Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use agreements, including renting, are an important intersection of property and contract law. Encumbrance on the land rights of one, such as an easement, may constitute the land rights of another. Mineral rights and water rights are closely linked, and often interrelated concepts.
Land rights are such a basic form of law that they develop even where there is no state to enforce them; for example, the claim clubs of the American West were institutions that arose organically to enforce the system of rules appurtenant to mining. Squatting, the occupation of land without ownership, is a globally ubiquitous phenomenon.
Indigenous land rights is also a perennial related issue.
National sovereignty
Sovereignty, in common law jurisdictions, is often referred to as absolute title, radical title, or allodial title. Nearly all of these jurisdictions have a system of land registration, to record fee simple interests, and a land claim process to resolve disputes.
Land rights
Indigenous land rights are recognized by international law, as well as the national legal systems of common law and civil law countries. In common law jurisdictions, the land rights of indigenous peoples are referred to as aboriginal title. In customary law jurisdictions, customary land is the predominant form of land ownership.
Land reform refers to government policies that take and/or redistribute land, such as a land grant.
Land rights refer to the inalienable ability of individuals to freely obtain, use, and possess land at their discretion, as long as their activities on the land do not impede on other individuals' rights. This is not to be confused with access to land, which allows individuals the use of land in an economic sense (i.e. farming). Instead, land rights address the ownership of land which provides security and increases human capabilities. When a person only has access to land, they are in constant threat of expulsion depending on the choices of the land owner, which limits financial stability. Laws are important, but they must be backed up by cultural tradition and social acceptance. Therefore, laws concerning land ownership and land rights of a country must be in agreement.
Globally, there has been an increased focus on land rights, as they are so pertinent to various aspects of development. According to Wickeri and Kalhan, land ownership can be a critical source of capital, financial security, food, water, shelter, and resources. The UN Global Land Tool organisation has found that rural landlessness is a strong predictor of poverty and hunger, and negatively impacts Empowerment and the realisation of Human rights. In order to home in on this critical problem of inadequate land rights, The Millennium Development Goal 7D strives to improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers. This includes increased land rights for impoverished people, which will ultimately lead to a higher quality of life. In order to reach equality, these groups must obtain adequate land rights that are both socially and legally recognised.
Limits of national jurisdiction and sovereignty
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" cellpadding="5"
|+ Limits of national jurisdiction and sovereignty
|-
| style="background:#ff9090; color:black; border:3px dashed red;" colspan="8" | Outer space <small>(including Earth orbits; the Moon and other celestial bodies, and their orbits)</small>
|-
| style="background:#90ff90; color:black; border:2px solid black;" colspan="2" | national airspace || style="background:yellow; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | territorial waters airspace || style="background:yellow; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | contiguous zone airspace || style="background:#ff9090; color:black; border:2px solid black;" colspan="4" | international airspace
|-
| style="background:#90ff90; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | land territory surface || style="background:#90ff90; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | internal waters surface || style="background:#90ff90; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | territorial waters surface || style="background:yellow; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | contiguous zone surface || style="background:yellow; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | Exclusive Economic Zone surface || style="background:#ff9090; color:black; border:2px solid black;" colspan="3" | international waters surface
|- style="color:black;"
| style="background:#90ff90; border:2px solid black;" colspan="2" | internal waters || style="background:#90ff90; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | territorial waters || style="background:yellow; color:black; border:2px solid black;" colspan="2" | Exclusive Economic Zone || style="background:#ff9090; color:black; border:2px solid black;" colspan="3" | international waters
|-
| style="background:#90ff90; color:black; border:2px solid black;" colspan="2" rowspan="2" | land territory underground || style="background:yellow; color:black; border:2px solid black;" colspan="3" | Continental Shelf surface || style="background:yellow; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | extended continental shelf surface || rowspan="2" style="background:yellow; color:black; border:3px dashed red; width:0;" | || style="background:#ff9090; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | international seabed surface
|-
| style="background:#90ff90; color:black; border:2px solid black;" colspan="3" | Continental Shelf underground || style="background:yellow; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | extended continental shelf underground || style="background:#ff9090; color:black; border:2px solid black;" | international seabed underground
|-
| style="background:#90ff90; color:black; border:3px dashed red;" colspan="8" |
|-
| style="height:0;" colspan="7" |
|}
Land rights and women
Several scholars argue that women's lack of sufficient land rights negatively affects their immediate families and the larger community, as well. With land ownership, women can develop an income and allocate this income more fairly within the household. Tim Hanstad claims that providing sufficient land rights for women is beneficial because, once women can exercise those rights the following will be promoted:
- Women will be less likely to contract and spread HIV/AIDS as they do not have to resort to prostitution
- Women will be less likely to be victims of Domestic violence
- Their children will be more likely to get an education and stay in school longer
- Women will be better positioned to get access to Microcredit
In many parts of the world, women have access to land in order to farm and cultivate the land; however, there are traditions and cultural norms which bar women from inheriting or purchasing land. Up until recently, Indian women have been left out of laws regarding the distribution of public land and were forced to rely on the small possibility of obtaining private land from their families. This act was both a legally and socially important move for women's rights to land. Not only did it legally mandate equality in land succession, it also validated women's roles as equals in society.
Uganda
Uganda's 1995 Constitution enforces equality between men and women, including the acquisition and ownership of land. However, research from Women's Land Link Africa reveals that women remain excluded from land ownership due to customs and deeply ingrained cultural habits. Even when women save up enough money to purchase land, the land is signed in their husband's name, while women sign as the witness. Another detriment to equality, pointed out by Women's Land Link Africa, is that women lack sufficient knowledge about the rights they have under the law to own land.