Экзамен зачет учебный год 2023 / Zevenbergen, Land Registration

7.1Concluding Summary

Here the study’s question and the research questions formulated in § 1.3.2 will be answered. Since the final answer to the study’s question is based on the answers to the research questions, the latter will be dealt with first.

7.1.1 Answers to the Research Questions

Each of the chapters 2 - 6 is based on one of the research questions. After repeating the question, the main line of the answer given in the chapters is given here.

A.What is land registration and how has it developed?

This question is answered in chapter 2, following the line of (historical) development. Large parts of this line can be found through time in most countries.

Land registration can be described as “the process of recording legally recognized interests (ownership and/or use) in land” (McLaughlin/Nichols 1989: 81). It links together the owner, right (title) and parcel (see Figure 2.1). Four types of transaction evidence can be identified (oral agreement; private conveyancing; deeds registration; and title registration). Only the last two really constitute land registration (see Figure 2.2).

Units of land have to be made separately identifiable in one way or another, e.g. through the use of cadastral or index maps and identifiers (see § 2.2.5).

Although often the emphasis is on the differences between the systems in different countries, several often used principles and features exist. An important list of principles consists of the speciality, booking, consent and publicity principles. An important list of features includes security, simplicity, accuracy, expedition, cheapness, suitability to its circumstances and completeness of the record. These features can be said to reflect the expectations society has of a system of land registration. The are summarized in the ‘trustworthiness’ of the system.

B.What classifications of (parts of) systems of land registrations are used, and how usable are these?

This question is answered in chapter 3. In addition to the (overused) classification in title registration vs deeds registration, six other classifications are covered. They are negative versus positive systems; race vs notice statutes; parcel identification systems; fixed vs general boundaries; systematic vs sporadic adjudication; and organization of registry and cadastre. At best the classifications can be used to classify a subor aspect system of the system of land registration. But even for such part systems it only supplies a onedimensional classification, where usually a multi-dimensional array of attributes, each of which can have different occurrences, would be needed to fully describe the different systems that can be found world wide. Projecting such complexities into a one-dimensional classification is bound to lead to the almost emotional discussion that sometimes springs up around title vs deeds and fixed vs general.

In the end the differences are mainly caused by how the system deals with differences between the abstract concept and the ‘reality on the ground’. Ultimately it is more important that the system has clear rules for the most apparent cases of such differences, than how these rules read.

C.What is the systems approach, and how can it be used to (conceptually) model systems of land registration?

Within the systems approach systems are primarily studied as a whole. For this study a system is a set of elements together with relationships between the elements and between their attributes related to each other and to their environment so as to form a whole that aims to reach a certain goal. Each of the italic terms is explained and applied to systems of land registration. The system as a whole is characterized by emergent properties, of which the trustworthiness of a system of land registration is a clear example.

Figure 4.5; The system of land registration abstracted as an input - output model

Land registration is presented as an open system, and is depicted as a ‘black box’ in an input - throughput - output model. In the context of this study as input into the system the (factual) land tenure situation and as output the legal security are chosen (Figure 4.5).

Figure 4.8; Dynamic model of the system of land registration ('mushroom' encompasses the static model)

For describing land registration both the static and dynamic system are useful. The static system concentrates on describing which information is kept and how. It re-iterates the link of owner, right (title) and parcel (see Figure 2.1). The dynamic system concentrates on the three functions of adjudication, transfer of whole parcel and subdivision. Whereas the first one is a once occurring activity (project), the other two are a continuous process (updating), as can be seen in Figure 4.8. The two updating functions are further broken down into a

list of tasks, most of which are present in any system. For each task a number of questions are formulated. This leads to a table (see Figure 4.11) which can be completed for any system (this is done in chapter 6 for each case).

The modeling results should be seen in a proper perspective. In the first place it is a first attempt in this direction. In the second place the models concentrate on the technical, legal, and organizational aspects, leaving the social-cultural and financial-economical aspects out of the heart of the model. In the third place any study, and certainly a case study, is biased to the cases studied, which in this study do not represent all important groups of land registration types to their full extent. Therefore further study to improve the models would be recommendable.

D.Why is case study research the most appropriate methodology for this study, and how is it undertaken in a ‘rigorous’ way?

