The Groningen Centre for Law and Governance (GCLG) and the University of Cape Town collaborated with the Global Land Tool Network and True Price to convene the fourth annual colloquium on Expropriation Law in Cape Town. The annual meetings of this project concentrate on narrowly defined aspects of expropriation, and facilitate discussion amongst international academics and other experts on shared issues in Expropriation Law. The project gives delegates the opportunity to participate on the global platform, alongside leading scholars in the field of expropriation law.

This article was submitted for the UN Economic Commission for Africa “2017 Conference on Land Policy in Africa” Nov. 14-17 2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

This article sheds light on a series of events that triggered escalating tensions over land and resources in the coastal communities of Lagos, Nigeria. This article provides an in-depth analysis of Nigeria’s laws on expropriation and the processes of acquiring land and compensating landholders in the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) case. Specifically, the analysis addresses the following research questions:

This Decree provides principles, regulations and standards on the management, monitoring of compensation of losses and the management of resettlement activities in order to properly and effectively implement development projects with the aims to ensure that the affected people are compensated, resettled and are assisted with permanent livelihood alternatives leading to improving of living conditions to be better off or to be at the same level as they were before as well as to ensure that the projects can contribute to the socio-economic development of the nation in sustainable manners.

The Land Governance Assessment Framework (LGAF) is a diagnostic tool for the evaluation of the legal framework, policies and practices regarding land and land use. The LGAF is based on a comprehensive review of available conceptual and empirical material regarding experience in land governance (refer to Land Governance Assessment Framework: Conceptual Approach, Formulation and Methodology). In 1995, the Uganda government embarked on land reform starting with the Constitutional provisions. Land reform was imperative because of the country’s turbulent land tenure history.

This report is in relation to a study on the Land Tenure and Livelihood Issues in the Albertine Graben Region. The study was carried out in three districts of Amuru Buliisa and Hoima. The study specifically focused on tenurial arrangements and land transactions in the region. The ultimate outcome of this study will be drawing of policy issues for policy engagement and dialogue towards a comprehensive policy direction to land governance in the Albertine Graben.

The meaning and scope of the concept of Community-Based Property Rights (CBPR) has become a dominant feature of conservation and development policy discourse over the last decade. The debate has largely been shaped by the growing trends where governments have continued to appropriate traditional lands for conservation and development activities that have resulted into large scale dislocation and widespread disenfranchisement of sections of our society.

London-based New Forests Company (NFC) would seem to be the design blueprint of how a young modern company should conduct a major land investment in Africa in a responsible way. Oxfam’s investigations reveal that serious allegations by people who were evicted from land to make way for NFC’s operations remain unresolved. How will the company respond?

Since Karamoja is richly endowed with gold, marble, iron ore, tungsten, limestone, oil and gas, it has attracted many investors, in particular since the protracted  armed conflicts in northern Uganda started fading away. Approximately  1 7,000 km2 or 62% of the total land area of Karamoja has been licensed for mineral  exploration  and exploitation (Kabiswa, 2014).

This report investigates cases of land grabbing in Uganda, focusing in particular on oil palm plantations in Kalangala, Lake Victoria. It assesses the impacts on rural communities and on the local environment, and questions who benefits from these projects.

A constitutional amendment bill has been tabled before Parliament with the primary aim of overhauling the Constitutional Right to Protection from deprivation of property (Article 26).

The ways in which people obtain land in Uganda are changing fast. Land that used to be secured through inheritance, gifts or proof of long-term occupancy is now more commonly changing hands in the market. Those with wealth and powerful connections are frequently able to override local rules and gain access to land at the expense of poorer individuals. Government-backed agribusiness investors receive large areas of land with benefits for some local farmers who are able to participate in the schemes, while other smallholders see their land access and livelihoods degraded.

Compulsory acquisition is the power of government to acquire private rights in land for a public purpose, without the willing consent of its owner or occupant. This power is known by a variety of names depending on a country’s legal traditions, including eminent domain, expropriation, takings  and  compulsory purchase.