Introduction

The earth has occupied and still occupies a place today.

preponderant in the life of the Ivorian. Ivory Coast is
essentially agricultural. And for those interested in land planning
territory, certain solutions to development problems
pass through the answers to the questions we ask of space. The
Land is a political issue and one of the factors in local life.
diversity of actors and practices in the land sector
rendering the unification of lands. The land is distinguished from the territory which

He is characterized by a limited and political aspect. The modes

land appropriation depends on the organization of the groups.
social. The system of land tenure and the organization of relations
the man on the land reflects the societies that adopt them. Therefore,
a reciprocity between man and his environment. This interpenetration
the environment and man condition the permanence of the group. The
the possession of land is a fundamental right of the African in
general but particularly of the Ivorian because agriculture is the foundation of

economic development of African States. It is undoubtedly

that's why we referred to Ivory Coast as a peasant state. In the
traditional societies, the land was primarily an essential object of
production but also a factor of social cohesion. The land is therefore
the object of crispaton both social, economic but also
politics.

At the social level, land or real estate is the subject of conflict between the

individuals, between communities or even between corporations

professionals.

Economically, the significant reduction of arable land

in fact a highly speculative object.

At the political level, the question of immigration has become

worrying

The earth is thus at the heart of the concerns of most countries.

which are called developing countries. Its
The appropriation or control generates complex conflicts.

In light of the above, our objective in this study is to

trying to understand Ivorian society since the colonizer
has drawn its new outlines. We want to bring our
contribution to the construction of Côte d'Ivoire tomorrow.

I- Definitional approach
Property: the term property comes from the Latin fundus which means fund.
of earth. It is used in a literal sense to designate everything that
is related to the earth. In a substantive sense to define according to the

thesaurus of land 1999, the particular set of relationships

socials having as substance the land or the territorial space.
Considering in either direction, land management constitutes a
a significant stake for Ivory Coast if we consider the importance
land in political, economic, and social affairs.

Rural: the notion of rural refers to the rural environment, that is to say
the entire area located outside the major urban centers.
It constitutes the place of production of a large part of the goods.
raw materials. Its specificity lies in a diversity
of attitudes, social and cultural traditions, connections with nature and
of economic and environmental characteristics of which the origin
is mainly based on agriculture and forestry. This
its specificity gives it its attractiveness and must therefore be preserved at all times.

by ensuring an appropriate and sustainable response to our needs.

II- Interest
A true sociological powder keg, the importance of land management.
is no longer to be demonstrated in Côte d'Ivoire. A major issue, for

the Ivorian economy with the cultivation of coffee, cocoa, and all
the export crops, but also the main material of
construction since without it there is no construction.
Land management is, for the same reasons, a political issue.
of extreme importance. Too often highlighted on the occasion of
socio-political trouble, land issues continue to evolve in a
legal imbroglio. This course aims to dissect this imbroglio.
legal and allows the student to have a good knowledge
of the legal device in land matters but also to take
awareness of legal pluralism in action in practical management
of this matter of highest importance. Land represents
for the State of Ivory Coast an interest. This interest is based
essentially about agriculture. It has become over the course of the crises that
marking the young history of the Ivorian state, the place of recognition
identity and issue of intercommunal crisis. Its management
obeys the specific logics of each indigenous society that challenges
regarding the principle of state authority, its mission, its population
and the management of resources. Starting from 1900, the administration

Colonial applies the decisions and/or French rights to the colonies.

In 1960, the state renewed the colonial regulation in the matter
land. In 1998, the state undertakes a new law. It is law no. 98-
750 of December 23, 1998, concerning rural land domain adopted at
the unanimity by the national assembly. This law aims to
end of the situation of socio-legal pluralism that characterizes
rural land management and claims to ensure the transmission of
local practices of appropriation towards a unique regime of property
private property. The legislator does not challenge
its main objective is to establish property
private and the rule of objective law in place of custom. It
restricted his actions through the implementation of this objective.

The rural land domain is made up of all the lands put

we are going.

It constitutes a world heritage. The law on rural land is a

combination of heterogeneous principle.