Case study research is very appropriate for investigating a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between the phenomenon and context are not clearly evident. It also conserves the interrelation between the relevant factors. This is very useful for studying systems of land registration, for which the boundary between the system and its environment is not always clear beforehand, and in which the interrelations between the different elements and aspects are expected to be very strong. Undertaking a rigorous case study starts with studying methodological literature on case study research (esp. Yin 1994). It is important to carefully make a research design and a case protocol before looking into the case(s). We can say that doing research is making choices. It is important to make these choices deliberately and describe them. A good design and protocol will help to keep the focus when there is the risk of being carried away in looking into a case by very interesting, but not to the point, information. The research design includes hypotheses on how the different types of aspects interrelate.

This study is set up as a multiple case study, involving four cases. These cases are the systems of land registration of the Netherlands (1995), Indonesia (1996), Austria (1996) and Ghana (1997). These cases were selected to achieve maximum variance, especially with regard to five predefined characteristics (see Figure 5.2). Each case report is written along the lines of a predefined structure, based on the technical, legal, and organizational aspects of land registration.

E.What are the (main) results of the cases studied (for each case and combined)?

The results of the four cases are laid down in separate case reports. A short overview along the lines of the processes and the aspects is presented in this report. The main conclusions per case are also given, as are the tables of the tasks that have to be performed in the dynamic system of land registration to fulfill the two updating functions of transfer and subdivision (see Figures 6.1, 6.3, 6.5, 6.7 and 6.8).

The main result is that the systems of land registration in Indonesia and Ghana have only limited impact throughout the country and can not be regarded as very trustworthy. The systems of the Netherlands and Austria clearly support functional land markets. The cases do not really make it possible to accept or reject the hypotheses formulated in the research design (see under study’s question).

Taking the system of land registration as the primary systems level is very useful in this study, which focuses on land registration for providing legal security to the owner and purchaser. The system of land registration clearly shows the emergent property of trustworthiness, which can not be attributed to any of its part systems. Although it is hard to quantify, it is not very hard to get a qualitative feeling about the question if a society (which could be a part of a jurisdiction) trusts in the system or not.

One should, however, not forget that a trustworthy system of land registration is not the only prerequisite for an active land market (e.g. financial infrastructure allowing for mortgages is needed as well). When the land market is the topic of a study, land registration should be viewed as a subsystem, and the primary systems level should be higher.

7.1.2 Answer to the Study’s Question

Now that the research questions have been answered, answering the study’s questions is feasible. The study’s question reads:

How do the technical, legal, and organizational aspects and their interrelations affect the way a system of land registration is able to provide adequate legal security to owners and purchasers of real property within a given jurisdiction?

A part of this question led to the hypotheses presented in Figure 5.1 which looked at the interrelated impact of the quality of the three types of aspects. The cases do not supply the information needed to accept or reject the hypotheses formulated in the research design, although they contain some indications that the hypotheses might hold, and –thus– that the organizational aspects would be the most important in making a land registration “go ‘round”. The interrelations between the different types of aspects turn out to be even greater than expected. Furthermore the aspects grouped under organizational aspects are so different that they can not really be given one joint qualification. It can be concluded that the hypotheses are based on too small a number of dimensions to be able to accept or reject them based on the cases studied.

The study’s question already implies that the technical, legal and organizational aspects have effect on the system of land registration and on it achieving its goal(s). The same goes for the interrelations between them. We can conclude that the interrelations are even stronger than expected beforehand.

The subsystems that can be seen as being part of land registration, as well as the functions needed to fulfill land registration, may –to a certain extent– be described and experienced as the domain of one aspect system (lawyer, surveyor, IT-specialist). Nevertheless aspects of other aspect systems are always influencing the constraints and possibilities (like the use of new technologies which depends on the way the survey regulations are phrased and on the financial and human resources available to acquire and use them). A description based on one type of aspects should therefore always be viewed with the overall system in mind. This study provides (conceptual) models of this overall system of land registration, which could help those studying part systems of land registration to put their results into the right perspective.

In the end the daily practice, for better or worse, determines to a large extent if the system achieves its goal(s) and if it can be trusted. What can be considered a less than perfect theoretical solution –if that can be agreed on– from a technical, legal or organizational point

of view, might work in practice. Examples are index maps86, deeds systems87, and separated registries88. The opposite, bad daily practice of a theoretically sound solution, can also be found quite easily. Especially worrying are the cases where one part system or function is theoretically perfected, whilst leaving the rest of a weak system of land registration as it is. This happens when a project to improve or reform a system has too narrow a focus (e.g. mechanizing the existing tasks with computers), or when the project has not been prepared on the basis of a wide enough (case) study into the existing situation89. The latter resembles the situation where a system –or elements of it– from one country are ‘parachuted’ into another country. The realization that such an approach is not appropriate is expressed by virtually all authors on land registration and cadastre, but it still seems to creep into the design and especially implementation of many projects. None of us can escape our primary training and field experience, which is usually limited to one or two countries.

