The monograph studies the key aspects of land law of African countries, customary land tenure laws, customary rights to water, forest, cattle grazing; the influence of colonial epoch on customary land tenure systems, and the rights of African women to land. Characteristic features of land and water rights under Islamic law are provided. The current state of formal land law in the countries of North, West, Central, and East Africa is analyzed, including the following: the right of ownership to land and other natural resources, types of various rights to land and natural resources, and the relationship of formal law and customary land tenure systems. For students, graduate students and teachers of law schools, employees of legislative, executive and judicial authorities, as well as for all those interested in land, civil law and comparative legal studies.
This book analyses the nexus between land access and the extractive industries in Africa, specifically highlighting the gaps in energy, land and mining laws and the practical solutions needed to settle the increasing number of land disputes in resource-rich areas. Access to land is essential for the successful operation of energy and mining projects. However, there are often social, environmental and economic issues associated with acquiring land for these projects. Socially, many people are relocated; economically, local communities are not given adequate compensation; environmentally, pollution negatively impacts on the agricultural and fishing industries relied on by over 80% of the local communities. Against this stark background, and drawing from the author's fieldwork research, this book addresses the important question of whether the different land tenure systems, coupled with administration and registration procedures, are adequate to address the increasing land disputes in oil and mineral-rich African countries.
This book offers a series of new studies on the dynamics of political and legal culture as well as of conflict management in contemporary Africa, taking inspiration from and honoring the scholarly contributions and impact of Prof. Gerti Hesseling (1946-2009) in African Studies.
Agricultural Law in Sub-Saharan Africa: Cases and Comments introduces the subject of agricultural law and economics to researchers, practitioners, and students in common law countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and presents information from the legal system in Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The law and economics approach entails the use of quantitative methods in research. This is consistent with the expectations in an applied economics field such as agricultural economics. Covering the general traditional law topics in contracts, torts, and property, the book goes further to introduce cutting-edge and region-relevant topics, including contracts with illiterate parties, contract farming, climate change, and transboundary water issues. The book is supported by an extensive list of reference materials, as well as study and enrichment exercises, to deepen readers’ understanding of the principles discussed in the book. It is a learning tool, first and foremost, and can be used as a stand-alone resource to teach the subject matter of agricultural law and economics to professionals new to the subject area as well as to students in law school, agricultural economics, economics, and inter-disciplinary classes. Offers research findings on such topics as food safety, climate change, transboundary natural resources, international sale of goods, patents, and trademarks to highlight the future sources of pressure on the agriculture industry Uses case-studies to provide real-world insights into the challenges and considerations of appropriate agricultural law development Challenges readers to carry out their own research in their areas of study, and to gain some understanding of the relationship between law, economics, and statistics Includes extensive resources, such as chapter summaries, study questions, and challenge questions at the end of each chapter to assist instructors and students in gaining full benefits from using the book Provides separate instructor and student study guides, a test bank, and test bank answers, in hardcopy and electronic formats
This book provides a significant contribution to the literature on land reform in various African contexts. While the economic evidence is clear that secure property rights are a necessary condition for catalysing broad-based economic development, the governance process by which those rights are secured is less clear. This book details the historical complexity of land rights and the importance of understanding this history in the process of trying to improve tenure security. Through a combination of single country case studies, comparative case studies and regional comparisons, the book is unequivocal that good governance is paramount for improving the performance of land reform programmes. All attempts at moving towards more formal secure tenure require congruence with informal norms, beliefs and values, and a set of clear systems and processes to avoid corruption and unintended negative consequences.
