Land Rights and Expropriation in Ethiopia

289 Pages·2015·4.25 MB·English

by  Daniel W. Ambaye (auth.)

Springer Theses
Recognizing Outstanding Ph.D. Research
Daniel W. Ambaye

Land Rights and
Expropriation in
Ethiopia
Springer Theses
Recognizing Outstanding Ph.D. Research
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Daniel W. Ambaye
Land Rights and
Expropriation in Ethiopia
Doctoral Thesis accepted by
the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH),
Stockholm, Sweden
123
Author Supervisor
Dr. Daniel W.Ambaye Prof. ThomasKalbro
Instituteof Land Administration (ILA) RealEstate PlanningandLand Law
BahirDar University Royal InstituteofTechnology (KTH)
BahirDar Stockholm
Ethiopia Sweden
ISSN 2190-5053 ISSN 2190-5061 (electronic)
Springer Theses
ISBN 978-3-319-14638-6 ISBN 978-3-319-14639-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-14639-3
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2014959200
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2015
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Parts of this thesis have been published in the following journal articles:
DanielW.Ambaye(2013)CompensationduringExpropriationinEthiopiaandthe
UK:AComparativeAnalysis,BahirDarUniversityLawJournal,Vol.3,No.2,
pp. 279–295.
Daniel W. Ambaye (2013) The History of Expropriation in Ethiopian Law, Mizan
Law Review, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 283–308.
Daniel W. Ambaye (2012) Land Rights in Ethiopia: ownership, equity and liberty
in land use rights, FIG Working Week, Rome, Italy.
’
Supervisor s Foreword
The World Bank, other institutions, and researchers have stressed on the utmost
significance of defined and secured property rights in order to facilitate develop-
ment ina country throughaccess tocredit,propertytransfer, andefficient resource
allocation. Secure property rights necessitate clarity of rights, durability of rights,
and the enforcement of such rights.
However, land law and land rights in Ethiopia have a less encouraging back-
ground history. Wars and violence have made the laws and rights unstable and
insecure. Even today, land rights are unpredictable because of the continuous
changeandrevisionoflandlaws.Furthermore,therehasbeenalackofanalysisto
determinethenatureandstatusoflandrightsincurrentEthiopia.Asastartingpoint
in his thesis, Dr. Ambaye fills this gap of knowledge by reviewing and analyzing
the current land rights.
Againstthisbackground,Dr.AmbayeenlightensusontheEthiopianlegislation
and practice of expropriation/compulsory purchase from different angles. Firstly,
the method and procedure of land acquisition by expropriation is investigated.
Secondly, the concept of “public interest” as a requirement for compulsory mea-
sures is discussed. Thirdly, problems related to the absence and lack of scientific
and uniform standards of valuation methods are covered. Fourthly, the thesis dis-
cussestheamountofcompensationfromafairnessperspective.Fifthly,theneedfor
revision ofthecurrentlegislation isaddressed.The fifth themefocuseson areas of
concernwhichneedtobeaddressedbylaws.Forexample,thecityofAddisAbaba
has been undergoing massive infrastructure development works—roads, under-
ground cables, bridges,and water andsewage systems—resultingin theclosureof
businesses situated in the vicinity of the construction without any compensatory
scheme.
Dr. Ambaye’s thesis contains both theoretical and empirical research contribu-
tions of high standard, and he carries out the research objectives in a clear and
precise manner. The operational recommendations for the development of the
Ethiopian legislation of land rights and expropriation, as well as the legal practice,
are scientifically underpinned in a relevant and valid manner.
vii
viii Supervisor’sForeword
Assupervisorithasbeenapleasuretoseethisthesistakingaformbythework
ofaverytalentedandcreativescholar.IwishDr.Ambayeallthebestinthefuture.
Stockholm, October 2015 Prof. Thomas Kalbro
Acknowledgments
Manypeoplehavecontributedtothecompletionofthisstudy.FirstandforemostI
wouldliketothanktheSwedishInstitute(SI)forprovidingmeascholarshipformy
education at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). My gratitude also goes to
Sida for funding part of my travel costs and my research, which was conducted in
Ethiopia during the past four years. This was made possible with the creative
planning of Professor Hans Mattsson of KTH and the Institute of Land Adminis-
tration (ILA) at Bahir Dar University.
I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. Thomas
Kalbro and co-supervisor Prof. Annina Person, for their valuable comments and
criticisms. I am grateful for their friendly approach and concerned readings of the
thesis.IwishalsotothankProf.HansMattssonforhistirelessefforttoseethefull
realizationofmyInstituteatBahirDarUniversity.Itwashissuggestioninthefirst
placethatmademetoapplyfortheSIScholarship.Dr.FrewTegegneandAtoSeid
Hussien, the two previous directors of ILA, were also instrumental in the com-
pletion of the study. I am grateful for their moral support and friendly concerns.
I wish to express my appreciation to the KTH staff at the Department of Real
Estate Planning and Land Law and ILA’s staff at Bahir Dar University for their
friendship and encouragement during the study period.
I am indebted to Dr. Tesfaye Dangew of Bahir Dar University for reading and
editing the material before its submission for review.
Finally, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my beloved wife, Seni, and
my children Nebiyu, Arsema, and Henock for their generous love and support
throughoutmystudy.IamalsogratefultomyfatherWeldegebrielAmbayeandmy
Mother Birhan G. Anania for their love and prayers.
ix
Contents
1 Research Background and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Research Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.2 Research Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.3 Purpose and Research Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.1.4 Significance of the Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2 Research Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.1 Case Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.2 Legal Research Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.2.3 Descriptions of the Judiciary, Sources
and Hierarchy of Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.3 Outline of the Dissertation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2 Land Rights in Ethiopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2 Land Ownership Regimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.2.1 Private Ownership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.2.2 Communal Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.2.3 State Ownership of Land. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.3 Land Tenure and Ownership in Ethiopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.4 Tenure Systems in Pre-1975 Ethiopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.4.1 Land and Imperial Prerogatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.4.2 Land Tenure System in Northern Ethiopia. . . . . . . . . 39
2.4.3 Land Tenure System in Southern Ethiopia. . . . . . . . . 45
2.4.4 Modernization and the Declining Role
of Traditional Land Tenure System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.4.5 The Question of Land Reform and Inadequate
Government Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.5 The Derg Era: A Radical Shift in Land Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
2.5.1 Nationalization of Rural Land. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2.5.2 Nationalization of Urban Land and Extra Houses . . . . 58
xi