The 1998 law applies to the rural area. The law aims to
to reconcile local practices with certain provisions
appropriation with the administrative registration system. The
The legislator proceeds by defining a land domain for this purpose.
rural (dfr) specific while making custom a source
essential right.
Section 1: Composition of the rural land domain

From the definition of the rural land domain, two aspects can be
retained:

A negative aspect and a positive aspect. These components are to be attached.

permanent and non-permanent.

Paragraph 1: the permanent magnet components

The rural land domain is defined both negatively and positively.

positive way.

The rural land domain is located in:

Outside the public domain of the State and local authorities

Outside urban perimeters (in land matters, is urban

everything that is a lot)

Outside of officially deferred planning areas

constituted.
Outside the classified forest area
The rural land domain is also defined by an exhaustive list.
of land category
The rural land domain consists of:

Lands that are part of the state's properties.

Land that belongs to public communities and to
particulars
Land without hands (firstly, this refers to land that has
is the subject of a succession and following an elapsed period of non
demand for land, the land falls into the hands of
the state). Secondly, when one observes rights
customary on a land, a land certificate is issued. Also,
handless lands are rights that have been ceded.

Paragraph 2: the transient components

The rural land domain consists of a transitional period of two

elements :

Lands of the domain granted by the State to communities

public and private
This site of customary domain lands. They are destined to
to take a customary status which falls under traditional law.
The provisional nature of the recognition of acquired skills
customary is involved in article 2. Article 2 makes a
distinction between permanent attraction components and the
 transitory components. Certainly, custom is a
source of law but this characteristic is part of a process that
only ends with obtaining a land title. It seems that
customary lands are meant to transform into
private property. And the recognition of customary rights
born from a transition to the definitive recognition of the
property. The land certificate that establishes the recognition
Customary acquisitions do not constitute proof of ownership.
definitive but is only proof of the transformation
customary share of ownership or still a
proof of the willingness to access ownership. Indeed, if
the registration has not been initiated within a period of 3 years
from the date of acquisition of the land certificate, the land
It is purged of customary rights and the registration is done.
in the name of the State. It seems that the recognition of custom
as a source of law allows a significant segment of
the rural population to access private property. This
reconnaissance can be made through the identification of a domain
customary land

Section 3: the identification of customary land domain

It will be achieved through the recognition of the prior existence of the right.

customary. But this recognition will only take place in a manner

progressive until culminating in the law of 1998.

Paragraph 1: the existence of customary law prior to law

objectf

In land practice, customs have survived their implementation.

death. Local customs that grant the land
characteristics that contradict the market value of the property
private. These characters are related to the inalienability linked to sacredness and

the imprescriptibility that grants authority. The land is sacred. It has a

a clean life as much as the mind that inhabits it.

Likely subject:

The rotation of the earth

The blood and the land

The earth divides blood and removes kinship.

The fund serving

The ontological nature of the earth in rural areas (it is a matter of seeing
firstly the spiritual aspect of the earth and then its effects

(continued) And if in her generosity, she lends herself to the needs of the being

human, it cannot be sold. It is mother (the earth), the mother

nourishing and as such it cannot be used as a
vulgar and commercial. Protected by the geniuses, everything lacks
consideration may attract the wrath of the gods. Finally, the earth is
the community heritage, the symbol of ancestral unity and
the common future. Proof of indigenous identity. It restores the
rights of descendants. Integrated into the family heritage of the first
occupant with his agreement and that of the guardian spirits of the space and

from the bush. The land remains free and autonomous. The rights it has
granted to the ancestor must be respected by their descendants. This
are usage rights. They are not rights of
property. The inalienability of the land implies that it cannot be transferred.

the object of private appropriation. Indeed, the current generation has

obligations towards the past generation and the one to come. To sell the
land is to be a parricide. Inalienability has the function of:

To preserve the integrity of land heritage

 Ensure the maintenance of the family of real estate heritage as well

that its transmission for future generations.

The inalienability does not exempt the circulation of the land, hence the subject.

circulation of the land in rural areas. The land circulates within

the family cell what is called endo-transmission and the land
also circulates outside the group, we speak of exo-transmissibility
from the land. There is no acquisitive or extinct prescription.
All transactions under which land is transferred in the middle
rural ones are null, the land is a common good (it circulates at
the inside of the group.

Chapter 2: Access to Land

The land is a very vital immovable good in Negro societies.

African. It is the object of a permanent quest thus it is
several modes of access to the land are planned (SS1). Also, is there a
structural and operational framework for managing this area (SS2).

