necessarily, such law has to be in conformity with the Model Law. Singapore enacted Electronic Transactions Act, 1998 and India recently enacted the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The objectives of the proposed legislation are to give effect to the following purposes:(a) to facilitate electronic communications by means of reliable electronic records; (b) to facilitate electronic commerce, eliminate barriers to electronic commerce resulting from uncertainties over writing and signature requirements, and to promote the development of the legal and business infrastructure necessary to implement secure electronic commerce; (c) to facilitate electronic filing of documents with government agencies and statutory corporations, and to promote efficient delivery of government services by means of reliable electronic records; (d) to minimize the incidence of forged electronic records, intentional and unintentional alteration of records, and fraud in electronic commerce and other electronic transactions; (e) to help to establish uniformity of rules, regulations and standards regarding the authentication and integrity of electronic records; and (f) to promote public confidence in the integrity and reliability of electronic records and electronic commerce, and to foster the development of electronic commerce through the use of electronic signatures to lend authenticity and integrity to correspondence in any electronic medium.

While preparing this report proposing enactment of a law on electronic commerce the following matters are, therefore, required to be addressed in order to achieve the above purposes:1) Applicability of the Act; 2) The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Functional Equivalentâ&#x20AC;? approach; 3) Electronic documents and electronic contracts; 4) Electronic governance; 5) Electronic signatures; 6) The technology for electronic signatures; 7) Liability and risk allocation in a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI); 8) Procedural aspects of PKI; 9) Contraventions; 10) Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal (CRAT); 11) Information technology offences; 12) Investigation, search and seizure;

13) Limited liability of Network Ser vices Providers; 14) Cyber Regulations Advisory Committee; 15) Amendment/ repeal, etc., of related enactments.

“This Law applies to any kind of information in the form of a data message used in the context of commercial activities.”

While limiting the applicability of the law to data messages in the context of only “commercial activities”, in the substantive part of the Model Law, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) hereinafter referred to as the Commission made various alternative suggestions such as, it suggested for the states which might wish to limit the applicability of the Act to only international data messages the following text:- “The Law applies to a data message where the data message relates to international commerce”; and for the states that might wish to extend the applicability of the law, the following text:- “This Law applies to any kind of information in the form of data message, except in the following situations:” In her Information Technology Act, 2000, India has excluded documents relating to the following five specific matters from the jurisdiction of the Act and has also authorized the Government to exclude any other documents: (1) negotiable instruments, (2) powers of attorney, (3) trusts, (4) wills, (5) contracts for the sale or conveyance of immovable property and (6) any other documents or transactions as the Government may notify and except the above, the Act applies to all circumstances, transactions and documents.

The Indian Act also extends the applicability relating to offences and contraventions beyond her territories and it also overrides all other laws in force in India.

In Singapore, the corresponding law is the Electronic Transactions Act, 1998. Following the second alternative suggestion made by the Commission in the Model Law, Singapore also sought to widen the applicability of the law by excluding the following transactions from the operation of the law:(a) wills; (b) negotiable instruments; (c) the creation, performance or enforcement of an indenture, declaration of trust or power of attorney with the exception of constructive and resulting trusts; (d)contract for the sale or other disposition of immovable property, or any interest in such property; (e) the conveyance of immovable property or the transfer of any interest in immovable property; (f)documents of title and also authorized the Government to add, delete or amend any class of transactions or matters.

It appears to us that in some respects the Indian provisions and in some respects the Singapore provisions regarding the applicability of the law are precise and clear. After taking into consideration the provisions and suggestions in the Model Law and the provisions of the Indian and the Singapore enactments we propose the short title, commencement, extent and applicability of the proposed Act as follows:Section 2 : Application. - (1) nothing in this Act shall apply to(a) a negotiable instrument as defined in section 13 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (Act No. XXVI of 1881); (b) The creation, performance or enforcement of a power of attorney; (c) A trust as defined in section 3 of the Trusts Act, 1882 (Act No. II of 1882);

(d) a will as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Succession Act, 1925 (Act No. XXXIX of 1925) and any other testamentary disposition by whatever name called; (e) Any contract for the sale or other disposition of immovable property, or any interest in such property; (f) The conveyance of immovable property or the transfer of any interest in immovable property; and (g) title-deeds of immovable property; (2) The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, modify the provisions of sub-section (1) of this section by adding, deleting or amending any class of transactions or matters.”

Next comes interpretation of various terms and expressions to be used in the proposed Act. Some of these terms are technical in nature. Some of the terms used in the Indian enactment exactly correspond with similar terms used in the Singapore enactment.

Some terms have been defined as proposed in the Model Law. After taking into considerations the interpretations in the Model Law, the Indian enactment and the Singapore enactment, we propose to suggest the interpretation of various terms as follows:Section 3. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,2) “access” means gaining entry into, instructing or communicating with the logical, arithmetical or memory function resources of a computer, computer system or computer network; 3) “act” has the same meaning as in the Penal Code, 1860 (Act XLV of 1860); 4) “addressee” means a person who is intended by the originator to receive the electronic record but does not include any intermediary; 5) “adjudicating officer” means an adjudicating officer appointed under sub- section (1) of section 50 of this Act; 6) “affixing digital signature” means adoption of any methodology or procedure by a person for the purpose of authenticating an electronic record by means of digital signature; 7) “asymmetric cryptosystem” means a system capable of generating a secure key pair consisting of a private key for creating a digital signature and a public key to verify the digital signature; 8) “Certifying Authority” means a person who has been granted a license under section 25 of this Act to issue a Digital Signature Certificate; 9) “certification practice statement” means a statement issued by a Certifying Authority to specify the practices that the Certifying Authority employs in issuing Digital Signature Certificates; 10) “computer” means any electronic, magnetic, optical or other high speed data processing device or system which performs logical, arithmetical and memory functions by manipulations of electronic, magnetic or optical impulses, and includes all input, output, processing, storage, computer software or communication facilities which are connected or related to the computer in a computer system or computer network; 11) “computer network” means the interconnection of one or more computers through12) the use of satellite, microwave, terrestrial line or other communication media; and 13) terminals or a complex consisting of two or more interconnected computers whether or not the interconnection is continuously maintained; 14) “computer resource” means computer, computer system, computer network, data, computer database or software; 15) “computer system” means a device or collection of devices, including input and output support devices and excluding calculators which are not programmable and capable of being used in conjunction with external files which contain computer program, electronic instructions, input data and output data that performs logic, arithmetic, data

storage and retrieval, communication control and other functions; 16) “Controller” means the Controller of Certifying Authorities appointed under sub-section (1) of section 18 of this Act; 17) “Cyber Appellate Tribunal” means the Cyber Appellate Tribunal established under sub -section (1) of section 52 of this Act; 18) “data” means a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts or instructions which are being prepared or have been prepared in a formalized manner, and is intended to be processed, is being processed or has been processed in a computer system or computer network, and may be in any form (including computer 19) printouts, magnetic or optical storage media, punched cards, punched tapes) or stored internally in the memory of the computer; 20) “digital signature” means authentication of any electronic record by a subscriber by means of an electronic method or procedure in accordance with section 4 of this Act; 21) “Digital Signature Certificate” means a certificate issued under subsection (1) of section 36 of this Act; 22) “electronic form”, with reference to information, means any information generated, sent, received or stored in media , magnetic, optical, computer memory, microfilm, computer generated microfiche or similar device; 23) “Electronic Gazette” means the Official Gazette published in the electronic form; 24) “electronic record” means data, record or data generated, image or sound stored, received or sent in an electronic form or microfilm or computer generated microfiche; 25) “function”, in relation to a computer, includes logic, control, arithmetical process, deletion, storage and retrieval and communication or telecommunication from or within a computer; 26) “hash function” means an algorithm mapping or translating one sequence of bits into another, generally smaller, set known as the “hash result” such that – 27) an electronic record yields the same hash result every time the algorithm is executed using the same electronic record as input; 28) it is computationally infeasible that an electronic record can be derived or reconstituted from the hash result produced by the algorithm; 29) it is computationally infeasible that two electronic records can be found that produce the same hash result using the algorithm; 30) “information” includes data, text, images, sound, voice, codes, computer programs, software, databases, microfilm, or computer generated microfiche; 31) “intermediary”, with respect to any particular electronic message, means any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores or transmits that message or provides any service with respect to that message; 32) “key pair”, in an asymmetric cryptosystem, means a private key and its mathematically related public key, having the property that the public key can verify a digital signature created by the private key; 33) “law” includes any Act of Parliament, Ordinances promulgated by the President and rules, regulations, byelaws, notifications or other legal instruments having the force of law; 34) “license” means a license granted to a Certifying Authority under section 25 of this Act; 35) “offence” denotes an act made punishable under any law for the time being in force in Bangladesh; 36) “originator” means a person who sends, generates, stores or transmits any electronic message or causes any electronic message to be sent, generated, stored or transmitted to any other person but does not include an intermediary; 37) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 38) “private key” means the key of a key pair used to create a digital signature; 39) “public key” means the key of a key pair used to verify

a digital signature and listed in a Digital Signature Certificate; 40) “secure system” means computer hardware, software, and procedure ; 41) are reasonably secure from unauthorized access and misuse; 42) provide a reasonable level of reliability and correct operation; 43) are reasonably suited to performing the intended functions; and 44) adhere to generally accepted security procedures; 45) “security procedure” means a procedure prescribed by the Government under section 17 of this Act for the purpose of – 46) verifying that an electronic record is that of a specific person; or 47) detecting error or alteration in the communication, content or storage of an electronic record since a specific point of time, which may require the use of algorithms or codes, identifying words or numbers, encryption, answer back or acknowledgement procedures, or similar security devices; 48) “sign” has the same meaning as in clause (52) of section 3 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (Act No. X of 1897) and also includes any symbol executed or adopted, or any methodology or procedure employ eyed or adopted, by a person with the intention of authenticating a record, including electronic or digital methods and the expression “signature” shall be construed accordingly; 49) “subscriber” means a person in whose name the Digital Signature Certificate is issued and who holds a private key that corresponds to a public key listed in that Digital Signature Certificate; 50) “verify”, in relation to a digital signature, electronic record or public key, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means to determine accurately whether – 51) the initial electronic record was affixed with the digital signature by the use of the private key corresponding to the public key of the subscriber; 52) the initial electronic record is retained intact or has been altered since such electronic record was so affixed with the digital signature”.

53) In the next sections, provisions may be made for legal recognition of electronic records, digital signatures, authentication of electronic records, etc.

In Singapore, firstly, provisions have been made for legal recognition of electronic records specifying that information shall not be denied legal recognition, legal effect, validity or enforceability solely on the ground that the information is in the form of an electronic record. The Singapore law further provides that if any law requires any information to be in writing, that requirement is fulfilled if it is in an electronic record. India has made similar provisions. Singapore derived the principles of the above provisions from the Model Law. In this respect, Singapore has adopted the language of the Model Law to a large extent.

India’s formulation is somewhat different but the principles embodied are the same as in the Model Law. Similar provisions have been made regarding digital signatures in both Singapore law and the Indian law following the Model Law.

16.32. Advantages of the Unified Multipurpose Land Registry System Registered in a system governed by legal rules, afford indisputable proof of ownership and protection from uncertainty and fraud so permitting massive low cost exchange, fostering specialization and greater productivity. It is law that defines the relationship of rights to people. Civilized living in market economies is not simply due to greater prosperity but to the order that formalized property rights bring.”

According to statistics, in developed countries, the value of land and real estates together with mortgages on properties is about 60-65 % of the national asset. The land and property related activities, including property developments, generating about

the 30-35 % of the GDP. The value of mortgages on properties in developed countries is 30-35 %.

The implementation of sustainable development (economy, society, environment) is also one of the main topics world wide in developed and developing countries as well .There have been many changes related to land and properties during the last decade, resulted new challenges to be solved. These changes very much effected the developed, transition and developing countries.

In respect above itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s obvious, every country needs such a legal and institutional framework, fully operational nation wide infrastructure supporting the land and property related activities. There is general consensus among professionals and world organizations like UN, World Bank, etc., Land Administration and especially land registry, cadastre institutions should be the proper infrastructure for sustainable development and land, property related activities.

Land registration is the â&#x20AC;&#x153;process of determining, recording and disseminating information about the ownership, value and use of land when implementing land management policiesâ&#x20AC;?( UNECE Land Administration Guidelines) Establishing and sustaining an effective land registration system is one of the most important tasks of any government. Creating an enduring and trusted system of secure land tenure fosters certainty and encourages investment and improvement. Systems for recording and transferring land rights have been established in all developed countries worldwide.

A guaranteed land register is recognized as the basis of a stable society and the foundation of a confident economy based on private land rights. Such confidence depends on a framework of land laws which make clear both the duties and the rights of citizens.

An effective system of land registration ensures that ownership and other land rights can be created, and existing rights extinguished or transferred accurately and at minimum cost.

All those participating in the property transfer market, and those with other interests in land, can obtain guaranteed information, make decisions, and carry through their intentions promptly, with confidence and under the law.

Land registration provides the machinery that enables a society that recognizes private rights in land to function. Where title to land is guaranteed mortgage registration provides the security, which enables banks and other institutions to lend money for house purchase or investment. A public land register enables citizens and business to invest and improve in their homes and their enterprises.

A flourishing and responsive lending industry is the engine of a market economy. Land registration makes it possible for lenders to undertake their important role in the private and commercial life of the community. It is the guaranteed title and mortgage registration system that makes it possible for lenders to function promptly and with confidence. Land Registry has more than 140 years experience in developing and delivering land registration services. It serves a population of 113 million and facilitates one of the most active property and mortgage markets in the world.

Maintaining such an essential system depends on in depth experience of land registration law and practice, surveying and mapping, computing, financial, personnel and operational

management. With its accumulated wealth of practical and professional experience, Land Registry is well placed to provide, advice and support to those seeking to introduce or develop their land registration system.

Areas of expertise 1. Specifically the registry can provide expert advice in the following areas: 2. Land registration and property rights 3. Legal and organizational aspects of land registration and cadastre 4. Land information systems development including digital mapping and computerized land registration 5. Modernization of land registration systems 6. Customer service 7. Drafting of land registration legislation 8. Records Management 9. Procurement 10. Training and human resource development (provision of a formal Land Registration Qualification program) 11. Business planning 12. Project and program management 13. Change management 14. Process re-engineering.

“Ownership” should be seen as a broad concept of land tenure within various jurisdictions (statutory, customary, informal, etc.), “land” includes constructions at subsurface level, ground level and above land level (e.g. buildings) Land management is the implementation of land policy by a wide range of land policy instruments (e.g. land reform, land consolidation, land markets, land taxation, marine resource management, etc.)

16.33. Changes and New Challenges Related To Land and Property during the Last Decade The world has been continuously changing. The speed of changes has been accelerated in recent years not in the technical field only but in the economy and the world society as well, creating new challenges to be solved, implemented world wide.

