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Full-Text Articles in Law
Why Land Tenure Reform Is The Key To Political Stability In Tonga, Kersti Harter Kennedy
Why Land Tenure Reform Is The Key To Political Stability In Tonga, Kersti Harter Kennedy
Washington International Law Journal
The Kingdom of Tonga, a South Pacific country, erupted in violent pro-democracy riots in late 2006 after decades of political unease. Tonga’s people are divided into two main classes: the nobles and the commoners. These two classes have long differed in political and land rights in a hierarchy that is typical of chiefdoms such as Tonga. Tonga’s government has attempted to deal with the sometimes violent, commoner-led pro-democracy movement by amending its Constitution to allow commoners to vote for more of the members of the Legislative Assembly. The resulting government and the noblemen have not, however, shown a commitment to …
Regular Takings Or Regulatory Takings?: Land Expropriation In Rural China, Valerie Jaffee Washburn
Regular Takings Or Regulatory Takings?: Land Expropriation In Rural China, Valerie Jaffee Washburn
Washington International Law Journal
This article takes as its starting point the recent spate of unrest in rural China over government takings of rural, agricultural land. Though the popular and scholarly press has paid a great deal of attention to this issue, few analyses have explored in depth the institutional and legal framework surrounding it. This piece first attempts such an exploration and concludes that the underlying issues have as much to do with China's national land use regulatory system as they do with the behavior of local governments that seize privately-farmed land for other uses. In fact, it is more productive to see …
Climate Refugees Require Relocation Assistance: Guaranteeng Adequate Land Assets Through Treaties Based On The National Adaptation Programmes Of Action, Holly D. Lange
Washington International Law Journal
Rising ocean levels in the South Pacific threaten thousands of inhabitants with displacement. Many of these small Pacific island states lack available land to internally accommodate displaced individuals. Thus, thousands of “climate refugees” will be forced to move off their island homes and, without provisions of adequate land rights, will most likely end up in refugee camps in other countries. Climate change exemplifies an inherently global challenge. Developed countries produce disproportionately more greenhouse gases, and developing countries lack resources to adequately respond to climatic displacement. International treaties establish a legal responsibility to assist developing states adapt to climate change. However, …
The Displaced Residents' Right To Relocation Assistance: Toward An Equitable Urban Redevelopment In South Korea, Jihye Kim
Washington International Law Journal
Major urban redevelopment projects are currently on-going to beautify the urban landscape in Seoul, which is the most densely populated metropolitan area of South Korea. In this process, massive acquisition of homes has taken place, displacing many residents who are now demanding relocation assistance. South Korean law imposes obligations upon developers to provide relocation assistance for displaced residents. However, vagueness in the statutory language causes not only confusion in the implementation of the law, but has also led to a Supreme Court decision denying displaced residents’ legal right to relocation assistance. This interpretation further expanded developer’s discretion in carrying out …
Certain Opinions Of The Central Committee Of The Chinese Communist Party [And The] State Council On Promoting The Stable Development Of Agriculture And Continuing To Increase Farmers' Income In 2009, Tobias Damm-Luhr
Washington International Law Journal
The following is a translation of Certain Opinions of the State Council [and the] Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”) on Promoting the Stable Development of Agriculture and Continuing to Increase Farmers’ Incomes in 2009 (“2009 No. 1 Document”), which the CPC Central Committee and the State Council promulgated on December 31, 2008, and made public on February 2, 2009. It calls on “every region and every department” to seriously study the blueprint created by the Third Plenary Session of the CPC’s 17th Central Committee, namely the Decision on Certain Issues Concerning the Advancement of Rural Reform and …
A Current Review Of Chinese Land-Use Law And Policy: A "Breakthrough" In Rural Reform?, Robin Dean, Tobias Damm-Luhr
A Current Review Of Chinese Land-Use Law And Policy: A "Breakthrough" In Rural Reform?, Robin Dean, Tobias Damm-Luhr
Washington International Law Journal
