This document discusses land tenure issues in Liberia, including existing laws, individual vs collective ownership models, and options for recognizing peasant land rights. It analyzes laws affecting customary land, and notes that collective rights are recognized for forestry but not agriculture. Individual ownership could formalize peasant land claims but requires payment and bureaucracy. Collective ownership reflects traditional community control but law does not define community land governance. The document compares risks and benefits of private, redistributive, and collective models for peasants.

1. Land Tenure Security
Input on Policy and CSO strategy
Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation
Dr. Felix Gerdes, 2018

2. Existing Laws affecting peasants rights to
forest and agricultural lands
• Public Land Law, 1956
“National” collective ownership regulated; enables privatization of “public” land
Some “tribal” rights mentioned, but no legal security for customary land users/owners
• Law of the Hinterland (amended 2000)
(“Revised Rules and Regulations Governing the Hinterland of Liberia)
• Liberian Code Revised (1973)
Only individual, private property recognised
• Real Property Statutes, in particular Title 29, Chapter 1-10
• Ch. 1: Registration of Deeds; Ch. 8: Registered Land Law; Ch. 9: Surveying
• National Forestry Reform Law (2006)
• Collective property rights to forestry resources recognised
• Community Rights Law with Respect to Forest Lands (2009)
• Collective property rights to forestry resources recognised, detailed
• And other laws…

3. Individual vs. Collective Ownership
Two fundamentally different ways to ensure property rights
• “Individual” rights are private
- allow owner full control
- entails opportunity to sell land or use as collateral
- can be alienated, i.e. lost to “outsiders”
• Collective: Individual using the land does not fully control it
- Community has say, use should conform to interest of
community
- Land cannot be sold (but leased) to outsiders, should remain available to
community in principle (when lease expires)
- Some person/institution has to define and represent community interest
- Persons/institutions might be manipulated, bribed and not protect community
and users rights

4. Collective Ownership of Land in Liberia
• Enshrined in communities’ traditional rights to farm land in their area
• Someone (often chiefs, elders) give permission to community members to
farm
• Non-locals do not have the same right to get permission to use land
• Land Rights Act (LRA) would establish legal collective (customary)
ownership (but is not law yet)
• LRA says what is community land
• Community Land Development and Management Committees (CLDMC) are to
be established by the communities to decide who and under what condition
the land is used
• LRA does not say how the CLDMCs are established, how their members are
chosen, how they are organized

5. Individual Ownership for Peasants 1
Classic Mechanism
• Public Lands Law defines ways to turn public land into private land
(fee simple)
• This in principle allows local peasants to become legal owners of the
land the need
• Land usually needs to be paid for
• Bureaucratic process to be followed (signatures needed), which may
be costly and difficult

6. Individual Ownership for Peasants 2
Redistribution / Land Reform
“... The communal holding will be vested in the Paramount Chief and
Tribal Authorities as Trustees for the tribe.
The Trustees, however, cannot pass any fee simple title in their lands to
any person whatever.
Should thu tribu bucomu sufficiuntly advancud in thu arts of
civilization, thuy may putition thu Govurnmunt for a division of thu
land into family holdings in which uvun thu Govurnmunt
will grant duuds in fuu simplu to uach family for an arua of 25 acrus in
kuuping with thu provision of thu Act of 1905” (emphasis added)
Law of the Hinterland, RL, Article 66

7. Privatu Puasant Rights
Rudistributivu Land Ruform
Colluctivu Rights
Community Land
Ownurship Individual Collective
Existing Ownurship/Usufruct
patturns
Overturned, land redistributed equitably Existing pattern and claim tends to be
maintained
Control Owner Effective Authority / Community
Institutions
(except where land is already private)
Concuntration / rights to usu Peasant (families) have equal right to
land
Effective Authority / Community
Institutions decide
Authority to luasu to companius Individuals holding title Effective Authority / Community
Institutions
Crudit accuss Land as collateral – greater
creditwothiness
Crops, produce as collateral – low
creditworthiness
Risk of aliunation Sale to outsiders by individuals; loss
when used as collateral for credit by
individuals
Leasing out upon decision of effective
authority / community institutions
Conflict risks People with much land stand to lose, will
complain and resist; harmony in
communities is disturbed
Local order may be threatened
Youths, women, low status peasants
may be marginalized by effective
authority / community institutions
Accuptability to puasants Principle of Private Ownership may have
become well understood over the past
200 years but alienation may be resisted
– acceptance varies
CLDMCS likely to resemble existing
authority relations – acceptance varies