These changes have extremely influenced the land and property related activities and the states. Now the governments have to find out effective solutions, developing, modernizing public administrations to answer the new challenges in the 21st century: of Thailand, colonial administration has commonly resulted in a duality of systems, one to accommodate western 1. Revolution in the Information Technology 2. Political and economical changes in Central Eastern European Countries 3. Increasing gap between developed and developing countries 4. Growing population in the developing world 5. Rural population moves to urban area 6. Lack of security in land tenure in many developing countries / 7. Developing active land market in countries in transition and in developing countries 8. Rapid urbanization in the developing world ( Asia, Africa, Latin- South America ) 9. Creating secure land tenure in developing countries 10. Supplying sufficient food and drinking water for the world population 11. Post conflict problems

16.34. Critical Issues in Asian Land Registration A common characteristic of land administration in Asian

countries is the influence of colonial history. With the notable exception occupation (usually urban and commercial agriculture areas) and the other covering customary tenure arrangements. Rising populations have put pressure on dwindling land resources, leading to widespread deforestation, land degradation and landlessness. Various land reform interventions have been attempted with limited success. Land administration interventions have however been successful because of a conscious separation between respective land administration and land reform programs.

16.35. Land Tenure Recognition of rights is confined to non-forest land, thereby excluding in many countries a significant proportion of the indigenous population who have lived on and cultivated land for many generations. In some countries whole communities (towns) are established in land classified as forest. This is a critical land classification issue where settled and cultivated land will never return to forest use. The existing policy, institutional and legal frameworks regarding forest protection often remain far removed from reality on the ground.

16.36. Institutional Framework The institutional setting is usually characterized by large, conservative, central agencies with vested interests that resist change. Recent government land administration policy is almost universally to decentralize services and devolve power from central to local government. The trend is towards de-concentration, with central government responsible for policy, maintenance of a unitary legal and regulatory framework and uniform service standards, and all operational responsibilities devolved to the regions. In most cases the trend is yet to become reality. Multiple agencies with overlapping land administration roles and responsibilities, each supported by empowering legislation, is a critical issue in some countries. Attempts to coordinate project implementation through â&#x20AC;&#x153;steering committeesâ&#x20AC;? etc. have invariably been unsuccessful. The compromise of arrangement of separation of the project component parts amongst different agencies results in a disaggregating into separate projects. Institutional issues remain one of the biggest obstacles to successful land administration reform in the region.

16.37. Legal Framework The need to rationalize the sheer volume of uncoordinated and disintegrated land related legislation is a critical issue in many countries. The level of law enforcement is low and the prevailing culture of consensus makes it very difficult to reach agreement on the need to amend existing legislation. A common characteristic of the region is the predominance of title registration over deeds systems however, with the exception of the Philippines which has some limited and ineffective rights to compensation by the State, these systems are not backed by any form of State guarantee. There is a high incidence of land tenure related conflict with attendant social disruption in some countries. Dispute resolution is usually subject to court litigation with the time delays and costs involved effectively removing most citizens from the process.

16.38. Technical Arrangements

The critical technical issue is the relatively low level of technology and the low skill levels of staff coupled with the perception that the lack of access to technology is at the heart of most land administration problems. In reality, incorrectly conceived and applied technology is likely to be a much more serious problem. Underestimating the need for appropriate human resource training and development programs and the expansion of programs across the private sector or industry development is a critical technical issue.

16.39. Administration Processes The existence of a hierarchy of rights over private land complicates the tenure system in many countries because many of the rights are for specific and temporary use, so the need for renewal, or conversion to a higher right, adds to the bureaucratic chain. For example, Indonesia registers separate rights for ownership, cultivation, building, use and management.

When added to an already complex regulatory system this creates a concentration of power in numerous points of the process which increases the potential for â&#x20AC;&#x153;informal feesâ&#x20AC;?, discourages participation and leads to distrust of the formal tenure system. A parallel issue is the failure to delegate responsibility to an appropriate lower level of competence. The convoluted chain of officials whose signature is required in many jurisdictions to approve many routine functions in the land administration process adds to transaction time and expense, increases backlogs, and discourages participation in the formal system.

16.40. Land Market Information With the commitment to systematic registration of rights to land in Asia there is a growing mass of registered land parcels in most countries. However, the security of title and sustainability of the land administration system relies on maintenance of the records so a critical issue emerging in many countries is the relatively low level of registration of subsequent transactions.

This reflects low levels of community understanding of the benefits of formal registration and highlights the need to simplify procedures and processes, review fee structures and extend community education and awareness programs beyond project public relations campaigns.

16.41. Role of FIG and UN Organizations The solutions and successful implementation of new challenges related to land and property requires tools, well thought plans and new kind of legal and institutional framework which can answer to the new challenges and co-ordinate the essential land related activities. The majority of countries world wide have recognized the importance of solving above problems, looking for effective legal, institutional and technical tools.

The International Federation of Surveyors, FIG, has developed its new long term strategy during the recent years working out several programs and issued publications supporting the modernization of cadastral systems and land administrations all over the world. The FIG Commission dealing with cadastre, land management matters is the flagship of the FIG in these activities.

United Nations has also recognized that the implementation of the sustainable development, creation secure land tenure for all are very complicated and difficult tasks in every country, region

and through its organizations was looking for partner NGOs which can give professional support.

UN organizations and FIG especially Commission has been working together since years, organizing events, joint workshops to support land related activities. It's a common recognition that cadastres and land registry systems, land management, all together land administration should be the effective tool and infrastructure for the sustainable development.

The land and real estate property is one of the most valuable assets in every nation and the proper registration of land and property, secure land tenure is essential for developing and maintaining an active land market in developed, developing countries and countries in transition as well.

The land registration sector is a key component of a free market Economy whereby the safe and secure transfer of title can be freely conveyed. In respect of above the role of land administration especially cadastre and land registry has been growing during the recent yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world wide.

16.42. Cadastre and Land Registry Around the World In developed countries land administration, the cadastre and legal registry are working well, thanks for the technical development and modern technology, but in many cases separate organizations.

The situation is very different in the developing countries ( Asia, Africa, Latin- South America ) and the majority of Central Eastern European Countries in transition. Which is common in these countries, there are not too many well functioning land administration ( cadastre, legal record ) no secure land tenure and there is a very strong need to establish or modernizing cadastre and land registry systems. Problems to be solved are various from country to country in CEECs in transition and in developing countries as well. In some countries they have to start from the beginning to establish the modern, effective legal and institutional framework of land administration.

In other countries the task is to re-establish, restructure land administration sector to make them fully operational and modernizing of the institutional and technical conditions.

In some countries there is fully operational cadastre and legal registry, the main task is/ was to modernize and improve the technical conditions and introduce the IT technology.

In many developing countries indigenous populations have no secure land tenure though informal law exists and the access to land is restricted. About fifty per cent of the occupation of expanding cities in developing countries is informal, people have no secure tenure ( Bathurst Declaration ) In these countries is absolutely essential to improve the security of tenure providing appropriate tools for registration of informal or customary tenure.

A standardized core cadastral domain model (CCDM), covering land registration and cadastre in a broad sense (multipurpose cadastre), will serve at least two important goals: 1. avoid reinventing and re-implementing the same functionality over and over again, but provide a extensible basis for efficient and effective cadastral system development based on a model driven architecture (MDA), and 2. enable involved parties, both within one country and between different countries, to communicate based on the shared ontology implied by the model .

The second goals is very important for creating standardized information services in an international context, where land administration domain semantics have to be shared between countries (in order to enable needed translations).

The model has been developed in a set of versions, which were each time adjusted based on the discussions at workshops with international experts and the experience from case studies in several countries of the world (Netherlands, El Salvador, Bolivia, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Greece, Australia, Nepal, Egypt, Iceland, and several African and Arab countries). Important conditions during the design of the model were and still are: should cover the common aspects of cadastral registrations all over the world, should be based on the conceptual framework of Cadastre 2014, should follow the international ISO and OGC standards, and at the same time the model should be as simple as possible in order to be useful in practice.

The heart of the model is based on the three abstract classes: 1. Register Object (including all kinds of immovable and movables), 2. RRR (right, restriction, responsibility), and 3. Person (natural, non natural and group).

The model supports the temporal aspects of the involved classes and offers several levels of Parcel fuzziness in both 2D and 3D space: Parcel (full topology), Spaghetti Parcel (only geometry), Point Parcel (single point), and Text Parcel (no coordinate, just a description). The model is specified in UML class diagrams and it is indicated how this UML model can be converted into and XML schema, which can then be used for actual data exchange in our networked society (interoperability).

Until today most countries (or states or provinces) have developed their own cadastral system because there are supposed to be huge differences between the systems. The one operates deeds registration, the other title registration, some systems are centralized, and others decentralized. Some systems are based on a general boundaries approach, others on fixed boundaries. Some cadastres have a fiscal background, others a legal one.

However, it is also obvious that the separate implementation and system's maintenance of a cadastral system are not cheap, especially if one considers the ever-changing requirements. Also, the different implementations (foundations) of the cadastral systems do not make meaningful communication very easy, e.g. in an international context such as within Europe.

Looking at it from a little distance one can observe that the systems are in principle mainly the same: they are all based on the relationships between persons and land, via (property) rights and are in most countries influenced by developments in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The two main functions of every cadastral system are: 1.keeping the contents of these relationships up-to-date (based on legal transactions) in a cadastral registration system and 2. providing information on this registration.

The UN Land Administration Guidelines (UN/ECE, 1996) speak about land administration as the 'process of determining, recording, and disseminating information on ownership, value and use of land when implementing land management policies'.

If 'ownership' is understood as the mode in which rights to land are held, we could also speak about 'land tenure'.

A main characteristic of land tenure is that it reflects a social Relationship regarding rights to land, which means that in a certain jurisdiction the relationship between people and land is

recognized as a legally valid one (either formal or non-formal).

These recognized rights are in principle eligible for registration, with the purpose to assign a certain legal meaning to the registered right (e.g. a title). Therefore land administration systems are not 'just handling only geographic information' as they represent a lawfully meaningful relationship amongst people, and between people and land.

As the land administration activity on the one hand deals with huge amounts of data, which moreover are of a very dynamic nature, and on the other hand requires a continuous maintenance process, the role of information technology is of strategic importance. Without availability of information systems it is believed that it will be difficult to guarantee good performance with respect to meeting changing customer demands.

Organizations are now increasingly confronted with rapid developments in the technology, a technology push: internet, (geo)- databases, modeling standards, open systems, GIS, as well as a growing demand for new services, a market pull: e-governance, sustainable development, electronic conveyance, integration of public data and systems.

Cadastral modeling is considered as a basic tool facilitating appropriate system development and reengineering and in addition it forms the basis for meaningful communication between different (parts of the) systems.

Standardization is a well-known subject since the establishment of cadastral systems. In both paper based systems and computerized systems standards are required to identify objects, transactions, relations between real estate objects (e.g. parcels) and persons (also called subjects in some countries), classification of land use, land value, map representations of objects, etc. etc.

Computerized systems ask for even further standardization when topology and identification of single boundaries are introduced.

In existing cadastral systems standardization is limited to the territory or jurisdiction where the cadastral system is in operation. Open markets, globalization, and effective and efficient development and maintenance of flexible (generic) systems ask for further standardization.

The guidelines of Cadastre 2014 (Kaufmann and Steudler, 1998) give an excellent modeling start, but it is a generic, or abstract, set of guidelines, which must be further refined into a more specific model. This is the aim of the CCDM. One could compare these two levels with the abstract and the implementation level of specification within Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

The abstract level contains the most important knowledge, but this can be implemented in several different manners, which can all claim to be compliant (but the systems wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support automated interoperability). The CCDM goes one step further and specifies an implementation level of the model, which means that different systems adhering to the core cadastral model will be interoperable.

16.43. Core Cadastral Domain Model The three central classes of the CCDM can be depicted in Unified Modeling Language (UML) . The relationship between Register Objects (e.g. parcels) and Persons (sometimes called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;subjectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;) via rights is the foundation of every land administration.

Besides rights, there can also be restrictions or responsibilities (RRR)

between the real estate objects and the persons. A person can be involved in any number of RRR’s and an RRR can involves exactly one person (indicated in the UML diagram by omitting the multiplicity, which means ‘1’). In the current model there is no direct relationship between Person and Register Object, but only via RRR. A UML describes the types of objects and the various kinds of structural relationships that exist among them like associations and subtypes.

Furthermore the UML class diagrams show the attributes and operations of a class and the constraints that apply to the way objects are connected.

The UML for the cadastral domain contains both legal/administrative object classes like persons, rights and the geographic description of real estate objects.

This means in principle that data could be maintained by different organizations, e.g. Municipality, Planning Authority, Private Surveyor, Cadastre, Conveyance and/or Land Registry.

The model will most likely be implemented as a distributed set of (geo-) information systems, each supporting the maintenance activities and the information supply of parts of the dataset represented in this model (diagram), thereby using other parts of the model. This underlines the relevance of this model; different organizations have their own responsibilities in data maintenance and supply and have to communicate on the basis of standardized processes in so called value adding production chains.

A Register Object is an abstract class, that is, there are no object instances of this object class. In a UML class diagram an abstract class is indicated by the italics used for the class name.

Register Object has a number of specialization classes, in this case two: Immovable and Movable. In a UML class diagram the specialization classes point to the more generic class with an open headed arrow. The specializations are mutual exclusive as indicated by the ‘ex-or’ label between the arrows. The Movable objects, such as airplane, ship, train, and car are outside the scope of the model.

16.44. Immovable Classes The specializations of the Immovable class are represented in the ‘blue’ and ‘light blue’ package;. The Immovable objects are further refined into land, or in 3D space, objects (the ‘parcel’ family in 2D and 3Din ‘light blue’) and the other objects (in ‘blue’). The different types of land (space) objects include (‘light blue’): Register Parcel, Spaghetti Parcel, Point Parcel, Text Parcel, Parcel Complex, and Part of Parcel.

These classes can all have actual instances and these instances somehow describe a piece of land (in the case of 2D) or space (in the case of 3D).

The other immovable register objects (‘blue’) include: Building, Unit, Non Geo Real Estate and Other Register Object. All these specializations of Immovable have associations with one or more Persons via the RRR class. There are parts, called Serving Parcels in the model, which only have direct associations with two or more Register Parcels. Characteristic of a Serving Parcel is that it serves a number of other Register Parcels, and that it is held in joint ownership by the owners of those Register Parcels.