In the study’s question a system of land registration has to provide adequate legal security to owners and purchasers of real property within a given jurisdiction. In this study this is not measured in any quantitative way, but eventually expressed by the system’s trustworthiness. This trustworthiness of the system of land registration, is a so-called emergent property of that same system. An important characteristic of emergent properties is that they can not be reduced to adding up attributes of elements. Therefore there is little use in distinguishing the aspects, and interrelations between them, of a system of land registration in the context of this study’s question. Thus the answer to the study’s question could be said to be “together as a whole”; highlighting the usefulness of the systems approach for the topic at hand. This means that the appropriateness of the combination of (solutions of) subsystems or elements and interrelations far outweighs the individual solution chosen for any specific subsystem or element. The damage from one weak link, far outweighs the benefits from another link that is made extra strong. Although any comparison only partly holds, it can be described as “the chain is only as strong as its weakest link”.90 Unfortunately we do not know (yet) how to measure the strength of each link in a comparable way91, and perhaps the comparison should be with a cord of many strands, in which a weaker spot in one strand could be covered by enough strength in the

86For instance graphical cadastral maps (like in the Netherlands, much of Austria) or maps derived from medium scale topographic maps (like in the Ghanaian ‘records room’, but also on the British Isles), instead of precise and controlled registry maps or numeric cadastral maps (like the Austrian boundary cadastre, but also the Australian Torrens’ systems).

87For instance deeds systems in the Netherlands, South-Africa and the Scottish Register of Sasines, instead of title systems (like Austria).

88For instance the land book courts and survey departments in Austria (which cooperate well), instead of combined agencies (like the Netherlands, but also Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic).

89Compare Williamson/Fourie 1998 and Barry/Fourie 2002, who say “Too often situations are oversimplified for technical project management purposes leading to incorrect decisions and quick fixes. This is especially true in developing countries undergoing change.” (Barry/Fourie 2002: 25).

90Compare Otto (2000: 10), who says the same with regard to legal systems in general.

91The studies on performance indicators and benchmarking are working on this.

other strands. All in all, only pulling the whole chain or cord will tell us its strength, ergo the trustworthiness of the system of land registration.

The answer to the study’s question is:

The interrelations between the technical, legal and organizational aspects are so strong, that –in the context of this study– only the overall effect can be determined through the level of trustworthiness, and we thus have to assume that the aspects affect the system fulfilling its goal together as a whole.

7.2Other Findings

In addition to the just given exposé on answering the research questions and the study’s question, other findings came up during this study. Partly these are directly drawn from the case study (also see § 6.5), partly from the study overall.

7.2.1 Case Study Results

short impression of the cases

The two so-called Western countries have effective systems of land registration, which support quite active land markets. But they do not bring us to the ideal system. The Netherlands have a rather efficient system, which does not strive for 100% solutions in its laws. But the fact that it is working well is grown out of a long history, which had its ups and downs. The Austrian system might be very safe from a purely legal perspective, it is overburdened by bureaucratic procedures and many, often small offices. Both do, however, make good use of modern (information) technology, which makes it possible for the different players to co-operate even better than before. For both countries the fact that the main functions are combined or closely coordinated makes the system work well.

The two developing countries are only partly covered by systems of land registration, which do not work very well. In areas where the customary laws are dominant, there usually is little problem with (internal) tenure security for those acknowledged as part of that community. This changes when so-called development overruns such an area. Often the customary system breaks then down, partly because of the interference of the (national) statutory system, and partly due to the increased pressures of the higher scarcity and/or value of the land.

The impact of the land tenure systems on the legal security for owner and purchaser in these countries turned out to be underestimated in the case design of this study. The existing dualism of the land tenure system, as well as the ongoing struggle on how to deal with it92, causes so much complications and insecurity in countries such as Indonesia and Ghana, that this overshadows the data on the rather ‘technocratic’ approach of studying technical, legal, and organizational aspects of systems of land registration there. Based on this it is recommended that multiple case studies with study’s questions of a related kind should be primarily confined to more comparable jurisdictions.

strong interrelations

As mentioned and explained in § 6.5, the interrelations between the studied aspects turned out to be even stronger than expected beforehand. Furthermore too many distinct aspects were classified under ‘organizational aspects’.