Section 1: methods of access to land ownership

In Africa, state and non-state legal systems
are intertwined. And in a complex way, this intertwining between
customary traditional law, state and popular gives birth to a
ambiguous cohabitation, otherwise a confusion between civil law and law
people, between the authority recognized by the traditional chief and the power

reserved for the administration.

The multiplicity of land management and tenure modes leads to

today to establish a precise distinction between property
real estate, the rights of use and the obligations related to ownership
real estate.

A- Land ownership

Every individual is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

the man of 1948 in his article 17: every person, alone as well
that in community has the right to property and no one can arbitrarily
to be deprived of one's property. Ivory Coast has included the protection of this

right in its constitution in its article 15 which states: << the right
Property is guaranteed to all. No one should be deprived of their
property only if it is for the sake of public utility and under the condition

of a fair and prior compensation

Ethologically, property implies the exercise of a right of
exclusive and potentially absolute control over an asset, here it involves
of a property. The ownership is also reflected in the conception
mercantile contrary to the sacred conception, by that value
monetary that one recognizes on the land. From then on, the relationships of

the man on the land will evolve both in rural areas and in the
urban zone.

In rural areas, land ownership consists of the whole of the

land developed or not and regardless of the nature of the development
value, it constitutes a national heritage to which every person
physical or moral can access. However, only the State,
public authorities and Ivorian individuals are
admitted to be property (article one of law n 98-750 of the 24
December 1998 relating to rural land tenure). It is in this
legal framework that will analyze the appropriation of rural lands.

The appropriation of urban lands, for its part, follows a logic

in which the ministry responsible for the management of urban land
plays an important role. The land appropriation process is
call for a set of operations meticulously regulated by
the texts.
 a- The appropriation of rural lands (see Michel's Document
Foli

The appropriation of land can be done either through a

public law procedure either by a civil law appeal. In the
first case, the State uses the system of land concessions. In
the second, it accompanies the evolution of customs or practices
real estate until the stabilization of ownership. The courts in
this hypothesis only intervenes in case of disputes.

France opted for the second solution. This option resulted in

through a slow evolution of custom towards the system of property of
Civil code (Monique Carve River: Senegalese Land Law Edition)
Malraux). But the French experience of the application of the civil code in
land tenure has been a failure according to the authors because it does not allow
neither to guarantee the ownership of the properties nor to know with

certify the state of the real rights with which they are encumbered.

Despite these shortcomings, this system will be introduced in Côte d'Ivoire.

by the Binger decree of September 20, 1893. To the difficulties

systemic, socio-cultural constraints will then be added. In

As a result, the civil code provides for two modes of transfer of ownership that

are: the means of legal justification and the acquisitive prescription

thirty-something or decadal. In a socio-cultural context that ignored
writing, the recourse to a legal judgement could not lead
to a dead end. Similarly, the acquisitive prescription appeared
difficult application since customary law does not admit that time
could create a right or extinguish it (the traditional resistances to
modern law in the French-speaking states of Africa and to
Madagascar: Michel). Furthermore, individuals and companies
needed to be informed before any real estate transaction
within a reasonable time regarding the legal situation of the properties

concerned. They could not wait thirty or ten years to have the
information related to these buildings. All these difficulties
applications of the provisions of the civil code in land matters have
led the colonial administration to resort to the system of
the land registration.

Likely subject: The process of obtaining registration

real estate

(continued) With this system, land surveys are carried out in

a reasonable time with all the guarantees of land publicity
(for example, the Comodo survey in Ivory Coast). In order to
consolidate land ownership. This solution quickly allows the
investors to know the situation of the real estate they want
acquire or exploit.

It is possible to ask a notary's office to do

the registration of land to promote private investment.
This will allow the land of the community system to transition to
an individual system.)

The study of land appropriation will first focus on

the registration which is the foundation of land ownership in
Ivory Coast and then on customary land ownership.

1- The foundation of land ownership: registration

real estate

The Ivorian land regime is based on registration. But in what way?

What does the registration system consist of? What are its conditions?
and implementation methods? What are its effects?

The registration system:

Like all systems, the registration system evolves.

time-consuming and presents certain characteristics that are appropriate

to analyze.