However in most cases this kind of joint ownership (in French: mitoyenneté) applies only to constructions, like a party wall, or a joint sewerage, in some countries this kind of joint facilities such as a path, parking or playground are known (e.g. the Netherlands: man deligheid). A straight line between Register Parcel and Serving Parcel in the UML class diagram depicts this association. It can be considered as a (special) kind of joint ownership via the Register Parcels. The ‘Serving Parcel’ principle

could also be applicable to the common parts of apartment or condominium rights, if these common parts have been registered in the cadastral system as separate parcels. For the time being the ‘Serving Parcel’ principle has not been applied to apartments (Building, Unit). To the contrary, perhaps even the Serving Parcel itself could be removed from the model. In such a case a kind of ‘fake’ Non Natural Person (related to the Register Objects/Register Parcels being served) should be used and have some kind of ‘serving right’ via RRR. In the UML class diagram Register Parcel, Serving Parcel and NP Region are specializations of the topologically structured Parcel, which all-together form the partition (subdivision without gaps and overlaps) of the domain (in 2D or 3D space). The Parcel class, just as the Register Object class, is an abstract class as there will never be instances of this class. Note that Register Parcel is based on multiple inheritance (from Immovable and Parcel, both abstract classes).

A Parcel Complex is an aggregation of Register Parcels. The fact that the multiplicity at the side Parcel Complex is 0..1 (in the association with Register Parcel) means that this is optional. A Parcel Complex situation might occur in a system where a set of Register Parcels could be in one municipality or even in another administrative unit- has a legal/customary meaning, for instance being the object of one mortgage.

A Register Parcel can also be subdivided in two or more Part Of Parcel’s. This case could occur when ‘preliminary’ Register Parcels are created during a conveyance where the Register Parcel will be split and surveying is done afterwards.

It could also be helpful to support planning processes, based on cadastral maps, where establishment of Register Parcels in the field is done later in time. Note that in the model a composite association is used, indication that the components (from the class Part of Parcel) have no meaning/right of existence without the aggregate class (Register Parcel), this in indicated with the closed diamond. In case the multiplicity of a class in an association is one (‘1’), then this is not explicitly shown in the UML class diagram as is the case at the site of the Register Parcel.

Further note that Part Of Parcel is a specialization of Register Object (Immovable), making the unrepeated piece of land (or space) a first class Register Object to which at least one Person is associated via RRR; e.g. in the form of ownership. Note that a Parcel Complex is a 'final' state (an aggregate of parcels, may be even disjoint, which together form one Immovable object), unlike a Part Of Parcel, which is a kind of temporary object. So, Parcel Complex is not intended as a set of parcels to be merged into one new future Register Parcel.

The model also offers the possibility to represent parcels not only based on a topological structure (faces of a planar partition in 2D or volumes of the spatial partition in 3D), that is, a set of cells without overlaps and without gaps, but also in alternative ways. A land (or space) Immovable/Register Object could (initially) be represented with a textual description, a single point or a spaghetti polygon, which is not adjusted with it neighbors in a topology structure. The whole domain is subdivided into two types of regions: 1. regions based on a partition (P) and 2. Regions not based on a partition (NP).

Together the P and the NP regions cover the whole domain. The object class Parcel is therefore also specialized into NP Region, besides the specializations.

Register Parcel and Serving Parcel. Note that an NP Region does not have any associated Person (or RRR), that is, it is not a Register Object. On the other hand, the land objects in Immovable class (specialization of Register Object) include the following specializations: Text Parcel, Point Parcel and Spaghetti Parcel. These three ‘alternative’ non-topology representations of a land object can only exist in NP Region areas (and does not influence involve the clean topology Register Parcel and Serving Parcel areas). This can be represented via an additional (geometric) constrained in the model. A parcel may change its presentation over time from Text Parcel, to Point Parcel to Spaghetti Parcel to Register Parcel (but not back). However, this does not need to be the case in situation that the Text Parcel, Point Parcel or Spaghetti Parcel fulfills the needs. Perhaps, the text, point and spaghetti representation of a parcel should be interpreted as a parcel description with certain fuzziness (all ‘fuzzy faces’ belonging to the same ‘conceptual’ partition of the surface).

As mentioned above, the other immovable register objects, the non-land (or space in 3D) subdivision objects, include: Building, Unit, Non Geo Real Estate and Other Register Object .

The Building and Unit classes replace, as more general versions, the earlier Apartment Complex and Apartment Unit classes. In the CCDM there is no explicit association between Building and a parcel as this can be derived from the geometry and topology structures. In case this would not be possible, for example because a Text Parcel (without geometry) is involved, an explicit association could be added in that specific country.

Following the ‘Cadastre 2014’ principle of independent layers, it was decided not to include this association within the CCDM. There are two or more Units in a Building. Note that a Unit is intended in the general sense, not only unit for living purposes, but also for other purposes, e.g. commercial. In other words, all building units with legal/registration significance are included here. Also the model does not intend to exclude Units where the construction is very small, or in fact absent, like in cases of parking spots, etc.

In most cadastral systems a restriction is associated to a complete Register Object (Register Parcel) and this is also reflected in the presented model: a Person can have a Restriction (specialization of RRR) on a Register Object. However, this may be inconvenient in some cases: one ‘thing’ may cause the restriction on many Register Objects and in such a case this information has to be repeated many times (with all possibilities for inconsistencies).

Further, a restriction might also cover/affect only a part of the Register Object, but it is not (yet) registered which part this is. A better solution for this situation is to introduce a new layer (in addition of the planar partition of the Parcels) with own geometry (comparable with the layer concept of ‘Cadastre 2014’, Kaufmann and Steudler 1998). These can be considered as a kind of Register Objects ‘overlapping’ other Register Objects, from which they ‘carve out’ a part of the associated rights. We would suggest maintaining only the ‘positive’ rights that is not explicitly store (for one Person) that another Person has a part of the rights, in the cases where the 'positive' right holder is known.

This can be obtained via inspecting all rights associated with the Register Object and the overlapping Other Register Objects.

Note that Other Register Objects are modeled as closed polygons in 2D or polyhedrons in 3D (and obtain their coordinates from Survey Point’s, see section 4 and there is no explicit topology

between Other Register Objects , that is, they are allowed to overlap (and it is expected that they will not often share common boundaries as Parcels do). Typical examples of Other Register Objects are: geometry of an easement (such as ‘right of way’), protected region, legal space around a utility object. The class Non Geo Real Estate can be useful in case where a geometric description of the Register Object does not (yet) exist. E.g. in case of a right to fish in a commonly held area (itself depicted as a Serving Parcel), where the holder of the fishing right does not (or no longer) hold rights to a land parcel in the area.

16.45. Surveying Classes A cadastral survey is documented on a Survey Document, which is a (legal) source document made up in the field. Most importantly, this document contains signatures; in a full digital surrounding a field office may be required to support this under the condition that digital signatures have a legal support. Otherwise paper based documents should be considered as an integral part of the cadastral system. Files with terrestrial observations -distances, bearings, and referred geodetic control- on points are attributes of Survey Document, the Measurements. The individual Survey Points are associated with Survey Document. From the multiplicity it can be recognized that one Survey Document can be associated with several Survey Points. The Survey Points form the metric foundation of both the topology-based objects and the non topologybased objects.

In case a Survey Point is observed at different moments in time there will be different Survey Documents. In case a Survey Point is observed from different positions during a measurement there is only one association with a Survey Document. One of the attributes of a Survey Point is the point Code, which indicates the type of Survey Point; this could for example be a Geodetic Control Point (GCP). If the ‘same point’ is resurveyed several times and the location does change significantly the there are two options in the model: replace the old Survey Point with a new Survey Point (with a new id) and all associated classes (Building, but also Parcel node, edge,) must be updated in order to refer to this new id. An alternative is to make a new version of the old Survey Point (keeps same id, but gets different time stamps).

The associated classes do not have to be updated, only the Survey Point itself: new time stamp, better, better coordinate and association to new Survey Document. Pervious locations of a specific Survey Point can be found via its id, which remains the same. In general the second option is preferred in case the location of the Survey Point is changed as this offers all the functionality with a relative small adjustment in the data set.

Further, instead of a resurvey the could also be other reasons for changing coordinates, for example map improvement or switching to a different coordinate reference system (or new calculation of same reference system). Also in this case the second option, new version of Survey Point (keep id) is to be preferred.

16.46. Geometry and Topology: Imported OGC/ISO TC211 Classes Object classes describing the geometry and topology are presented in purple; see Figure 3. The CCDM is based on already accepted and available standards on geometry and topology published by ISO and OGC. Geometry itself is based on Survey Points (mostly after geo referencing, depending on data

collection mode: tape, total station, GPS, etc) and is associated with the classes tp node (topology node), tp edge (topology edge) and tp face (topology face, only in 3D case) to describe intermediate ‘shapes’ points between nodes, metrically based on Survey Points.

Current cadastral registration systems, based on 2D topological and geometrically described parcels, have shown limitations in providing insight in (the 2D and 3D) location of 3D constructions (e.g. pipelines, tunnels, building complexes) and in the vertical dimension (depth and height) of rights established for 3D constructions. In the CCDM 2D and 3D are treated in the same manner throughout the model; not only for Parcels but for all types of Immovable. It is important to realize that there is a difference between the 3D physical object itself and the legal space related to this object. The CCDM only covers the legal space.

That is, the space that is relevant for the cadastre (bounding envelope of the object), which is usually larger than the physical extent of the object itself (for example including a safety zone).

The registration of the 3D objects themselves (or even 2D or textual presentations) is outside the CCDM, but could be maintained in another registration (building, utility) to which the cadastral registration is linked via the GII. The 3D legal spaces can represent the geometry associated with for example the right of superficies (droit de superficie, Baurecht), but also be related to full ownership. The solution of registering the legal space of 3D objects compensates many limitations of current cadastral registrations. For example, the surface parcels need not to be divided into smaller parcels. The spatial relationships between surface parcels and the (legal space of the) 3D physical object can be implicitly maintained with spatial overlay functions in the DBMS. Parcels have a 2D or 3D geometric description. A Parcel corresponds one-to-one to the tp face (or tp volume in 3D) in a topological structure (as defined by ISO TC 211 and Open GIS Consortium). A volume is bounded by faces. A face is bounded by its edges. Every edge has exactly two end points, represented in tp nodes. In addition, an edge may also have several intermediate points. Both intermediate points and nodes are associated with Survey Points .

The topological primitives tp face, tp edge and tp nodes, have all a method (‘operation’) called ‘boundary’ which can be used to obtain a full metric representation. An edge (or face in 3D) may further be extended with additional (non-geometric) attributes describing properties only belonging to the edge (face) and not to the whole Parcel or individual Survey Points. There are other geometry layers, which are not based on explicit topology structure, these can be found in respectively the classes Point Parcel, Spaghetti Parcel, Building and Other Register Object (again 2D or 3D).

As in the topology/geometry layer of Partition Parcel, all coordinates are obtained from the Survey Points. There are methods available within the Other Register Object class to return the complete and explicit geometry respectively gm surface and gm volume. In 2D a geometry area is defined by at least 3 Survey Points, which all have to locate in the same horizontal plane (of the earth surface). In 3D a geometry area is defined by at least 4 non-planar Survey Points; this would result in a tetrahedron, the simplest 3D volume object.

A coherent region with Parcels is either 2D or 3D, but not mixed.

It is possible to mix 2D and 3D parcels according to the model,

but not within the same region. It is noted that if the registration is based on 2D Parcels, this does also imply the 3D columns (but these are not explicitly represented). In case a region has an explicit 3D representation, the volume 3D may be open at the bottom and/or top side (corresponding to infinite columns). The z-coordinate (height/elevation) can be specified relative to the earth surface or in an absolute reference system (similar to x and y).

It is advised to use absolute height values, because it is dangerous to associate rights based on relative heights (as the earth surface may change). In case of 3D objects based on absolute heights, also the earth surface plays an important role, in order to decide if certain objects are above or below the surface (or both). Currently, the earth surface elevation is outside the CCDM, but it should be accessible via the Geo-Information Infrastructure (GII). Further, it is possible to model the parcels in 2D, while modeling in the same region Other Register Objects in 3D (e.g. underground utilities).

The 2D or 3D (ISO/OGC) topology structures are valid at every moment in time. There are never gaps or overlaps in the partition. However, to edges belonging to different time spans may cross without a node. The temporal topology must also be maintained: that is no time gaps or overlaps in the representations.

Therefore the structure is based on spate temporal topology.

16.47. Person Classes The abstract class ‘Person’ (that is again a class without object instances) has as specialization classes Natural Person or Non Natural Person like organizations , companies, co-operations and other entities representing social structures. If a Person is a Natura person it cannot be a Non Natural Person and the other way around. That is, Natural Person and Non Natural Person are mutual exclusive. Besides the specializations Natural Person and Non Natural Person, a third specialization is added: Group Person.

The difference between the Non Natural Person and the Group Person is that the first is intended to represent instances such as organizations, companies, government institutes (with no explicit relationships to other Persons), while the second is intended to represent communities, cooperation’s and other entities representing social structures (with possible explicit relationships to other Persons, optionally including their ‘share’ in the Group Person and associated Rights Or Restrictions to Register Objects). Note that a Group Person can consist of all kinds of persons: Natural Persons, Non Natural Persons, but also of other Group Persons. In case of more informal situations the explicit association with the group member Persons is optional.

Further, a Person can be a member or more Group Persons.

The composite association between Group Person and Person could be developed into an association class ‘Members’, in which for each Member certain attributes are maintained; e.g. the share in the group and the start and optionally end date of the membership.

16.48. Legal and Administrative Classes Object classes presented in yellow cover the refinements in the Legal/Administrative side. The main class in this package is the abstract class RRR with specializations Rights, Restrictions and Responsibilities. All RRR’s are based on a Legal Document as source. In principle legal data will not be changed without provision of a Legal Document. The essential data of a Legal

Document are associated with (‘can be represented in’) the classes RRR and Mortgage. A single legal document may be the source of multiple instances of these classes and may even create of mix of these three types. In the other direction, a RRR or Mortgage is always associated with exactly one Legal Document as its source. Because property and ownership rights are based on (national) legislation, ‘lookup tables’ can support in this. E.g., the right of ‘ownership’ might be ‘Norwegian Ownership’, ‘Swedish Ownership’, etc. etc. ‘Customary Right’ related to a region or ‘Informal Right’ can be included; from modeling perspective this is not an item for discussion. Of course, for the actual implementation in a given country or region, this is very important.

In addition to private law restrictions, many countries also have public law restrictions, which are usually imposed by a (local) government body. The 'holder' of the right is a ‘fake’ Person (either "the government" or "society-at-large") and usually they are primarily seen as restrictions. Some of them apply to a specific Register Object (or right therein) or a small group of them, for example most pre-emption rights, or the duty to pay a certain tax for improvements on the road, or the duty to repair damage or perform belated maintenance. Others have their own area of application, like whether there is soil pollution present, flood plains, (re) zoning of areas (esp. when urban development is made possible in a rural area).

Each non-ownership Right by a third part (be it government or a private Person) causes a Restriction. These Restrictions have their own place in the CCDM: they are modeled as views. That is, not intended to be stored, but to be derived on demand when needed. Public restrictions with their own areas can be recorded via the Other Register Object class. Obviously the documents on which they are based need to be included (in the case of public restrictions this would be laws, regulations, and decisions).