This made it very hard to qualify each type of aspects separately and without taking the overall success into account. This re-iterated the need to study a system of land registration as a whole, giving an overall qualification through the emergent property of its trustworthiness.

This made it also not really possible to formally accept or reject the preliminary hypotheses. Nevertheless the following lessons can be read into the cases studied:

•with good organizational aspects (both regarding institutional arrangements and

administrative practices) and good technical aspects (index maps and use of

92For a description of such problems in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as an appropriate tenure and required registry model see Mulolwa 2002.

technology), some (theoretical) legal weaknesses can be overcome (the Netherlands);

•with good levels of cooperation and sound administrative practices the number of organizations involved is no real issue (Austria);

•good index mapping, even with limited surveying accuracy, is essential when introducing a system through sporadic adjudication (Indonesia and Ghana);

•all transfers need to go into the system, and therefore there have to be enough incentives and not too much disincentives (overall).

Therefore it can be concluded that to a certain level all three types of aspects have to be tackled adequately to have a well functioning system of land registration.

‘political market’

It was also noted that once the system of land registration reaches a certain level of trustworthiness, there is little chance of major improvements, at least with regard to legal and organizational aspects. Introduction of new technology usually is a more or less ongoing process. This is in line with what can be expected at North’s second level of markets, being the ‘political markets’ (see § 1.2.3). There will be less incentive in that market to change (further improve) the system, when the present system does not really cause serious problems. With such a level of trustworthiness, the chances for introducing legal intricacies are small.

evasive action

When a difficult and bureaucratic formal procedure can be avoided by using a lighter, but still formal, procedure, the latter will be used in most cases (even in Austria). In many countries even when no lighter formal procedure exists people avoid the difficult one by informally transacting.

never confine case study to the capital

Systems of land registration virtually always encompass more than one organization. In most jurisdictions these organizations will have regional and/or local branch offices. A good case study should never be confined to the offices in the capital city, but also include (other) branch offices. Often the competition and power struggles that can be found in the capital city are not present elsewhere. In any case there is likely to be a difference in the economic, social and other characteristics.

application of methodology

Studying a complex real-life system as a system of land registration can only be done with the appropriate attention for the methodologies to be used at the start of the study. The case study methodology highly recommends having a well-formulated theory (although not final of course) in advance, but in the field of land registration93 it is still a more cyclic affair. For many highly relevant study’s questions, there is no such a well-formulated theory available beforehand. The case study design has to be based on less elaborated concepts, which themselves will be theoretically strengthened as a result of the studies. Obviously, the results of the studies will also make it possible to improve some of these concepts. At the start of this study the static model of land registration with the three entities to be identified was well known, but the dynamic model of the system of land registration, with

93It seems save to assume that this also holds for the related and partly overlapping field of cadastre and the field of land administration.

its three main functions, has been worked out during the study, and mainly after completion of the case study.

7.2.2 Overall findings

complexity of land rights

Property rights are complex institutions which need a wide variety of conditions to be met (the rights institutional framework) in order to succeed. This seems to apply even more to property rights in land. Except for relatively closed local communities, a well functioning system of land registration seems to be one of these conditions, but certainly not the only one.

wider goals

In projects where land registration is only a component, it is possible that the system of land registration is not the weakest link. For instance a land market stands on three pillars, of which land registration (and cadastre) is only one, whereas valuation and financial services are the others (see e.g. Dale/Baldwin 2000: 4-6). This emphasizes that land registration is only a tool, and no end in itself. We should always optimize the tool in the context of the goal it is supposed to be achieving.

parcels are no ordinary geographical information

Parcels, being the object of property rights in land, can not be measured or surveyed. They have to be identified by humanly constructed institutional arrangements. Even though their link to use patterns often allows for some link to topographical features, this should never be forgotten. This makes land registers and cadastres clearly different from other geographical information systems, which record physical attributes, whose collection can be purely technological. (compare van der Molen 2001: 15)

land tenure confusion

The general IT phrase ‘garbage in is garbage out’ also holds for systems of land registration. When there is 'land tenure confusion' in an area, (digitally) registering this is not going to mend the confusion. If the system of land tenure is unclear or uncertain, this should be solved first, even before any kind of adjudication starts. This would turn the project into a land reform, not always (politically or socially) desirable. Confusion in the parcel boundaries and/or the titles to these can be solved with the adjudication function, but only if this approach is acceptable to most people, if the process does not divest certain (usually weak) groups more or less systematically of their rights, and if the process is equally accessible to all kinds of right holders.