Introduction and evolution of the system: the system of

The registration is mainly inspired by the Torrens Act.
Established in Australia on July 2, 1858. It consists of registering
 properties and all operations concerning them in a
document called land register. It was first introduced in Coast
Ivory Coast by the decree of July 20, 1900. But its access was
so reserved for Europeans only. This limited its reach
pratque. To remedy this, the decree of July 24, 1906 was
adopted. Which allowed customary holders to resort to
this system. Likewise, while the procedure was judicial,
it became except in cases of administrative disputes. The last
step was the drafting of the decree of July 26, 1932, which remains

in force.

Once a building has been registered, it is no longer possible to

return to the previous regime that is to say the civil code because

The registration deviates from the provisions of the civil code. In these
What about the rights that were previously acquired?
under the regime of the civil code?

These rights that follow the civil code by the Binger decree of the 10th

September 1893 could only be legally maintained through the means

of the registration. Article 21 of the decree of July 26, 1932 indicates
on this point that the ownership of real estate as well as the
other real rights do not coexist and do not produce effect with regard to
even if they have been published in the land register.
On a technical level, the registration system is considered
as one of the best in terms of property security
real estate.

Economically, it helps to address uncertainties.

inherent to customary tenures. Uncertainties that are the source of
many land conflicts. It also promotes security
legal necessary for real estate transactions, credits and
investments. Due to these multiple advantages, the system of
the registration has been adopted by several countries. This same system
exists in Germany with some variations. But yet since
its introduction in Côte d'Ivoire until today, this system has not
known the expected success. The latest estimates indicate a
very low proportion of registered land. This situation
is explained by several factors. The first is of a social nature.
cultural. It resides in the non-adhesion of the populations to this
procedure. Indeed, the local populations or particularly the
customary landowners already consider themselves owners
from their land and do not consider it useful to resort to a procedure that

they are foreign. The second factor is technical in nature and

financier. It appeals to the complex and costly nature of the procedure
registration.

The characteristics of the system

Regarding the provisions of the civil code on property,
registration appears as a strengthening mechanism
of land security. It has three main characteristics.

First, the advertisement made by the registration in the land registry does not aim

not only to inform the recipients and to make the right enforceable against them

of property; it mainly constitutes an instrument of creation and of

transfer of real rights.

Then, the right of ownership is acquired not only by will

by parts but also by the formality of registration. It is about
results notably that the acts of land transfers carried out by
In front of the notary, they only acknowledge the agreement of the parties. They cannot

to confer land ownership exclusively to them. The finance law of the 31

December 1968 states in its article 25 that: notaries,
bailiffs, ushers, and administrative authorities are required in a
three-month deadline to have these deeds published in the land register

independently of the will of the parties. Finally, unlike the

French system of land advertising which is based on the principle of
consensualism, the proof of ownership is easy because it is enough to
resort to the registration made in the land register.

The conditions and terms of registration

Registration is left to the initiative of interested parties.
In practice, to simplify the task for the applicant, particularly for the

specifically. It is up to the property services to build the file

registration. This is subject to substantive conditions and
form conditions.

The substantive conditions:

Only those are capable of registration in the land registry.

land funds built or unbuilt. Regarding unbuilt land funds.
bâts, after stating that the registration is in principle
Optional, Article 5 of the decree of July 16, 1935 specifies that it is
exceptionally mandatory in the case of alienation or
concession of state lands, and in the case where a land
customary must first be the subject of a written contract.

The exception empties the principle of its content because if it is null by principle
is not required to register its land.
operation becomes mandatory when one wants to comply
under current law to cede or transfer this land. The right
customary not being able to guarantee the parties the security of
real estate transactions, the recourse to the current law becomes
inevitable and necessarily goes through registration. Which one
the foundation of land ownership.
With the land reform law of December 23, 1998,
Registration has become mandatory in all cases for the
lands of the rural domain. Thus, concerning the granted domain,
Article 12 of this law states that: "Any licensee of a..."
unregistered land must apply for registration to its
fees>>. Furthermore, regarding the land of customary domain, the
the 1998 law requires the holder of the land certificate to request
the registration within a period of 3 years from the date of
issuance of said certificate.

Insofar as the special law deviates from the general laws, one can
to say that rural lands are necessarily subject to
the registration.