Other restrictions should be indirectly be ‘recorded’ as rights in the name of the (positive side) holder. In certain countries some types do not explicitly state the holder (the holder is a neighboring Register Object, regardless of who holds that Register Object).

In such cases the (positive-side) Right is recorded with a formal person indication the situation (e.g. neighbor Parcel; also see discussion in section 3 related to Serving Parcels). Nevertheless, the most vital rights are usually in the name of a person, like ownership, leasehold or usufruct. Security rights differ between jurisdictions.

Sometimes the holder of the right (e.g. bank) is recorded, in other cases there is only a ‘restriction with a fake Person’ recorded, informing others someone already has a security right on this Register Object (often only a defined, and often recorded, amount of money is secured, and a second or third Mortgage could be created). For every RRR it is important that it is made clear how it is recorded. In all cases the relevant source Legal Document(s) should be associated. One should finally be aware that in most jurisdictions certain use rights and certain security rights can exist totally outside the registration system. These so called 'overriding interests' are valid, also against third parties, without registration. Examples can be rent contracts for shorter periods, certain agricultural tenancy agreements, and ‘liens’ by tax authorities.

Right (a specialization of the abstract super class RRR) is compulsory association between Register Object and Person, where this is not compulsory in case of ‘Restriction’ and Responsibility (the other specializations of RRR). The class RRR allows for the introduction of ‘shares of rights’ in case where

more than one Person holds a undivided part of a ‘complete’ Right (or Restriction or Responsibility). In current thinking and literature on cadastral and land administration issues usually the three R’s of Rights, Restrictions and Responsibilities are used. A restriction means that you have to allow someone to do something or that you have to refrain from doing something yourself. Restrictions can both be within private law, especially in the form of servitudes, as within public law, through zoning and other planning restrictions as well as environmental limitations. Responsibilities mean that one has to actively do something. Not all legal systems allow such mandated activities as property rights (rights in rem), and this will also effect the question if they can (and have to be) registered. Obviously their impact can be substantial and their registration makes sense.

There is always at least one instance of Right (subclass of RRR) in which the type of right represents the strongest (or primary) right, for instance ownership, freehold or leasehold.

Connected to this strongest right certain interests can be added, or subtracted from this strongest right. A point of discussion is how to represent the subtractions (Restrictions) as they are already implied by a non-primary right of a third party. The fact a neighbor is allowed to walk over your Parcel is an additional Right (appurtenance, positive-side) to the ownership of his property, where it is a Restriction (encumbrance, negative-side) to your property. In the present model both sides are represented, but it is the intention to only store the positive-side and derive (compute) the negative side when needed (compare Zevenbergen in FIG/COST, 2004). Therefore, Restriction is modeled as a view. Although some definitions of encumbrance seem to include the obligation to do something (as described under responsibilities before), we added it here as a separate specialization Responsibilities (or obligations) to avoid any confusion on allowing the registration of responsibilities (if and when the legal system is tailored for that).

A mortgage is always vested on a RRR, and should never be seen as a separate relation between Person and Register Object.

On the other hand a Mortgage is usually vested as collateral for loan. Therefore the one providing the money, the mortgagee, is connected to the Mortgage as Money Provider; one of the specializations of the abstract class Person (see Figure 1). The fact that all the different (public law and private law) RRR’s find their base in some kind of establishing or transacting document is represented by connecting them to Legal Document which is now a specialization of the abstract class Source Document (as is Survey Document).

The one responsible for drafting the document (for instance a notary, lawyer or conveyance) is connected to this as Conveyer; again a specialization of the abstract class Person. Land administration systems that have to underpin customary land tenure systems, informally arranged land use or conflicting claims to rights, and whose objects might not be clearly identifiable (fuzzy), not (yet) clearly identified or whose areas overlap are in need of other classes to allow for those type of situations. Often in such countries or jurisdictions both types of situations (strictly legal and formalized and more fuzzy and informal) are to be found in the same area, and should therefore be able to co-exist in the cadastral system, and thus in the core cadastral domain model.

16.49. Embedding the model in ISO/TC211 In the context of GIS and Spatial data there is currently a lot of effort to standardize the modeling and exchange of this type of

data. Most of the standardization effort is concentrated in the OGC Consortium and in ISO/TC211 and a combined effort has resulted in a harmonized model. This model is described in the ISO19100 standard series. Since most cadastral data is spatial the core cadastral model should be based on these standards. This will allow us to build on the rich model of geo objects as defined in these standards and ensures that the model fits well in GIS software. In order to adhere to the ISO standard a model has to adhere to certain modeling rules (ISO19109) and the spatial types as defined in (ISO 19107) have to be used. Other relevant parts of the standard are about: temporal modeling and geodetic coding.

One of the advantages of modeling in UML is that it gives the possibility to generate an exchange format for the data in a standardized way. The GML3 standard (ISO 19136) describes how to translate an UML model to a GML Applications Schema.

This Application Schema uniquely defines an exchange format for data in the UML model. For the correct generation of such a schema the UML Model has to adhere to the encoding rules that are given in the GML Standard. Various tools exist that automatically convert an UML Model to a GML Application Schema. The Shape Change tool (Portele, 2004) reads an UML Schema in the XMI exchange format and writes an XML Schema.

The UML/INTERLIS Editor (Eisenhut, 2004) has an export button to generate a GML Application Schema.

A core cadastral data model should serve at least two purposes: 1. Enable effective and efficient implementation of flexible (and generic) cadastral information systems based on a model driven architecture, and 2. Provide the ‘common ground’ for data exchange between different systems in the cadastral domain.

The later one is a very important motivator to develop a core cadastral data model, which could be used in an international context; e.g. the EULIS project. The Open GIS Consortium ‘Property and Land Information Initiative’, as announced in March 2003, underlines the relevance of standardization. The CCDM ontology is very important for creating standardized information services in an international context (e.g. EULIS), where land administration domain semantics have to be shared between countries (in order to enable needed translations). It is not realistic to expect that involved countries will immediately change their registrations and adjust to the CCDM. However, the CCDM ontology can be used in translations from countries own registration terminology and concepts to the shared terminology and concepts. This enables creating meaningful standardized information services.

How to implement or use the CCDM within a country (or between countries), depends on the organizations involved and the preferred manner of working (and available or planned communication infrastructure). The model itself does not say that something should be centralized or decentralized. In fact, it supports both. In case of a centralized implementation, the model provides the relevant classes. In case of a decentralized implementation, the model provides the required semantics (needed for meaningful communication) and also provides the interface definitions between the different decentralize systems (XML/GML encoding; ). Many different implementation scenarios can be imagined. Two realistic, both decentralized, cases could be: 1. For every package of the model a different national organization is responsible for the maintenance of the information in classes within the package (Person, Legal, Parcel, Building, immovable/Other Register Object, Survey) and

consistent references between the packages, and 2. A local organization is responsible for the information in all packages within its territory, and has to take care of consistent references to and from data maintained in other territories.

Many different implementation (or deployment) approaches are possible.

In this it has been tried to remain within the original scope of the cadastral domain and not extend it with related domain models of topography, geology, geo-technical and soil information, pipelines and cables, addresses, buildings, polluted areas, mining rights, fishing/hunting/grazing rights, cultural history, (religious) monuments. (Non-) natural persons, ship- and airplane (and car) registrations, etc.

The foundation of the new CCDM is a 2D and/or 3D parcel with temporal attributes (actually four dimensions) with possible fuzzy boundaries. This does not mean that every cadastral system should have four dimensional fuzzy parcels, but the model gives the overall framework. The actual systems are in a certain sense ’special cases’ of this general model. The new version of the model is intended to be an interoperable implementation specification version of Cadastre 2014 (which is at a more abstract level). Being at an implementation level, it will guarantee that different systems adhering to this specification of the CCDM will be interoperable. The actual communication could take place via XML/GML encoding of the CCDM. An XML schema can be derived of the UML class diagram of the CCDM. The current version of the CCDM is also 100% compliant with the ISO 19100 series of geo-information standards, including ‘Rules for application schema’ (ISO19109), ‘spatial schema’ (ISO19107) and ‘Geography Markup Language’ (ISO19136).

Finally, the list of future work includes: 1. refine the current ontology/semantics by adding OCL to UML class diagram 2. dynamic aspects of the involved processes 3. true 3D/4D spatio-temporal parcels (if needed) 4. highlight the layer structure in CCDM (by giving a number of examples) 5. modeling of the field survey with more structure/attributes 6. indicate which classes are part of the real obligatory core (also for attributes and relations) 7. generation of a full XML/GML schema (not just an example fragment) 8. test with real data (in EULIS context) and test data exchange 9. harmonize with other domain models (topography, water, cables/pipes, etc.)

The CCDM has been reviewed by many experts in the field of cadastre and land registry. Co-operation with OGC and ISO in the further development of the model will be required. In addition to the cooperation with these organizations, a review and/or validation by a platform as EULIS, Euro geographic or the Working Party on Land Administration should be performed.

Finally, it is very important that also UN Habitat is involved in such a review and validation process.

16.50. Recommended Solution The question appears in many countries which is the best solution concerning the development or re-establishing the cadastre, land registry systems. Develop separately the land cadastre and legal record under different authority or establish the unified land registry system which is the integration of cadastre and legal record on legal basis and institutional level.

Two key publications have been issued by FIG during recent years based on experience giving professional guidelines for the future. The “Cadastre 2014" vision on the future cadastre by Jürg Kaufmann. This publication describes the future of cadastre. In the publication the statement says the cadastre and legal record

must be integrated.

The other key paper is the Bathurst Declaration, Land Administration Infrastructure for Sustainable Development, which is the result of a joint FIG/UN workshop in Bathurst, Australia describes that an integrated, co-ordinated legal and institutional framework land administration should manage effectively the sustainable development.

Both publications declare and it's a world trend as well that the integrated, multipurpose land administration is the most effective tool to manage the land and property related activities.

The most important elements in the land administration are the well operating cadastre and land registry organizations.

These organizations are responsible to maintain and register cadastral mapping and legal data and in the same time they are the data holders concerning land and property, providing these data for external users. Today, thanks for the modern information technology, there is no more technical problem to integrate different land, real estate, property related legal and mapping data in one computerized data base. In many developed countries the integration of data has been already implemented but generally organizations, institutions, responsible for maintaining, updating above data have been acting under different authority and they share the income coming from the data service. According to professional opinions it seems obvious and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cadastre 2014" also declares that the integration of cadastre and legal registry on legal basis and organizational level, the Unified Land Registry should be more effective infrastructure for the land, property related activities.

The statement in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cadastre 2014 " also says that the modern cadastre ( unified land registry) must be cost recovery which means that their income by the data service, registration fees, other services have to cover the annual budget. How is it possible?

There is no way to increase price of data or other services too much because, in this case users can't or don't want to buy it.

What is the best way to reach the cost recovery? Probably there are more recipe but I think the integration of cadastre and legal registry could be a solution, or in countries where the task is to establish operational land administration the development of unified land registry system on legal basis and institutional level.

The other important step for cost recovery stage is to extend the data content of cadastre or the land registry as much as possible and the system become multipurpose land registry. The system must fulfill the requirements by the external users and the whole society.

Of course it's very important to maintain and update all legal, mapping and other data because only reliable up to date information should be marketable therefore the extension of data content and quality of services depends on the capacity of cadastre, land registry organizations and the advanced IT technology I think above arguments are acceptable from one side but the achievement is not so easy question. In countries, where the traditional multi authority systems are well operating (developed countries) there are legal difficulties to integrate organizations on legal basis and institutional level but on the other hand it's true that they can generally fulfill all the demands, using modern technology, requires by the market economy and the society. But in developing, transition countries- where the task is to establish or reconstruct cadastre and land registry there are no legal difficulties to develop the Unified Land Registry System with many advantages.

16.51. Tasks to Be Achieved In Developing Countries and Countries in Transition There are tremendous tasks in the developing countries and countries in transition to be solved quickly, required by changes and new challenges during the last decade. To implement these important goals, effective land administration is necessary. In Central Eastern European countries when they have changed political system and introducing the market economy have faced several problems related to land and property. Mass privatization, ownership of agricultural land, compensation, restitution, and land consolidation had to be implemented and in the same time the modernization of legal and institutional framework was also essential fit to the requirements by the market economy. There was a very strong need for developing the information technology and computerization of cadastre and land registry organization.

In developing countries the land reform is one of the most important tasks to be achieved. The other important task in the developing world to be solved is the registration of poorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ownership or registration of informal rights in the legal registry, etc.

There are experiences and examples that countries in transition, developing countries establishing, reconstructing, modernizing cadastre or land registry systems, the unified land registry system is more effective and should support the development of land market, privatization processes have been quicker then in case of multi authority systems.

Chapter 17 : Recommendations and Conclusion

17.1 Advantages of the Unified Land Registry Systems I tried to describe the most important challenges related to land and property today and in the near future. The solution of tasks requires tools and our responsibility is to select the best, most effective one. The Unified Land Registry can be one of the most effective tools because of it's advantages comparing with other legal and institutional systems.

17.1.1. Single authority organization, one decision maker I think it's obvious when cadastre and legal registry is integrated, decisions related to land and property have been made by one authority. In developing countries or countries in transition one decision maker can co-ordinate effectively the process of land reform, surveying, mapping, registration of changes, new ownership resulted of privatization, compensation procedures. As a result of above the time of implementing land related acts, laws, and procedures is shorter which is very important in countries introducing the market economy.

17.1.2. Legal and mapping data integrity and consistency The secure land tenure, the quality of data is very important for investors and users in every country all over the world. The secure land tenure, ownership encourage foreign investors from developed countries to invest which is a key question for developing countries and countries in transition for developing their market economy and active land market.

17.1. 3. Cost -effectiveness of the organizations The reform of public administration sector is important task nowadays all over the world. One of the elements of this reform is to reduce the budget. In case of separate organizations there is double registration of changes which means parallel activities. In case of unified land registry system we avoid parallel activities resulting the reduction the number of staff and in the same Time the reduction of running cost and budget.

17.1.4. Workflow, data updating It's obvious that the workflow of legal and mapping data updating within one organization is quicker then between two separate organizations. There is a guarantee by law for simultaneous updating of the same data on cadastral map and on legal part (property sheet) of the land registry. As a result of this workflow and data updating process the quality of information should be better and the data service is more efficient. Of course the Unified Land Registry System itself doesn't guarantee the good quality of information and data but easier to fulfill the quality requirements.

17.1.5. Implementation of technical modernization

In countries in transition and in developing countries the technical modernization, computerization, the legal and institutional reform is essential. The time factor of implementing projects is important. The unified land registry is a single authority organization, there is one decision maker. Coordination and implementation of computerization projects are more effective and cheaper. The legal and institutional reform should be achieved quicker as well. There are examples and experiences that in countries where the responsibility of land related activities has been divided between different authorities projects are not coordinated, financial sources haven't been concentrated, the result of projects have been fragmented and the efficiency and outputs of programs generally poor.