Three decades ago, China moved from a communal system of farming to a system that granted more extensive land-use rights to individual households, starting rural China on a path to greater prosperity. Today, however, the law and policy promulgated by the Chinese government prevents farmers from fully realizing this prosperity. The Land Administration Law gives farmers thirty-year contractual rights to the land they farm and the Law on Rural Land Contracting strengthens this right by more specifically enumerating requirements for land contracting and the transfer of contractual rights. Nevertheless, the rural-urban gap is the worst it has been in decades …
Trading The People's Homes For The People's Olympics: The Property Regime In China, Theresa H. Wang
Trading The People's Homes For The People's Olympics: The Property Regime In China, Theresa H. Wang
Washington International Law Journal
China is under increasing international scrutiny as the country’s economic growth launches the previously isolated nation onto the world stage. As the national wealth increases at a record rate, the government is constantly modifying strategies to ensure its economic stability. In response to this nearly unmanageable growth, entire Chinese cities are remodeled and progressively more privatized, while urban dwellers are evicted from their homes in the name of economic development. These urban land acquisitions often occur with little or no compensation, while private developers reap the economic benefits. These policies follow a pattern of development replayed throughout history, notably in …
The Heart Of Fiji's Land Tenure Conflict: The Law Of Tradition And Vakavanua, The Customary "Way Of The Land", John Crosetto
The Heart Of Fiji's Land Tenure Conflict: The Law Of Tradition And Vakavanua, The Customary "Way Of The Land", John Crosetto
Washington International Law Journal
In an effort to ease racial tension and the resulting political unrest, recent law reform in Fiji has focused on land tenure. Political coups in the wake of expiring agricultural leases demonstrate that the current tenure system fails to provide the security and predictability demanded by both Fijian owners and Indian tenants. Current law reform theory advocates adapting the rule of law to the local context to promote human rights and self-determination. A problem lies, however, in identifying the institutions and interests that define Fiji's local context. In addition to the country's divided ethnic population, Fiji's "tradition" is largely defined …
An Overview Of Washington's Growth Management Act, Eric S. Laschever
An Overview Of Washington's Growth Management Act, Eric S. Laschever
Washington International Law Journal
Beginning in the 1970s, a number of states began adopting state wide growth management statutes. In response to increasing population pressures, Washington State enacted its Growth Management Act ("GMA") in 1990. This article examines the GMA's requirements for comprehensive plans, its enforcement and appeals provisions, and the relationship of the GMA to other Washington State laws, including the State Environmental Policy Act and the Shoreline Management Act. The GMA has significantly changed the land use planning process in Washington, and its effects can already be seen in wide spread protection of critical areas, the designation of urban growth policies, and …
Land Law Subsystems? Urban Vietnam As A Case Study, John Gillespie
Land Law Subsystems? Urban Vietnam As A Case Study, John Gillespie
Washington International Law Journal
Throughout Vietnam's long history, the central elite and peripheral farming communities have been legally and culturally divided. This dichotomy was never as complete as the famous injunction that "the emperor's writ stops at the village gate" infers. Initially, during the period of French colonisation and more recently since the introduction of doi moi (renovation) economic reforms, central authorities have attempted to unify land management with universal normative law. This experiment has stimulated widespread non-compliance with land laws in urban centres; in some areas compliance is a fringe phenomenon. In this divided legal geography, pockets of non-compliance give the appearance of …
Managing Urban Land In China: The Emerging Legal Framework And Its Role In Development, Mark T. Kremzner
Managing Urban Land In China: The Emerging Legal Framework And Its Role In Development, Mark T. Kremzner
Washington International Law Journal
This Article examines the emerging legal framework for urban land management in China with reference to several perspectives on the role of the state in economic development: modernization, dependency, and statism. A key function of the urban land management and planning regime in the People's Republic of China is to promote economic development. Similarly, law and legal institutions in the reform era are used as an instrument to secure development policies. China's urban land use laws have the purpose and effect of channeling capital into land development and urban renewal projects through the commodification of land use rights. While the …