The right of property is a set of privileges that one has.

servitude or right of way is the right that an individual has over
the possibility of accessing an asset

The conditions of forms

This procedure is regulated by the decree of July 26, 1932.

Important reorganization of the land property system in AOF.
But after a century of implementation, this procedure is known little
of application. Thus, in order to promote land security, the
public authorities deemed it necessary, through the land reform of
1998 to relax and simplify the procedure for access to property
real estate. This option had the effect of bringing improvements
to the registration procedure as regulated by the decree
July 26, 1931. Before highlighting these arrangements, we will
study the registration procedure as regulated by the
aforementioned decree.

the registration procedure as

regulated by the decree of July 26, 1932

There are 5 phases: the registration requisition, the publicity of the

requisition, land demarcation the intervention of the owners

The requisition: it is when the administration demands the provision of a

activities: it is presented in the form of a file that has been submitted
in the hands of the land property curator. In this
requisition the individual or the state asserts its ownership over a
land parcel and requests its registration from the registrar

The requisition advertisement: it is the act of informing individuals.

before the registration of the land. After that, the property will become the
legitimate possession of the new buyer
The land demarcation: it consists of a material identification of the
terrain, to the recognition of its limits.

The intervention is as follows: the lessees have a period of 3 months.

counting from the display in court to make their known
claims. They can do this either by means of opposition or by
registration application process.

Through the means of opposition, the context grants the applicant the property.

of the land, subject of the requisition for registration. He can do it

orally before the curator or by registered letter. In
In this hypothesis, the opposing party must establish the validity of their argument.
right.

By the application for registration, letters do not contest the property of

land to the applicant but rather seeks to assert a real right

on the ground (mortgage, a leasehold, a usufruct…).

In the absence of opposition or a registration request within the deadline

3 months later, the curator announces the registration of the land.

In litigation cases, the file is submitted to the court which
pronounce the registration if the opposition is not founded. In the
On the contrary, the registration is stopped and it belongs to others.
requesting to request it himself.

In the absence of any obstacle to registration, the file is returned.

in the hands of the curator who can then proceed after the
final verifications for the registration formalities, it is then that
a land ownership certificate will be issued.

2- The procedural adjustments resulting from the reform

property company of December 23, 1998

The legal holder of a land certificate has a period of 3 years.

to request land registration (decree no. 99-514 of the 13th
October 1999). When the request is made, the curator of the
property has a maximum period of 3 months to
count from the receipt of the request to proceed to
the registration of the concerned plots.

Thus, to allow the curator to stay within this deadline, the

The land reform of 1998 streamlined the procedure.
registration as provided for by the decree of July 26, 1932. This
relief long desired by the populations and the practitioners
observed through:

the absence of a requirement for a development contract as

conditions for the registration request for the interest of
customary domain.
The non-intervention of the land property conservator in
initial stage of the procedure by a larger
empowerment of local actors.
The absence of recourse to the court to resolve disputes
arising from the opposition of the stars.

The reduction of procedural costs (scales of dismantling of

land certificate, registration fees for real estate,
resumption of the plan at the expense of the technical operator…). Everything

as a letter of the land certificate, letter of a

provisional concession subject to the rights of the holders or of a
The occupancy permit holder is required to register their land.
within a period of 3 years. But here for the consolidation of rights
from the dealer, the main steps of the procedure
registration regulated by the decree of
1932 are still required.
However, apart from the adjustments, it is important to highlight the

non-intervention of the courts in the lifting of

oppositions made by the lesters. Indeed, in case of dispute
or of complaint requests, the sub-prefect seizes the committee
land management villagers who have a deadline of one month
to settle the dispute amicably. Failing that, the dispute is subject to
the assessment of a special commission chaired by the prefect
from department.
 Paragraph 3: the effects of registration

Registration generates three main effects: the purge of rights

customary, the creation of a definitive and unassailable land title and
finally the registration of real right later.

A- The purge of customary rights

The registration has the immediate effect of purging the rights.

customary (to make them disappear). From now on, these rights can no longer

no longer be claimed by their holder. When these rights pertain to

lands reclaimed by the first occupant through the completion of works
of general interest, compensation or indemnification is
in accordance with the regulations in force. For the loss of
lands, object of the purge, compensations can be made in
nature or in species. There is compensation when the rights are purged.
customs lead to the destruction of culture. In this case,
The compensation is paid in accordance with the regulations in force.