17.1. 6. Unified Land Registry System.

When the cadastre and legal record is integrated or the unified land registry is established, the mapping and legal data is owned by one organization and the data content should be extended further. It's easier to produce quality data if the mapping and legal data updating is simultaneous workflow.

The quality data is valuable data the market accepts it. The multipurpose unified land registry (cadastre) organization as the owner and provider of legal and mapping data can fulfill all of the demands required by the economy, decision makers and the society, the cost recovery expectation can be achieved.

In 1993 a seminar on reform of real property, land registration and cadastre took place in Copenhagen (Denmark). To follow up the seminar , workshops were organized in Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, the Netherlands and Romania to formulate proper guidelines for unified registration system.

These Guidelines define land legislation as the process whereby land and the information about land may be effectively managed. They are mainly written for senior governmental staff and politicians engaged in land administration issues. The aim is to out-line the benefit of having a relevant and reliable land information system in place. The Guidelines are based on the assumptions that: (i) Access to food and shelter are fundamental human needs; (ii) Security of tenure is essential for an effective housing policy; (iii) Certainty in the legal status of land is essential for efficient agricultural production; (iv) Investors in a market economy require a formal structure of land and property rights; (vii) Sustainable development is dependent on the State having overall responsibility for managing information about the ownership, value and use of land, even though the private sector may be extensively involved; and (viii) Both land and information about land are resources that must be husbanded in order to achieve economic growth.

The Guidelines are in accord with article I of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights signed in Rome on November 1950. That article states: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law.â&#x20AC;?

The Guidelines identify the factors that should be taken into account in developing the legislation, organization, databases and maps, as well as the funding mechanisms, required to implement and maintain a solid

land administration system, frequently referred to either as ; cadastre or a land registration system.

The initial investment in a new land registration system may involve spending millions of dollars and the processes may take between 5 and I0 years. Such an investment and time-scale are however essential if economic development is to be sustainable.

The Guidelines draw primarily on experiences in eastern and western Europe. All western systems of cadastre and land registration have been established for a long time but many have been built on traditional skills that have in the past not necessarily focused on all the needs of users. They were based on manual, not digital, methods although most are now in the process of introducing computerization. Like their eastern European counterparts they are changing to meet the needs of a modern society.

Transition countries can learn much from western experiences.

They need however to build their own systems within their own social, economic and cultural environments. These Guidelines should help them to consider alternative ways to meet modern requirements.

A system for recording land ownership, land values, land use and other land-related data is an indispensable tool for a market economy to work properly, as well as for sustainable management of land resources. All industrialized nations with a market economy maintain some sort of land register system that fulfils the above requirements.

The term “land” to refer to the objects to which mortgages and other data are to be connected. “Real estate” is an alternative term. In practice a land administration system can incorporate various basic objects or units, land parcels being the most common.

Real estate can consist of one or several land parcels. Many countries also allow buildings or parts of buildings to be registered as separate real estates, as well as structures under or above the surface. The latter are referred to as properties in strata. Defining the basic units is a major element in the design of any land information system.

A good land registration system will: (i) Guarantee ownership and security of tenure; (ii) Support land and property taxation; (iii) Provide security for credit; (iv) Develop and monitor land markets; (v) Protect State lands; (vi) Reduce land disputes; (vii) Facilitate land reform; (viii) Improve urban planning and infrastructure development; (ix) Support environmental management; (x) Produce statistical data.

A good land information system includes textual files and maps that are closely linked to each other. The cadastral systems in the majority of west European countries contain different registers, each under a different administration, although the registers are operated partly or wholly by the Government in each case.

In some of the countries field surveys are undertaken by private surveyors, in other countries by governmental or local public agencies. The requirement for geometric precision varies considerably. Some countries require very precise surveying and mapping of boundaries, whilst others are far less demanding in this respect.

Most of the countries with a formal land information system in place have already computerized their systems, or are in the process of doing so. The existing manual systems frequently limit the opportunities for implementing optimal solutions.

Furthermore, the conversion of existing files and survey data requires huge resources.

Countries building new land information systems from scratch or almost-will have the benefit of not being restricted by existing systems, and should therefore have the possibility to implement optimal solutions from the very beginning. This should include the application of computer technology, both for textual data and for the maps.

Introducing a new land administration system, including the implementation of formal land information registers, is a huge and time-consuming process. The importance of solid investigations and thorough planning cannot be underestimated.

It is important to stress that the development of related legislation, an improved organizational structure, financial mechanisms, and technical issues are closely interconnected.

Experiences indicate that issues related to legislation, organization and funding are frequently more complex to solve than technical issues.

These Guidelines recommend that countries in transition apply a step-by-step approach. Data content of the registers should initially be restricted to what is actually required to satisfy high priority user needs. Demarcation and survey of boundaries are frequently a major element of the process. High geometric precision is often unnecessary for land administration. The possibility of applying low-cost surveying and mapping techniques should be investigated.

Countries in transition are recommended to investigate the possibility of implementing integrated land information systems, where the formal registration of legal information as well as technical information is supervised, controlled and operated by one public authority, and not split between two or more ministries and authorities. This does not exclude distributed solutions with practical activities being undertaken in regional or local offices.

Ways of involving the private sector should be evaluated. Many countries apply legislation under which field surveys are undertaken by private licensed surveyors. Databases can physically be operated by private data centres, under contract to the relevant public authority.

Establishing a new land administration system may be closely linked to land reform and the privatization of land. It is, however, difficult to identify mechanisms whereby the initial establishment of a land information system can be financed through user fees only. Countries should regard the initial establishment of their system as a long-term public investment in infrastructure, with user fees covering only a portion of the total costs of setting up the system. The costs of maintaining the system that result from land transactions, land subdivisions, etc. can however be fully recovered through fees.

It is recommended that a land administration coordination board be established with representatives of the relevant ministries, agencies and users to examine the needs for information and to coordinate land information management activities and projects.

The following series of operations must be addressed when introducing a new land registration system: i. The determination of user needs; ii. The creation of new administrative arrangements; iii. The preparation of new legislation; iv. The determination of what land and property rights already exist on the ground; v. The demarcation and survey of new plots of land: vi. The establishment of new registers and procedures for storing and retrieving land data; vii. The setting in place of new financial management procedures; viii. The development of public awareness as to how the system works.

17.2. Recommendations 1. The entire effort has been employed to explore the real situation of registration practices in the country and at the same time in the countries and regions of developing and enveloped world for finding a better solution as to bring positive changes in the sector. Policy options are made here to implement a consorted and coordinated registration and information platform by contributing in establishing national databases and information systems for achieving national development goals. Our major recommendations are as follow: 2. Establish a registration ministry as in Kerala, India possibly a division at the law ministry for enacting all acts and regulations affecting all sorts of registration practices like marriage, divorce, organization, citizenship and nationality (voter), passport, education, culture, sports , cooperatives society, religious activities, clubs, business, industry, property , vehicles, professions and occupations, labor and trade unions or CBAs, patents, designs and copyrights, publications etc. to make information available for personal , judicial and public causes to fulfill user needs ; 3. A strong Registration Department must be set like Kerala for land registration under the Ministry of Registration to provide services such as legal validation of all types of agreed , documented, signed and executed contracts and documents of any transaction, statement, terms and conditions for making basis of evidence for judicial , arbitrary and litigation services ; 4.Ensure ,coordination, control, audits, accounts, supervision, monitoring, evaluation, overseeing , transparency, accountability, quality, efficiency, effectiveness, training and research from bottom up ; 5. New post of Registrar (audit) should be introduced for better public finance management ; 6. Data infrastructure must include zoning, planning, geocoding and zymology from modern available ICT and software for ensuring practical intelligence ; 7. A Valuation Authority as in Karnataka, India with central ,district & land must be set to work closely with the Registration Department to adopt valuation techniques and approaches, assessment, accounts, and determination mechanisms of Land Value Capture (LVC) with a set of technological, procedural and

technical arrangements to provide appropriate services in practice; 8. Increase human resources as to meet current structure of demand side; 9. A Land Value Taxation (LVT) Authority with central & District offices for , collection of public revenue e.g-, stamp duty, registration fees, gain tax, VAT local government taxes, court fees , fines, also a must to work with the Registration Department and to coordinate the taxes departments; 10. First Registration must be introduced 11. Procedures must be prescribed as in HM Registry, UK for ensuring clear property ownership certificates supplied by the Registering Officer; 12.Department of Survey and Settlement must bring under the Ministry of Registration ; 13. A Registration Cadre must be established to run the various types of registration jobs in the Registration Ministry; 14. Involve trained human resources like certified professional technicians, engineers, surveyors, experts, consultants and procurement farms from national or international sources; 15. A Modern technology based national Archival management for preservation and protection of databases, administration and supervision of records and registries, archival security management must be put as National Archives, UK and NARA, USA; at central district & Local Levels; 16. A strong body can be institutionalized for protecting, securing, maintaining and managing all records, documents and archives of all public departments with active collaboration and coordination of Registration Department; 17. Ensure application of cost effective environment and software; 18. Capacity Building ( human, infrastructure & technology is equally important for Eâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Governance needs ; 19. A systematic world class national Land Information System/Service (LIS) to provide parcels (khatians) must be introduced through adopting experiences from best practices around the world e.g.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Hungary, Norway, and HM Registry, UK ; 20. A national mapping authority like MAP India or Ordinance Survey of UK can be of more benefit for the country ; 21. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) infrastructure, training and equipments may be collected through involving Survey of Bangladesh (SOB), Ministry of ICT, Ordinance Survey, UK, of Kadestre , The Netherlands and UNFIG ; 22. Public Sector Information (PSI) network like UK government may be established through connecting all government departments to ensure right to information for all to provide delivery of information like certificates, licenses, renewals and reports of searches or inspections from the original archived documents ; 23. Benchmarking and Standards must be ensued like BLM,US and Land Department , Australia through

involving SOB, BSTI, JICA, ISO, World Bank, Ordinance Survey, UK , HM Registry, UK ; 24. Connect with global information and knowledge bases of different government land and registration departments of developed and developing countries, UN Organs, UNHABITAT; UNDP, UNEP, IFPRI, ILO, World watch, World Resources Institute (WRI), Earth Research Institute(ERI), Global Land Tools Network (GLTN), Environmental Sustainability Research Institute (ESRI), Spatial Data Initiative (SDI), EULIS, Kadestre, ITC and IHS from The Netherlands, HM Registry, UK, World Watch Institute , Center for International Development (CID ), GSD & HIID , JCHS Links, CAER Papers from Harvard University, World Bank Section of Land Policy, UNECE, UNICEF, UNESCO, SID, BLM, US and GOB ; 25. National and International expert events like conferences , workshops, seminars and symposiums can bring more pragmatic solutions from modern day experiences through sharing latest developments available around the globe ; Exchange of information through international expert visits may be arranged for earning practical knowledge and technology; 26. Requirements for formulating new laws can be performed by the Law Commission of Bangladesh; 27. Policy and legal reform agenda may be prepared and placed by the Regulatory Reforms Commission ; 28. Further in depth study and research is more important to explore the issue to propose more pragmatic solutions; 29. A regional information network in SAARC , Southeast Asia or in the Asian region like SAIC (SAARC Agricultural Information Center) and EULIS (European Union Land Information Systems) is necessary for information flow ; 30. Training institutes, research centres and academic courses in the universities must be established at different areas of the country including distance learning courses, online modules and E-learning resources in an elaborate website having rich links with the related knowledge hubs; 31. Publications, Reports leaflets and brochures can be distributed for better dissemination; Campaigning through involving politicians, citizens groups and civil societies; 32. Consider Public Private Partnership carefully

17.3. Integrated Approach to the Planning & Management of Land Resources Land is normally defined as a physical entity in terms of its topography and spatial nature; a broader integrative view also includes natural resources: the soils, minerals, water and biota that the land comprises. These components are organized in ecosystems which provide a variety of services essential to the maintenance of the integrity of life-support systems and the productive capacity of the environment. Land resources are used in ways that take advantage of all these characteristics. Land is a finite resource, while the natural resources it supports can vary

over time and according to management conditions and uses.

Expanding human requirements and economic activities are placing ever increasing pressures on land resources, creating competition and conflicts and resulting in suboptimal use of both land and land resources. If, in the future, human requirements are to be met in a sustainable manner, it is now essential to resolve these conflicts and move towards more effective and efficient use of land and its natural resources.

Integrated physical and land-use planning and management is an eminently practical way to achieve this. By examining all uses of land in an integrated manner, it makes it possible to minimize conflicts, to make the most efficient trade-offs and to link social and economic development with environmental protection and enhancement, thus helping to achieve the objectives of sustainable development. The essence of the integrated approach finds expression in the coordination of the sectoral planning and management activities concerned with the various aspects of land use and land resources.

The present chapter consists of one program area, the integrated approach to the planning and management of land resources, which deals with the reorganization and, where necessary, some strengthening of the decision-making structure, including existing policies, planning and management procedures and methods that can assist in putting in place an integrated approach to land resources. It does not deal with the operational aspects of planning and management, which are more appropriately dealt with under the relevant sectoral programs. Since the program deals with an important cross-sectoral aspect of decision-making for sustainable development, it is closely related to a number of other programs that deal with that issue directly.

17.3.1. Basis for action Land resources are used for a variety of purposes which interact and may compete with one another; therefore, it is desirable to plan and manage all uses in an integrated manner. Integration should take place at two levels, considering, on the one hand, all environmental, social and economic factors (including, for example, impacts of the various economic and social sectors on the environment and natural resources) and, on the other, all environmental and resource components together (i.e., air, water, biota, land, geological and natural resources). Integrated consideration facilitates appropriate choices and trade-offs, thus maximizing sustainable productivity and use.

Opportunities to allocate land to different uses arise in the course of major settlement or development projects or in a sequential fashion as lands become available on the market. This in turn provides opportunities to support traditional patterns of sustainable land management or to assign protected status for conservation of biological diversity or critical ecological services.

A number of techniques, frameworks and processes can be combined to facilitate an integrated approach. They are the indispensable support for the planning and management process, at the national and local level, ecosystem or area levels and for the development of specific plans of action.

Many of its elements are already in place but need to be more widely applied, further developed and strengthened. This program area is concerned primarily with providing a framework that

will coordinate decision-making; the content and operational functions are therefore not included here but are dealt with in the relevant sectoral programs of Agenda 21.

17.3.2. Objectives The broad objective is to facilitate allocation of land to the uses that provide the greatest sustainable benefits and to promote the transition to a sustainable and integrated management of land resources. In doing so, environmental, social and economic issues should be taken into consideration. Protected areas, private property rights, the rights of indigenous people and their communities and other local communities and the economic role of women in agriculture and rural development, among other issues, should be taken into account. In more specific terms, the objectives are as follows: (a) To review and develop policies to support the best possible use of land and the sustainable management of land resources, by not later than 1996; (b) To improve and strengthen planning, management and evaluation systems for land and land resources, by not later than 2000; (c) To strengthen institutions and coordinating mechanisms for land and land resources, by not later than 1998; (d) To create mechanisms to facilitate the active involvement and participation of all concerned, particularly communities and people at the local level, in decision-making on land use and management, by not later than 1996.

