Land as a Human Right

Abdon Rwegasira

Description

Wherever there is a person's right, there is a corresponding duty imposed upon that person to respect the rights of others. This co-existence of rights and duties may be explained better by the principle of reciprocity of rights and duties. Such is the basis of Land as a Human Right: A History of Land Law and Practice in Tanzania. The esteemed author documents Tanzanian land law along its line of historical development (pre- and post-independence) whereby the thorny issues about 'rights' and 'duties' of the landed, landless and the intermediaries are elucidated.
This volume is not limited to events in Tanzania, but includes jurisprudence of land law of other countries in order to tap some interpretative devices of our own by way of analogies. Various case types- reported and unreported, local and foreign- provide a tangible content to what would otherwise be pure theory. He also makes references to local newspapers as a way of tapping the public responses about land-related matters.
His survey of such cases in and outside Tanzania led automatically to judgments touching on women's right to matrimonial property and inheritance; individual and collective rights to land; and the right to land of the indigenous peoples. It is the author's view that land law has remained poorly documented in Tanzania. There is plenty of literature about Land Law, yet these sources are not easily available or even accessible to every interested person. Equally, some of the available literature is so old that it may not always depict land law and/or practice as we tend to understand it today.
This volume is a comprehensive text on land law in which all the necessary land law principles are highlighted with great precision. Advocate Rwegasira does this with a human rights approach, believing that it is through this approach that a person's right to land, whether individual or collective, can best be explained, especially in this era when conflict over land is unabatedly becoming central in family, communal and societal relations. The language of human rights is for all of us to speak. It follows, therefore, that practitioners both of the bar and the bench will also find it useful for quick reference, much as will do policy makers, law reformers and the general public in and outside Tanzania.

Sujets

• Law

Informations

• Publié par: Mkuki na Nyota Publishers
• Date de parution: 05 septembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• EAN13: 9789987082148
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

ABDON RWEGASIRA
LAND AS A HUMAN RIGHT
Wherever there is a person’s right, there is a corresponding duty imposed upon that
person to respect the rights of others. Tis co-existence of rights and duties may be
explained better by the principle of reciprocity of rights and duties. Such is the basis
of Land as as Human Right: A History of Land Law and Practice in Tanzania. Te
esteemed author documents Tanzanian land law along its line of historical development
(pre- and post-independence) whereby the thorny issues about “rights” and “duties” of
the landed, landless and the intermediaries are elucidated.
Tis volume is not limited to events in Tanzania, but includes jurisprudence of land
law of other countries in order to tap some interpretative devices of our own by way
of analogies. Various case types- reported and unreported, local and foreign- provide a LANDtangible content to what would otherwise be pure theory. He also makes references to
local newspapers as a way of tapping the public responses about land-related matters.
His survey of such cases in and outside Tanzania led automatically to judgments AS A HUMAN RIGHT
touching on women’s right to matrimonial property and inheritance; individual and
collective rights to land; and the right to land of the indigenous peoples. It is the A HISTORY OF LAND LAW AND PRACTICE IN TANZANIA
author’s view that land law has remained poorly documented in this country. Tere
is plenty of literature about Land Law of Tanzania, yet these sources are not easily
available or even accessible to every interested person. Equally, some of the available
literature is so old that it may not always depict land law and/or practice as we tend
to understand it today.
Tis volume is a comprehensive text on land law in which all the necessary land law
principles are highlighted with great precision. Advocate Rwegasira does this with a
human rights approach, believing that it is through this approach that a person’s right
to land, whether individual or collective can best be explained, especially in this era
when confict over land is unabatedly becoming central in family, communal and
societal relations. Te language of human rights is for all of us to speak. It follows,
therefore, that practitioners both of the bar and the bench will also fnd it useful for
quick reference, much as will do policy makers, law reformers and the general public
in and outside Tanzania.
Abdon Rwegasira is Assistant Lecturer and staff member of the School of
Law, University of Dar es Salaam where he teaches Public International Law,
International Humanitarian Law and the Law of Human Rights. He is also a
practicing advocate of the High Court of Tanzania and partner of Law Care
Chambers where he heads the litigation section.
ABDON RWEGASIRALAND AS A HUMAN RIGHT
A History of Land Law and Practice in TanzaniaLAND AS A HUMAN RIGHT
A History of Land Law and Practice in Tanzania
Abdon Rwegasira
LL.B [Hons] (Udsm), LL.M (Udsm),
Assistant Lecturer, School of Law (Formerly Faculty of Law),
University of Dar es Salaam, & Advocate of the High Court of Tanzaniapublished by
Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd
Nyerere Road, Quality Plaza Building
P. O. Box 4246
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
www.mkukinanyota.com
[e-mail]
© Abdon Rwegasira, 2012
ISBN 978-9987-08-152-3
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the Mkuki na Nyota Pulishers
Tis book is sold subject to the condition that it should not by way of trade or otherwise be
lent, re-sold, hire out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form
of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.Contents
Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .x
Preface . . . xi
Abbreviations and Acronyms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Human Rights Movement
and the Right to Land in Tanzania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
A General Overview on Political Discourse over the Right to Land. . . . . . . . . . .2
Land Question in Historical Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Land Conficts Arising from Colonial Occupation in Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Te Concept of Human Rights: A General Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Land as a Human Right: Te Position in International Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Land as a Human Right: Te Law and Practice in Tanzania 30
Land Law Reforms and Tenure Systems
in Tanzania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Land, Land Tenure and Land Law Reforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Te Pre-Colonial Land Tenure Systems in Tanzania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Tenure Systems and Land Law Reforms under German Colonial Rule. . . . . . .53
Tenure Systems and Land Law Reforms under British Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Te Post-Independence Land Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Te Land Acts as the New Land Law of Tanzania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91Land Delivery Systems:
Te Acquisition of Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Land Allocation by the State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Land Acquisition by Purchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Land Acquisition by Adverse Possession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Land Acquisition by Inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Land Acquisition by Gif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Co-occupancy and Partition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Rights and Obligations of the Holder of a Right of Occupancy . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Easement and Analogous Rights 128
Land Delivery Syetems: Disposition
of Land or Interests in Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Land Transfer by Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Transfer of Land Interests by Lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Transfer of Land Interests by Mortgage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181
Compulsory Acquisition of Land by the State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203
Succession and the Law
of Inheritance in Tanzania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Testacy, Intestacy and Freedom of Testation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Laws of Inheritance and their Scope of Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
Rules of Procedure in the Administration of Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234
Powers and Duties of Administrators of Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
Te Role of an Administrator-General in Administration of Estate . . . . . . . . .251
Women and the Right to Land in Tanzania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Te International Law Jurisprudence on Women’s Right to Land . . . . . . . . . . .254
Te Domestic Jurisprudence on Women’s Right
to Land before the Land Acts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259
National Jurisprudence on Women’s Right to Land under the Land Acts . . .278Te Right to Land of the Indigenous Minorities
in Tanzania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
General Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
International Concern on the Right to Land of Indigenous
and Minority People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
Te Tanzanian Jurisprudence on the Right to Land
of the Indigenous Minorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299
Te Right to Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Te Right to Compensation in International Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
Compensatio