B- The creation of a definitive, unassailable land title,

non-prescribeable
 1- The principle of the intangibility of property rights

The registration has the secondary effect of creating a land title.

definitive, unassailable and imprescriptible (article 121 of the decree of the 26
July 1932). This principle of the inviolability of land ownership takes on a
double meaning. On one hand, any action aiming at revelation
of a real right not disclosed during the proceedings or having the effect

to call into question the property rights of the registered land is

inadmissible.

On the other hand, individuals whose rights have been violated as a result
Registration cannot be enforced through real action.
in other words, the rights recorded during the procedure
registration is indisputable. As for the existing right to
moment of registration but not enrolled, they are supposed to have
never existed. They are definitely purged.

Intangibility does not only concern registered rights, it

also concerns the material limits and the area of
the registered building. These cannot be subject to
subsequent modifications. The definitive and unassailable nature.
land law results in excluding any acquisitive prescription.
Article 82 of the 1932 decree indicates in this regard that the prescription
cannot in any case constitute a mode of acquisition of real rights
on registered buildings or the release of encumbering charges
these buildings. However, exceptionally, the prescription
acquisitive plays on the profile of the State. This is the case when a building
has been abandoned for 10 consecutive years by its occupants
legitimate. In this case, the property considered vacant is
incorporated into the state domain. The fact that it is occupied in a way

the concerned building does not interrupt the established prescription

on the profile of the State.

The intangibility that is both legal and material involves

however some attenuation

2- The exceptions to the principle of intangibility must

land

Likely subject: The steps of registering a property

rural

Recognition of personal action for damages and interest

about certain individuals whose rights have been violated
The registration of mortgage or privileged claims of
land charges and easements
It is the rectification of the chins recorded in the land register.
 The nullity of any registration of a parcel of land
publicly for the benefit of an individual

Subject: the intangibility of land tenure (the legal meaning first)

and material later)

Subject: the rectification of the registered property titles

C- The registration of subsequent real rights

These rights can take the form of agreements concerning the

deadline (sale, mortgage, easement), act (foreclosure,
succession sharing) and are not opposed to others when they are
published. Real rights only have effects towards others if
have been published in the land registry. They are not enforceable against others.

from the date of their registration in the land register. There exists
a possibility of preventive registration through the procedure of
the booking. The booking is a summary mention made on
the land book and preventing the registration of one or more entries
are litigious.

Unlike the registration proper, the inscriptions

later can be subject to a request for modification or
of cancellation. This possibility is explained by the fact that unlike
from the actual registration, the subsequent registration does not
does not involve a delay during which people possibly
aggrieved parties can assert their rights by means of opposition.

Under section 2: customary land ownership

Paragraph 1: foundation and nature of land ownership

customary

A- The foundations of customary land ownership

At the end of Article 4: the ownership of land in the land domain

rural is established from the registration of this land at
Land registry Open for this purpose to the administration and regarding
concerns the customary land domain by the land certificate.

It follows from the above that there is on the one hand a

acquisition of land through the "registration process" which
therefore establishes in Ivorian law the basis of ownership
real estate and on the other hand an acquisition of the land certificate following the

constant of continued and peaceful existence. The property arising from the
The land certificate is not synonymous with land ownership because the law
from 1998 indicates in its article 4.

Paragraph 2: the nature countervailing of the land certificate

At the end of the law of 98 and the applicable texts, letter of the
The land certificate can lease the land subject to its right or transfer it.
These enjoyment rights of the holder come closer to or
less to the attributes of property in the sense of the civil code. Regarding

from Ivorian land, the property deriving from the land certificate not being
not synonymous with real estate must go through the many of
the land registration. Consequently, the rights resulting from the
Land certificates are merely simple usage rights.

Paragraph 3: scope and limit of property recognition

real estate company

A - The scope
The land certificate can confer greater reliability to the
customary law.
 The land certificate can be transferred or leased in whole or in part to

under authentic act and by the administration.

The land certificate has the advantage of taking into account the character

collect of customary property.

The limits of the land certificate:

The holders of the land certificate are obliged to register.

their land at the risk of having their land reclaimed by the State.
No sustainable investment can be made on land.
object of land certificate.
The superiority of the right of property regarding the certificate
land
-