17.3.3 Activities 1.Developing supportive policies and policy instruments Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of regional and international organizations, should ensure that policies and policy instruments support the best possible land use and sustainable management of land resources. Particular attention should be given to the role of agricultural land. To do this, they should: (a) Develop integrated goal-setting and policy formulation at the national, regional and local levels that takes into account environmental, social, demographic and economic issues; (b) Develop policies that encourage sustainable land use and management of land resources and take the land resource base, demographic issues and the interests of the local population into account; (c) Review the regulatory framework, including laws, regulations and enforcement procedures, in order to identify improvements needed to support sustainable land use and management of land resources and restricts the transfer of productive arable land to other uses; (d) Apply economic instruments and develop institutional mechanisms and incentives to encourage the best possible land use and sustainable management of land resources; (e) Encourage the principle of delegating policy-making to the lowest level of public authority consistent with effective action and a locally driven approach.

2. Strengthening planning and management systems Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of regional and international organizations, should review and, if appropriate, revise planning and management systems to facilitate an integrated approach. To do this, they should: (a) Adopt planning and management systems that facilitate the integration of environmental components such as air, water,

land and other natural resources, using landscape ecological planning (LANDEP) or other approaches that focus on, for example, an ecosystem or a watershed; (b) Adopt strategic frameworks that allow the integration of both developmental and environmental goals; examples of these frameworks include sustainable livelihood systems, rural development, the World Conservation Strategy/Caring for the Earth, primary environmental care (PEC) and others; (c) Establish a general framework for land-use and physical planning within which specialized and more detailed sectoral plans (e.g., for protected areas, agriculture, forests, human settlements, rural development) can be developed; establish inter-sectoral consultative bodies to streamline project planning and implementation; (d) Strengthen management systems for land and natural resources by including appropriate traditional and indigenous methods; examples of these practices include pastoralism, Hema reserves (traditional Islamic land reserves) and terraced agriculture; (e) Examine and, if necessary, establish innovative and flexible approaches to program funding; (f) Compile detailed land capability inventories to guide sustainable land resources allocation, management and use at the national and local levels.

3. Promoting application of appropriate tools for planning and management Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of national and international organizations, should promote the improvement, further development and widespread application of planning and management tools that facilitate an integrated and sustainable approach to land and resources. To do this, they should: (a) Adopt improved systems for the interpretation and integrated analysis of data on land use and land resources; (b) Systematically apply techniques and procedures for assessing the environmental, social and economic impacts, risks, costs and benefits of specific actions; (c) Analyze and test methods to include land and ecosystem functions and land resources values in national accounts.

4. Raising awareness Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with national institutions and interest groups and with the support of regional and international organizations, should launch awareness-raising campaigns to alert and educate people on the importance of integrated land and land resources management and the role that individuals and social groups can play in it.

This should be accompanied by provision of the means to adopt improved practices for land use and sustainable management.

5. Promoting public participation Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with national organizations and with the support of regional and international organizations, should establish innovative procedures, programs, projects and services that facilitate and encourage the active participation of those affected in the decision-making and implementation process, especially of groups that have, hitherto, often been excluded, such as women, youth, indigenous people and their communities and other local communities .

17.3.4. Data and information : Strengthening information systems Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with national institutions and the private sector and with the support of regional and international organizations, should strengthen the information systems necessary for making decisions and evaluating future changes on land use and management. The needs of both men and women should be taken into account. To

do this, they should: (a) Strengthen information, systematic observation and assessment systems for environmental, economic and social data related to land resources at the global, regional, national and local levels and for land capability and land-use and management patterns; (b) Strengthen coordination between existing sectoral data systems on land and land resources and strengthen national capacity to gather and assess data; (c) Provide the appropriate technical information necessary for informed decision-making on land use and management in an accessible form to all sectors of the population, especially to local communities and women; (d) Support low-cost, community-managed systems for the collection of comparable information on the status and processes of change of land resources, including soils, forest cover, wildlife, climate and other elements.

17.3.5. International and regional coordination and cooperation: Establishing regional machinery Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of regional and international organizations, should strengthen regional cooperation and exchange of information on land resources. To do this, they should: (a) Study and design regional policies to support programs for land-use and physical planning; (b) Promote the development of land-use and physical plans in the countries of the region; (c) Design information systems and promote training; (d) Exchange, through networks and other appropriate means, information on experiences with the process and results of integrated and participatory planning and management of land resources at the national and local levels.

17.3.6. Means of Implementation : Financing and Cost Evaluation The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this program to be about $50 million from the international community on grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies and programs Governments decide upon for implementation.

17.3.7. Scientific and Technological Means 1. Enhancing scientific understanding of the land resources system Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with the national and international scientific community and with the support of appropriate national and international organizations, should promote and support research, tailored to local environments, on the land resources system and the implications for sustainable development and management practices. Priority should be given, as appropriate, to:

(a) Assessment of land potential capability and ecosystem functions; (b) Eco-systemic interactions and interactions between land resources and social, economic and environmental systems; (c) Developing indicators of sustainability for land resources, taking into account environmental, economic, social, demographic, cultural and political factors.

2. Testing research findings through pilot projects Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with the national and international scientific community and with the support of the relevant international organizations, should research and test, through pilot projects, the applicability of improved approaches to the integrated planning and management of land resources, including technical, social and institutional factors .

17.3.8. Human Resource Development : Enhancing education and training Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with the appropriate local authorities, non-governmental organizations and international institutions, should promote the development of the human resources that are required to plan and manage land and land resources sustainably. This should be done by providing incentives for local initiatives and by enhancing local management capacity, particularly of women, through: (a) Emphasizing interdisciplinary and integrative approaches in the curricula of schools and technical, vocational and university training; (b) Training all relevant sectors concerned to deal with land resources in an integrated and sustainable manner; (c) Training communities, relevant extension services, community-based groups and non-governmental organizations on land management techniques and approaches applied successfully elsewhere.

17.3.9. Capacity building 1. Strengthening technological capacity Governments at the appropriate level, in cooperation with other Governments and with the support of relevant international organizations, should promote focused and concerted efforts for education and training and the transfer of techniques and technologies that support the various aspects of the sustainable planning and management process at the national, state/provincial and local levels.

2. Strengthening institutions Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of appropriate international organizations, should: (a) Review and, where appropriate, revise the mandates of institutions that deal with land and natural resources to include explicitly the interdisciplinary integration of environmental, social and economic issues; (b) Strengthen coordinating mechanisms between institutions that deal with land-use and resources management to facilitate integration of sectoral concerns and strategies; (c) Strengthen local decision-making capacity and improve coordination with higher levels.

17.4. Concluding Remarks Proper registration and information system is crucial for security of tenure and property rights, effective housing policies and the promotion of market-oriented reforms in the country.

The activity is aimed at providing assistance in reforming land registration systems and sharing information and experiences of modernizing land registration systems through education and training, research and development, exchange of experience, transfer of technology, and standardization.

In most jurisdictions the laws relating to property transfer are extremely complicated, and so it is not a simple matter to convert paper-based systems built up over several centuries to straightforward electronic processes. In general, though both England & Wales and the Netherlands have been carrying out financial transactions through electronic media and the Financial Acts approve the electronic transfer of documents, utilization of digital signature etc. for that purpose, as the Registration Act and Rules relates to paper documents, 'true copies' on paper, and analogue procedures, the Registration Act did not approve the usage of digital signature and digital execution and transfer of deeds in land transactions .

So the Registration Act and Rules needed to be amended with legislative provisions to enable the implementation of econveyancing.

For this purpose modern technological terms used in the field as e-governance, e-commerce, e-conveyancing , cadastre and land registry, institutional changes, legislative reforms, digital signature, hashing, encryption, asymmetric cryptography, crypto server, public key infrastructure (PKI), trusted third party (TTP), public key and private key must be analysed with due emphasis.

It is more important to adopt immediate initiative to make information networked and intelligent nation applying digital technologies. Our present government leads all activities for implementing the programs toward achieving the goal within the set time frame. But it is still far way to go to reach the Vision-2021 for a country like ours.

Reference

Reference Brammer, Hugh 2002 Land Use and Land Use Planning in Bangladesh , The University Press Ltd. Dhaka Brammer, Hugh 1996 The Geography of the Soils of Bangladesh , The University Press Ltd. Dhaka Khan, F.H. 2000 Geology of Bangladesh The University Press Ltd. Dhaka Islam, M. Rafiqul ed. 2004 Where Land Meets The Sea - A Profile Of The Coastal Zone Of Bangladesh The University Press Ltd. Dhaka Ali, A.M.M Shawkat 2007 Civil Service Management In Bangladesh â&#x20AC;&#x201C; An Agenda For Policy Reform The University Press Ltd. Dhaka Rafiuddin, Md. 2004 Shakhshya O Registration Ain Khosrose Kitab Mahal , Dhaka ( in Bangla) Ganguli, Basudev 2007 Bhumi Jarip Bidhi O Padhati Kamrul Book House, Dhaka Elizabeth A. Martin & Jonathan Law. 2008 Oxford Dictionary Of Law, Oxford University Press, New Delhi Ahmed, Alauddin 1995 Rural Land Use In Bangladesh, Bangladesh Academy For Rural Development (BARD ), Comilla Kabir, Dr.Lutful 2007 Land Laws Of Bangladesh, Ain Prokashan , Dhaka Rahman, Gazi Shamsur 2006 Wakf Ainer Vaisho, Dhaka Law Book House , Dhaka Law and Land Reforms, Dhaka.

Rahman S Gazi 1989 Annotation on Gr.P.C. Pallab Publishhers, Dhaka.

Rahman D 1906 Economic History of British India, London.

Sakur A 1988 Summary Civil procedure, Wall Printers and Publishing, Dhaka.

Siddiqui K 1998 Land Reform and Land Management in Bangladesh and West Bengal (A Comparative Study), University Press Limited, Dhaka.

Sobhan R 1993 Agrarian Reform and Social Transformation: Preconditions for Development, University Press Limited, Dhaka.

Johnson, Craig L., and Joyce Y. Man. 2001. Tax Increment Financing and Economic Development: Uses Structures, and Impacts, Suny Series in Public Administration. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Lawrence, D.B., and S.C. Stephenson. 1995. The Economics and Politics of Tax Increment Financing. Growth and Change 26 (1): 105.

Property Taxation and Local Government Finance: Essays in Honor of C. Lowell Harriss, edited by W. E. Oates. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Netzer, Dick. 1998. Land Value Taxation: Can It and Will It Work Today?

Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Wenzer, Kenneth C. 1999. Land-Value Taxation: The Equitable and Efficient Source of Public Finance. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

Bourassa, S.C. 1992. Economic Effects of Taxes on Land: A Review. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology 51 (11506): 109.

Gelfand, M. David, Joel A. Mintz, and Peter W. Salsich. 2000. State and Local Taxation and Finance in a Nutshell. 2nd ed. St. Paul, Minn.: West Group.

Hobson, Paul Alexander Robert. 1987. The Economic Effects of the Property Tax: A Survey. Ottawa: Economic Council of Canada.

Ladd, Helen F. 1998. Theoretical Controversies: Land and Property Taxation. Pp. 25-54 in Local Government Tax and Land Use Policies in the United States: Understanding the Links, edited by H. F. Ladd and W. E. Oates. Cheltenham, UK and Northhampton, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Edward Elgar. Paulson, D. 1977. Citizen Participation in Local Budgeting. Southern Review of Public Administration 1 (3): 293.

Paulson, D. 1977. Citizen Participation in Local Budgeting. Southern Review of Public Administration 1 (3): 293.

Johnson, Craig L., and Joyce Y. Man. 2001. Tax Increment Financing and Economic Development: Uses Structures, and Impacts, Suny Series in Public Administration. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Lawrence, D.B., and S.C. Stephenson. 1995. The Economics and Politics of Tax Increment Financing. Growth and Change 26 (1): 105.

Property Taxation and Local Government Finance: Essays in Honor of C. Lowell Harriss, edited by W. E. Oates. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Netzer, Dick. 1998. Land Value Taxation: Can It and Will It Work Today?

Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Wenzer, Kenneth C. 1999. Land-Value Taxation: The Equitable and Efficient Source of Public Finance. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

Bourassa, S.C. 1992. Economic Effects of Taxes on Land: A Review. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology 51 (11506): 109.

Gelfand, M. David, Joel A. Mintz, and Peter W. Salsich. 2000. State and Local Taxation and Finance in a Nutshell. 2nd ed. St. Paul, Minn.: West Group.

Hobson, Paul Alexander Robert. 1987. The Economic Effects of the Property Tax: A Survey. Ottawa: Economic Council of Canada.

Ladd, Helen F. 1998. Theoretical Controversies: Land and Property Taxation. Pp. 25-54 in Local Government Tax and Land Use Policies in the United States: Understanding the Links, edited by H. F. Ladd and W. E. Oates. Cheltenham, UK and Northhampton, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Edward Elgar.

Paulson, D. 1977. Citizen Participation in Local Budgeting. Southern Review of Public Administration 1 (3): 293.

Chao, C. C., and E. S. H. Yu. 2002. On Property Tax Coordination.

Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 25 (1): 67-79.

Lee, Kangoh. 2003. Should Land and Capital Be Taxed at a Uniform Rate? The Canadian Journal of Economics 36 (2): 350.

Mair, Douglas, and Richard Damania. 1988. The Ricardian Tradition and Local Property Taxation. Cambridge Journal of Economics 12 (4): 435- 49.

McGee, Robert W. 2004. The Philosophy of Taxation and Public Finance.

Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Netzer, Dick. 2001. Local Property Taxation in Theory and Practice.

Property Taxation and Local Government Finance: Essays in Honor of C. Lowell Harriss, edited by W. E. Oates. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. 182. Oates, Wallace E., ed. The Economics of Fiscal Federalism and Local Finance. Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar.

Oates, Wallace E., ed. 2001. Property Taxation and Local Government Finance: Essays in Honor of C. Lowell Harriss. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Swint, J.M., G.W. Stone, and R.T. Byrns. 1985. The Revenue Adequacy of Site Value Taxation in a Ricardian System of Economic Growth. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology 44 (1): 107.

Pullen, John. 2001. Henry George's Land Reform: The Distinction between Private Ownership and Private Possession. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology 60 (2): 547.

Bennett, R. J. 1980. The Geography of Public Finance: Welfare under Fiscal Federalism and Local Government Finance. London; New York: Methuen.

Bland, Robert L. 1989. A Revenue Guide for Local Government.

Washington, DC: International City Management Association (ICMA).

Cnossen, Sijbren, and Hans-Werner Sinn. 2003. Public Finance and Public Policy in the New Century. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hillman, Arye L. 2003. Public Finance and Public Policy: Responsibilities and Limitations of Government. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.

