Land Reform in Eastern Europe

Western CIS, Transcaucuses, Balkans, and EU Accession Countries

Renee Giovarelli
David Bledsoe

Seattle, Washington
October 2001

Table of contents

This paper was prepared under contract with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The positions and opinions presented are those of the author alone, and are not intended to represent the views of FAO.

The Rural Development Institute (RDI), located in Seattle, Washington, USA, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation. RDI is a unique organization of lawyers devoted to problems of land reform and related issues in less developed countries and transitional economies. RDI's goal is to assist in alleviating world poverty and instability through land reform and rural development. RDI staff have conducted field research and advised on land reform issues in 35 countries in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. For more information about RDI, visit the RDI web site at www.rdiland.org.

Renee Giovarelli is a staff attorney at RDI and the Director of RDI's Kyrgyzstan and Women & Land Programs. David Bledsoe is a staff attorney and Deputy Director of Administration at RDI.

This report was prepared for submission to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The authors express their appreciation for the valuable input provided by Roy Prosterman, Leonard Rolfes, and Robert Mitchell. The authors would also like to acknowledge the important contributions of the following RDI Research Assistants to the preparation of this report: Laura Gerber, Oesa Glick, Devon Shannon, Kallie Szczepanski, and Alethea Williams.


Top of page

Table of contents

Executive Summary

I. Introduction

II. CIS Countries: Western CIS States (Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova)

A. Policy and Legislative Framework

1. Land Ownership

2. Land Privatization

3. State-Owned Land Reserves

4. Farm Restructuring

5. Land Transactions

a. Purchase and Sale

b. Lease

6. Mortgage

B. Administrative Framework

1. Land Titling and Registration

2. Roles of the Public and Private Sectors

III. CIS Countries: Transcaucasus States (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan)

A. Policy and Legislative Framework

1. Land Ownership

2. Land Privatization

3. State-Owned Land Reserves

4. Farm Restructuring

5. Land Transactions

a. Purchase and Sale

b. Lease

6. Mortgage

B. Administrative Framework

1. Land Titling and Registration

2. Roles of the Public and Private Sectors

IV. The Balkan Countries of Albania and the Former Yugoslavia

A. Policy and Legislative Framework

1. Land Ownership

2. Land Privatization and Farm Reorganization

3. State-Owned Land Reserves

4. Land Use

5. Land Transactions

6. Mortgage

B. Administrative Framework

1. Land Titling and Registration

2. Land Consolidation

3. Roles of the Public and Private Sectors

V. EU Accession Countries

A. Policy and Legislative Framework

1. Land Privatization

a. Re-Established Ownership Rights

b. Compensation to Former Land Owners and Former Farm Workers

c. Restitution

d. No Restitution: Poland

e. Household Plots

2. State Owned Land Reserves

3. Farm Restructuring

a. Agriculture Dominated by Large Cooperative Farms

b. Agriculture Dominated by Private Farms

4. Land Transactions

a. Purchase and Sale

i. Restitution

ii. Low Prices for Agricultural Land and Products

iii. Restrictions on Foreigners and Legal Entities Owning Land

iv. Transaction Costs

v. Historical Association with Land

b. Lease

5. Mortgage

a. Lack of Clear Ownership Rights

b. Incomplete, Conflicting, or Unreliable Mortgage Legislation and Infrastructure

c. Weak Land Values, and Bank Attitudes Toward Agricultural Land

d. Inability of Legal Entities (Banks) to Own Land

e. Under-Capitalized Banking Sector

f. Limited Reach of Guarantee Funds

B. Administrative Framework

1. Land Registration

a. Lack of a Unified Registration System

b. Land Taxes and Registration

c. Slowness of New Registration Systems

d. Lack of a Clear Statement as to the Legal Effect of Registration

2. Consolidation

3. Land Use Planning

4. Cohesive Land Policy and Administration

5. Private Sector Development

VI. Analysis and Policy Options

A. Introduction

B. Observations Summary

1. Western CIS Countries (Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova)

2. CIS Countries: Trans-Caucasus States (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan)

3. Balkan Countries

4. EU Accession Countries

C. Policy Options and Recommendations

1. Land Privatization

2. State-Owned Land Reserves

3. Farm Restructuring

4. Land Transactions

a. Purchase and Sale

b. Exchange

c. Lease

5. Mortgage

6. Registration

7. Land Consolidation

8. Land Use Planning

9. Role of the Public and Private Sector

 

Top Of Page