International Association of Assessing Officers. 2003. Property Tax Policy Student Reference Manual. Chicago, IL: International Association of Assessing Officers and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Laramie, Anthony J., and Douglas Mair. 2000. A Dynamic Theory of Taxation: Integrating Kalecki into Modern Public Finance. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar National Education Association of the United States. Research Division.

1998. Understanding the Property Tax. Washington, DC: NEA Research.

Pomp, Richard D., and Oliver Oldman. 1998. State & Local Taxation. 3rd ed. 3 vols. Hartford, CT: Richard D. Pomp.

Rosen, Harvey S. 2005. Public Finance. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Tresch, Richard W. 2002. Public Finance: A Normative Theory. 2nd ed. Amsterdam; Boston: Academic Press.Wallis, John Joseph. 2001. A History of the Property Tax in America. Property Taxation and Local Government Finance: Essays in Honor of C. Lowell Harriss, edited by W. E. Oates. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Chicoine, David L., and Norman Walzer. 1985. Governmental Structure and Local Public Finance. Boston: Oelgeschlager Gunn & Hain.

Fisher, Glenn W. 1989. Property Taxation and Local Government: Four Hypotheses. Property Tax Journal 8 (2): 113.

Paul, Diane B. 1975. The Politics of the Property Tax. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

McCluskey, William, ed. 1999. Property Tax: An International Comparative Review, Aldershot, U.K. Brookfield, VT and Sydney: Ashgate.

Rosengard, Jay K. 1997. Property Tax Reform in Developing Countries.

Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Mayo, Stephen K. 1998. Land Prices, Land Markets, and the Broader Economy. Land Lines, March 1998.

326. Netzer, Dick. 1993. Property Taxes: Their Past, Present, and Future Place in Government Finance. Pp. 51-78 in Urban Finance under Siege, edited by T. R. Swartz and F. J. Bowello. New York: M.E. Sharpe.

GOB, 1985. Ministry of Law, Justice No-803-pub 10th October,1985. The Registration (Amendment) Act ,1985.

GOB, 2002. Amendment of Act (XVI of 1908) GOB, 2004. Parliament of Bangladesh 2004, The Registration (Amendment) Act-2004.

GOB, 2002 Ministry of Law & Justice-2002, SRO-No-171-Law/2002, 1st Jaly-2002, Determination of Property Market Value Rules-2002.

GOB, 2002.Ministry of Law & Justice, Office of the Inspector General of Registration, SRO No.208/Law/2002, Amendment of Determination of Property Market value Rules.

GOB,2002 Ministry of Law & Justice, Office of the I.G.R, SRO-168Law/2002 Amending of order no 1/72/257/L 13th November,1973.

GOB 1998 Ministry of Law & Justice July 28, 1998, SRO No. 163-Law/98 Amending Order SRO No. 12-L/74/RE/69/74/219/ Rstn Dated 29th June, 1974 of Ministry of Land Administration and Land Reform.

GOB 2002 Ministry of Law & Justice, SRO No- 291-Law/200/ DO-SRO 158/2002 June 22, 2002 DO SRO No-219/Law/48/1-M-12/90 June, 20, 1994.

GOB 2005 Ministry of Law & Justice (2005) SRO No 82/2005, April, 6th 2005 Amendment of Registration Rules.

GOB 2004 National Board of Revenue (Value Added Tax) Order No 19/vat/2004 Dated September 7, 2004. Realizing VAT on Real Estate Companies.

GOB 2002 NBR, file no-NBR/Tax-7/ A.A.B/02/2002, Change Direct Tax on the Registration of Immovable Property Transfer.

GOB 2002NBR, file No-NBR/Tax-7/A.A.R/Budget/2004 (2)/148, Collection of Gain Tax on the Registration of Immovable Properties.

GOB 1966 Ministry of Local Government Notification No-29/S-VIII/4T1/(1961)/61/237-4th July, 1961, Model Tax Guidance. Government of Pakistan Ministry of Local Government (1966) Notification No-S-11/4T5/66/85-22nd June, 1966, Amendment in the East Pakistan District Council (Taxation) Rules,1960 GOB 1991 Ministry of Local Government,1994, SRO No-328Law/94/She-Law-1/1T-1/93/91, Amendment of Model Tax Schedule.

GOB, 1996 Ministry of Local Government,(1996), No-PROJE-4/JP112/92/677 Dated-15th October,1996, Division of Tax Realized in Immovable Property Transfer.

GOB 2002 Ministry of Local Government (2002), SRO-No-Law-41 Powra-2/Genm-1/2002, Repealing Pauro Shava Model, Tax Schedules, 1985 and Making Pauroshave Model Tax Schedule-2002.

GOB 2002 Ministry of Local Government SRO-No.245Law/2002/Pauro-1/2/M-04/2002.

Making Model Tax Schedule for Dhaka City Corporation Ahmad, A.J. Minhaj Uddin and Alam, AKM, Khairul, (1993).

Interpersonal Relationship in Upazila Administration: A study of Eight Upazila, Rural Development Academy, (RDA), Bogra, 1993.

Ahmad, A.J Minhaj Uddin and Mazid M.A. (1994) Workshop on Training of Trainers, RDA, Bogra, 1994.

Ahmed, Tofail1 993 Decentralisation and the local state under Peripheral Capitalism, Academic Publishers, Conyers, D and Hills P 1984 An Introduction to Development Planning in the Third World, Jhon Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1984.

Faizulla, Mohammad 1987 Development of Local Government in Bangladesh, NILG, Dhaka, 1987.

Faizullah, Mohammad, 1988 “Upazila Development Planning” Development Review, Vol.1, No.2, 1988.

GOB 1990 Third Five Year Plan 1985-90. Planning Commission, Dhaka,1990.

GOB 1994 Local Government Division, Memorandum no. Thana/Ba5/93/750/(10-60) dated 3rd August 1994 .GOB 1990 The Fourth Five Year Year Plan (1990-95), Planning Commission, 1990.

GOB 1985 The Third Five Year Plan (1985-90), Planning Commission, Dhaka, 1985.

Hye, Hasnat Abdul, “Integrated Rural Development – A Review of Major Issues,” Integrated Rural Development in Asia and The pacific, United Nation, Inter Agency Committee on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacxific, bangkok, 1989, pp.23-46.

Hye, H.A. and Sultan, K.M. Tipu: A Study on Decentralisation Reforms and Programmers in Bangladesh, BARD, Comilla, 1985.

Hye, H.A. (ed.) 1985 Decentralisation, Local Government Institutions and Resource Mobilisation, BARD, Comilla,1985.

Karim, Md.Abdul, 1988 Upazila Decentralisation in Bangladesh: An Administrative and Political Analysis, Department of Development Administration, University of Birmingham, Masters Dissertation 1988. (Mimeo).

Khan, Akbar, Ali 1986“Conflict and Coordination Problems in Upazila Administration” Journal of Bangladesh Young Economists Association, No. 3, 1986a .

Khan, Mohammad Mohabbat 1986 “Process of Decentralisation in Bangladesh” Community Development Journal, Vol.21, No.2, 1986b.

Khan Mohammad Mohabbat, 1987 Politics of Administrative Reform and Reorganisation in Bangladesh,” Public Administration and Development, Vol.7, No.4, 1987a.

Khan, M.M 1987 “Paradoxes of Decentralisation in Bangladesh,” Development Policy Review, Vol.5, No.4, 19, Khatun, Rafia 1986 Planning and Implementation of Development Programme in two Upazilas, NILG, 1986.

Mannan, M.A. et.al 1984 Training of Upazila Officials on Administrative Reorganisational/Reform RDA, Bogra, Mahtab, Nazmunnessa 1985 “Administrative Decentralisation and Rural development in Bangladesh: A Review of Upazila Administration” Indian Journal of Public Administration Vol.31, No.4, 1985, Mawhood, Philip (ed.), (1985) Local Government in The Third World: The Experience of Tropical Africa John Wiley and Sons Ltd. London, 1985.

Presthus, Robert V 1985 “Toward a Theory of Organisational Behaviour” Administrative Science Quarterly,Vol III, Prosser, A.R.G. 1969 “Community Development and its Relation to Development Planning” Journal of Administration Overseas, Vol. VIII, No.3, 1969.

Rahman, Md. Mahbubur 1985 “ An Approach to the Upazila Plan in Bangladesh” The Journal of Local Government, Vol.14, No.1, NILG,1985.

Soctt, William G 1969 “Organisation Theory: On Overview and Appraisal” in Litterer, J.A. Organisations: Structure and Behaviour Vol.1, John willey and Sons Inc. London, 1969.

Abdullah A 1976 Land Reform and Agrarian Change in Bangladesh” Journal of Bangladesh Development Studies, Vol. IV, No.1, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Dhaka.

Ahmed KU and AA Baroi 1994 Bhumi Zorip Paddhati Teknikal Rules (in Bangla): Land Survey Methods an Technical Rules, Paura Prokashani, Dhaka.

Ahmed M 1991 Land to the Landless: A Reference Book on Khas Land Allocation in Bangladesh, Asian Cultural Forum on Development (ACFOD), Bangkok, Thailand.

Ahmed S and S Rahman 1992 Poverty Alleviation through Access to Land, CIRDAP and EDI, Dhaka.

Alamgir MK (ed) 1981 Land Reform in Bangladesh, Centre for Social Studies, Dhaka.

Ali K 1987 History of Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.

Ali AMMS 1986 Politics and Land System in Bangladesh, NILG Agargaon , Dhaka.

APO, 1993 Report of APO Symposium on Rural Land use in Asia and The Pacific, 29th Sept-6th Oct 1992, Tokyo.

BARC 1998 Task Force Report on Agricultural Research and Development Plan for the Coastal Region of Bangladesh, Dhaka.

Bangladesh Economy 2000, Development Studies, Dhaka.

Baque A 1998 Peopling in the Land of Allah Jane. Power Peopling and Environment: The Case of Char-lands in Bangladesh, University Press Limited, Dhaka.

Barkat A 1999 “Poverty among Youth Population in Bangladesh: Nature, Extent and Alleviation Possibilities” Dhaka.

Barkat A 1998 “Governance of Public Health in Bangladesh,” R. Sobhan ed. Crisis in Governance: A Review of Bangladesh’s Development 1997, CPD and UPL, Dhaka.

Bose S 1996 Agrarian Bengal: Economy, Social Structure and Politics 1999-1947, Cambridge University Press, London.

Chowdhury AM, A Hakim and SA Rashid (1997). “ Historical Overview of the Land System in Bangladesh” in Land, Vol.3 No.3, Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD), Dhaka.

FAO 2002 “Gender and Access to Land” FAO Land Tenure Studies 4, Rome.

FAO 2002 Land Tenure Rural Development” FAO Land Tenure Studies 4, Rome.

GOB 2004 Bangladesh Economic Review 2004 (in Bangla), Ministry of finance, Dhaka.

GOB 2003 Population census 2001, National Report (Provisional), BBS, Ministry of Planning, Dhaka.

GOB 1999 Report on Agriculture of Agriculture Commission (final draft, May 1999), Dhaka.

GOB 1998.Fifth Five Year Plan (1997-2002), Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, Bangladesh.

GOB , Agricultural Census 1996, BBS , Ministry of Planning, Bangladesh, Dhaka.

GOB 1994 The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Ministry of Law, Justice, Dhaka.

GOB 1993 Statistical Pocketbook of Bangladesh, 1993.BBS , Dhaka.

GOB 1993 Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics of Bangladesh 1992, , Ministry of Planning, Dhaka.

GOB , Agricultural Census 1983-84, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Dhaka.

GOB 1989 Yearbook of Agricultural statistics of Bangladesh 1987-88, Ministry of Planning , Dhaka.

GOB 1987 Bhumi Prashasan Manual, Land Administration Board, Ministry of Land, Dhaka.

GOB 1987 Method of Settlement of Agricultural and Non-agricultural Government Khas Land, Ref.No. 8-46/84/24 (64), dtd. 6.1.86, Ministry of Land Administration and Land Reforms, Dhaka.

GOB 1984 The State Acquisition and Tenancy Act, 1980 (as modified upto 1983), Bangladesh Government printing Press, Ministry of Law and Land Reforms, Dhaka.

GOB 1983 Land Administration and Land Reforms, Memo No. 115 (20)V-105/82(1)-L.S, dtd. 10.5.83 Section V, Ministry of Law and Land Reforms, Dhaka.

GOB 1982 Land Administration and Land Reforms, Memo No. 537-V105/82-L.S dtd. 27.12.82. Section V, Ministry of Acts and rules: STAMP Rules. No. RD 149 MUNOMU 2003, Bangalore, dated 14th August, 2003. Karnataka Stamp and Certain Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003. Karnataka Act. No. 8 of 2003: 7.

Bhagat, R. B. (2005). Urban Growth by City and Town Size in India. annual meeting of Population Association of America, Philadelphia, USA. Dale, P. F. and J. D. McLaughlin (1988). Land Information Management - An introduction with special reference to cadastral problems in The Third World Countries. New York, Oxford University Press.

ECE/HBP/96 (1996). Land Administration Guidelines - with special reference to Countries in transition. E. C. f. Europe. Geneva: Hussain, M., F. M. Qureshi, et al. (2005). "Assessing Applicability of GIS as a Development Management Tool at Local Level: A Case Study of The City District Government, Lahore- Pakistan." Map Middle East 2005.

Milller, A. (2000). "Property Taxes & Valuation in Denmark." Facts About Denmark: 22. NagarajaRao, H. V. (1996). Population Dynamics of Bangalore. Seminar on Environment related issues of Bangalore, Bangalore.

NNRMS (2005). Natural Resources Repository (NRR) - Programme Document. Bangalore, NNRMS / ISRO P.V.Rajasekhar (2005). Bhoomi: an eConveyancing (Indian) Solution for Secure Land Tenure. Expert Group Meeting on secure land tenure: 'new legal frameworks and tools' UNESCAP, Thailand, Bangkok, 8-9 December 2005.

Agrawala, S, Ota, T, Ahmed, A. U, Smith, J, and Aalst, M. V., 2003.

Development and Climate Change in Bangladesh: Focus on Coastal Flooding and the Sundarbans, OECD, Paris, France.

Ahmed, A. U. and Alam, M., 1999. Development of Climate Change Scenarios with General Circulation Models, In Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change for Bangladesh, S. Huq, Z. Karim, M. Asaduzzaman and F. Mahtab (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

Ahmed, A.U. and Mirza, M.M.Q, 2000, “Review of Causes and Dimensions of Floods with Particular Reference to Flood ’98: National Perspectives”. In Q.K. Ahmad, A. K. A. Chowdhury, S.H. Imam, M. Sarker, (Eds.) Perspectives on Flood 1998, The University Press Limited, Dhaka, pp.142.

Alam, M, Nishat, A, Siddique, S, M., 1999. Water Resources Vulnerability to Climate Change with Special References to Inundation, In Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change for Bangladesh, S. Huq, Z. Karim, M. Asaduzzaman and F. Mahtab (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

BBS, 1998. Household Expenditure Survey 1995-96. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Dhaka.

BBS, 2002. Statistical Year Book of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Government of Bangladesh.

BBS, 2003. Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Government of Bangladesh.BCAS/RA/Approtech, 1994. Vulnerability of Bangladesh to Climate Change and Sea Level Rise: Concepts and Tools for Calculating Risk in Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Farashuddin, M., 2001. 'Bangladesh Development Agenda and Vision 2020: Rhetoric or Reality?', The Independent, April 29, Dhaka.

FMP, 1995. Forestry Management Plan, Department of Forest, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of Bangladesh.

Habibullah, M., Ahmed, A.U. and Karim, Z., 1998. Assessment of Foodgrain Production Loss Due to Climate Induced Soil Salinity: A Case Study, in Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change for Bangladesh, S. Huq, Z. Karim, M. Asaduzzaman and F. Mahtab (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1998. pp 51- 66.

Haider, R. (ed), 1992. “Cyclone '91 Revisited”, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, Dhaka.

Huq, S., 2002. Lessons Learned from Adapting to Climate Change in Bangladesh. Submitted to Climate Change Team, The World Bank,

Washington DC (available online at http://www.iied.org/climate_change/pubs.html Huq, S., Karim, Z., Asaduzzaman, M and Mahtab, F. (eds), 1999.

Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change for Bangladesh, Kluwer Academic publishers, Dordrecht Karim, Z., 1996. Agricultural Vulnerability and Poverty Alleviation in Bangladesh. In Climate Change and World Food Security, T.E. Downing (Ed.), NATO ASI Series, . Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Hiedelberg, 1996. pp. 307-346.

Karim, Z., Hussain, S.G. and Ahmed, M., 1990. Salinity problems and crops intensification in the coastal region of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Dhaka.

Karim, Z., Hussain, S.G. and Ahmed, M., 1996. “Assessing impacts of climate variations on foodgrain production in Bangladesh.” Water, Air, and Soil Pollution MOF, 2001. Bangladesh Economic Survey. Ministry of Finance (MOF), Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka.

MPO, 1991, “National Water Management Plan: Phase II, Final Report”, MasterPlanning Organization (MPO), Ministry of Irrigation, Water Development andFlood Control, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka.

Rahman, A., and Alam, M, 2003. Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Working Paper 2: Bangladesh Country Case Study. IIED, London, UK Rashid, H., 1991, Geography of Bangladesh, The University Press Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

SRDI, 1997. Task Force Report, Soil Resources Development Institute, Dhaka Bangladesh.

UNDP, 2001. Human Development Report: 2001. United States Development Program (UNDP), Oxford University Press, New York.

UNDP, 2004. Human Development Report: 2004. United States Development Program (UNDP), Oxford University Press, New York.

WARPO, 2000. Main Report Volume No. 2, National Water Management Plan Project, Ministry of Water Resources, GOB. WB, 1997. World Development Report 1997. The World Bank, Washington D.C. World Bank and BCAS. 1998. Bangladesh 2020: A Long-run Perspective Study, The World Bank and Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS).

The University Press Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

World Bank, 2000. “Bangladesh: Climate Change and Sustainable Development.

Report No. 21104-BD”, Rural Development Unit, South Asia Region, The World Bank (WB), Dhaka.

World Bank. 2002. World Development Indicators. CD Rom. World Bank, Washington, DC UNCITRAL, Model Law on Electronic Commerce, 1996, Articles 1---15 Information Technology Act, 2000 (India), section 1—88.

(Singapore) Electronic Transactions Act, 1998, section 1—15.

Fernandes, E. and A.Varley (eds.), Illegal Cities Law and Urban Change in Developing Countries, Zed, London.

Fourie, C. 1999 Best Practices on Access to Land and Security of Tenure, Background report produced for United Nations Center for Human Settlement (UNCHS), Nairobi.

Payne, G. 1997 Urban Land Tenure and Property Rights in Developing Countries A Review, IT Publications/ODA. United Nations/Federation of International Surveyors 1996 The Bogor Declaration, United Nations Inter-Regional Meeting of Cadastral Experts, Bogor, Indonesia,18th-22nd March,1996.

United Nations/Federation of International Surveyors 1999 The Bathurst Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable Development, Bathurst, 18th-22nd October, 1999.

United Nations Centre for Human Settlement (Habitat) 1990 Guidelines for the Improvement of Land Registration and Land Information Systems in Developing Countries, Nairobi.

United Nations Centre for Human Settlement (Habitat) 1996 New Delhi, Habitat II Global Conference on Access to Land and Security of Tenure as a Condition for Sustainable Shelter and Urban Development, New Delhi, India (17th-19th January, 1996).

Colwell, P.F and P.K. Asabere. 1985. A relative lot area hypothesis: An empirical note. Urban Studies 22(4):355-357.

Colwell, P.F. and R.E. Cannaday. 1981a. A unified field theory of the income approach to appraisal: Part I. The Real Estate Appraiser and Analyst 47(1):5-9.

A unified field theory of the income approach to appraisal: Part II. The Real Estate Appraiser and Analyst 47(2):29-43.

A unified field theory of the income approach to appraisal: Part III. The Real Estate Appraiser and Analyst 47(3):25-37 Real estate valuation models: Lender and equity investor criteria.

AREUEA Journal 14(2):317- 337.

'Abd Al-Kader, Ali (1959) 'Land, Property and Land Tenure in Islam' 5

Islamic Quarterly 4-11 Altug, Yilmaz (1968) 'Legal Rules Concerning Land Tenure in the Ottoman Empire' 18 Annales De La Faculte De Droit Istanbul 153-169 Bukhari, Saleem M. (1982) 'Squatting and the Use of Islamic Law' 6(5/6) Habitat International 555-563 Jorgens, Denise (2000) 'A Comparative examination of the provisions of the Ottoman Land Code and Khedive Said's law of 1858' in R. Owen (ed) New Perspectives on Property and Land in the Middle East (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press) Lambton, Ann K. S. (1953) Landlord and Tenant in Persia: A Study of Land Tenure and Land Revenue Administration (London: Oxford University Press) Modaressi, Hossein (1983) Kharaj in Islamic Law (London, Anchor) Owen, Roger (2000) 'Introduction' in R. Owen (ed) New Perspectives on Property and Land in the Middle East (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press) Payne, Geoffrey (2001) 'Innovative Approaches to Tenure' 7(1) Habitat Debate Payne, Geoffrey (2002), Land, Rights and Innovation: Improving Tenure Security for the Urban Poor (London : ITDG) Rayner, Susan E. (1991) The Theory of Contracts in Islamic Law (London: Graham & Trotman) Schaebler, Brigitte (2000) ‘Practising Musha: Common Lands and the Common Good in Southern Syria Under the Ottomans and the French’ R. Owen (ed) New Perspectives on Property and Land in the Middle East (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press) Syed Habibul Haq, Nadvi (1971) Al-Iqta - or Theory of Land Ownership in Islam (Islamabad: Islamic Studies) UN-HABITAT (2003) The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human Settlements (London: Earthscan) Wilkinson, John C. (1990) 'Muslim Land and Water Law' 1 Journal of Islamic Studies 54-72 Ziadeh, Farhat J. (1985) 'Land Law and Economic Development in Arab Countries' 33 The American Journal of Comparative Law Zubaida, Sami (2003) Law and Power in the Islamic World (London and New York: IB Tauris) Colwell, P.F., R.E. Cannaday, and C. Wu. 1983. The analytical foundations of adjustment grid methods. AREUEA Journal 11(1):11-29.

Weighting schemes for adjustment grid methods of appraisal. Appraisal Review Journal 7(1):24-31.

Colwell, P.F., C.A. Dehring, and N.A. Lash. 2000. The effect of group homes on neighborhood property values. Land Economics 76(4):615Colwell, P.F. and G. Dilmore. 1999. Who was first? An examination of an early hedonic study. Land Economics 75(4):620-626.

Colwell, P.F., S.S. Gujral, and C. Coley. 1985. The impact of a shopping center on the value of surrounding properties. Real Estate Issues 10(1):35- 39.

Colwell, P.F., W. N. Kinnard, and G. Beron. 2003. The cost approach and functional obsolescence. In Essays in honor of William N. Kinnard, Jr., C.F. Sirmans and E.M. Worzala, eds., 65-80. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Colwell, P.F. and D.W. Marshall. 2002. The unit-comparison cost approach in residential appraisal. In Real Estate Valuation Theory, K. Wang and M.L. Wolverton, eds., 357-372. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Colwell, P.F. and H J. Munneke. 1997. The structure of urban land prices. Journal of Urban Economics 41(3):321-336.

Land prices and land assembly in the CBD. The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 18(2):163-180.

Estimating a price surface for vacant land in an urban area. Land Economics 79(1):15-28. Bargaining strength and property class in the office market. The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, forthcoming. Directional Land Value Gradients, manuscript under review.

Colwell, P.F., H.J. Munneke, and J.W. Trefzger. 1998. Chicago’s office market: Price indices, location, and time. Real Estate Economics 26(1):83- 106.

Colwell, P.F. and M. Ramsland. 2003. Coping with technological change: The case of retail. The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 26(1):47-63.

Colwell, P.F. and T.F. Scheu. 1994. A history of site valuation rules: Functions and empirical evidence. Journal of Real Estate Research 9(3):353- 362 Aufreiter, R. (2001). Biometrics and Cryptography: White Paper, Utimaco Safeware AG. 2001.

Bernhard, W. and S. Kaltschmidt (2003). Signature Server: Technical Whitepaper, Utimaco Safeware AG. HM Land Registry (2003). The Strategy for the Implementation of eConveyancing in England and Wales, H M Land Registry.

HM Land Registry (2005). e-Conveyancing: The Story so far, H M Land Registry.

HM Land Registry (2005a). e-Conveyancing: A Land Registry Consultation, H M Land Registry.

HM Land Registry and Law Commission (1998). Land Registration for the Twenty-First Century- A Consultation Document. England, A Joint Law Commission & H M Land Registry Report.

Inland Revenue (2002). Modernizing Stamp Duty on land and buildings in the UK: A consultative Document., Inland Revenue. Leenders, G. (2005). Visit and Discussion on 12th July, Dutch Kadaster.

Lemmen, C., P. van der Molen, et al. (2004). e-Land Administration: An International Seminar in Innsbruck. TS5 – e-Land Administration and eGovernment: 3rd FIG Regional Conference, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Locke, C. (2004). Defining the service: e-Conveyancing, HM Land Registry.

Louwman, W. (2002). Future electronic registration of deeds in the Netherlands. Conference of Land Registrars, Dublin, FIG OICRF. Meadows J and Richardson J (2005). Visit and Discussion on 22nd July.

London, HM Land Registry.

NIST (2002). Specifications for the Secure Hash Standard: FIPS Publication 180-2, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Stolk P and Lemmen C (2003). Technical Aspects of Electronics Conveyancing. TS5 e-GovernmentAspects of Land, 2nd FIG Regional Conference, Marakech, Morocco.

UN-ECE (2000). Study on Key Aspects of Land Registration and Cadastral Legislation. London, UN ECE Working Party on Land Administration,.

Utimaco Safeware AG (2002). Secure E-mail:SafeGuard Sign&Crypt for Outlook/Notes, Utimaco Safeware AG. 2005. van der Molen P (2001). Data Communication: A Lifeline between Land Administration Organizations and Society. International Conference FIG Working Week 2001, Seoul, Korea, OICR Roger A.McCain, p. J., Stephen Meyer (2003). Resarch on Valuation of Land Improvements in Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Deportment of Economics and International Business, LeBow Business Administration, Drrexel University . 25. RRSSC (2005). GeoReferencing of Village (Cadastral) Maps - Background Paper. Nagpur, RRSSC / NNRMS / ISRO. Saxena, A. (2003). "Remote Sensing & GIS in assessing physical transformation of Bhopal city, India." Map Asia 2003 Ting, L. and I. Williamson (1999). Land administration and cadastral trends: the impact of the changing humankind-land relationship and major global drivers. UN-FIG Conference on Land Tenure and Cadastral Infrastructures for Sustainable Development., Melbourne, Australia.

Tuladhar,A.M.(2004). Property Valuation - Business of Land Administration & National Surveys.ITC GIM Module 7 Lecture Notes: p 31-32 .

Tuladhar, A. M., M. Radwan, et al. (2005). Federated Data Model to Improve Accessibility of Distributed Cadastral Databases in Land Administration. FIG Working Week 2005 and GSDI-8, April 16-21, 2005, Cairo, Egypt.

Yomralioglu, T. and R. Nisanci (2001). National Asset Land Valuation Technique by GIS. Trabzon,Turkey: The use of a particular property valuation technique on property type and the purpose of the valuation.

Economic Commission for Europe. Guide on the adaptation of property laws in the countries of central and eastern Europe including questions of ownership, valuation, security and restitution (TRADE/WP.5/R.13).

FIG Publications No. 5. Surveyor’ s contribution to land management. FIG Bureau, Finland, 1991.

FIG Publication. Statement on the cadastre. FIG Bureau, Australia, 1995.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Computer applications to the cadastre and land registration in the Near East, Rome, 1993.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Cadastral surveys and records of rights in land. Rome, 1995.

National Research Council. Need for a multi-purpose cadastre. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1980.

National Research Council. Procedures and standards for a multi-purpose cadastre. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1982.

United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. Guidelines for the improvement of land-registration and land-information systems in developing countries. Nairobi, 1990.

Khan, Muhammed Mustafa (1989) Islamic Law of Inheritance (New Delhi: Nusrat Ali Nasri for Kitab Bhavan) Bathurst Declaration on Cadastral Reform (1999) UN FIG Cadastral Parcel in Spatial Data Infrastructures and INSPIRE – report by Working Group of Euro geographics and Permanent Committee on the Cadastre Camp, Robert C (2000). The Path to Excellence – Lead Article Benchmarking in Europe published by PSi Group in association with the European Benchmarking Forum Common Assessment Framework (CAF). (2002) Improving and Organization Through Self-Assessment - The Innovative Public Service Group, European Institute of Public Administration COST Action G 9 and FIG Commission 7 (2004) Workshop on standardization in the cadastral domain European Competitiveness and Benchmarking Report (2004) European

Commission EULIS. European Land Information Service INSPIRE Directive - Spatial Information in the European Community.

(2007) Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council Inventory of Land Administration Systems in Europe and North America (2005) HM Land Registry London on behalf of UN ECE Working Party on Land Administration Land Administration Guidelines (2005) UN Economic Commission for Europe Liikanen, Erkki (2000). Promoting Enterprise and Innovation through Benchmarking â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Benchmarking Europe Multilingual Thesaurus on Land Tenure. (2003) UN Food and Agriculture Organization Steudler, Danial and Williamson, Ian P. (2000) A framework for Benchmarking Land Administration Systems â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FIG XX11 International Congress, Washington, D.C.