THE PRESIDENT
ON THE LAND
On the basis of Article 16 of
law no. 7491, dated
THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY OF THIS
DECIDED:
Article1
Land in the
a) Agricultural land occupied
by field crops, fruit plantations, vineyards and olives, whatever they may be
and irrespective of size, in the countryside, in the cities or other
residential centers;
b) land
occupied by forests, pastures and meadows;
c) non-agricultural land
occupied by economic and sociocultural buildings,
military units and the area around them; land occupied by dwelling houses and
their courtyards, land for general use (streets, highways, airports, railways.
squares, parks, gardens, sports grounds, cemeteries); rocky areas, coastal
sandy areas, beaches; water areas (lakes, reservoirs. ponds), various canals,
rivers, streams, river-beds, swamps, areas with historical or archaeological
buildings and monuments, etc.
Article 2
The state gives land to
physical or juridical persons. They enjoy the right of ownership and all other
rights envisaged in this law.
The sale and purchase of land
is prohibited.
Article 3
Agricultural land is given as
ownership or for use to local juridica1 or physical persons without
remuneration.
Article 4
Foreign juridical or physical
parsons are rented land to build on. The purpose and term of use are defined by
special contract.
The rent of the land is set
upon assessment of the purpose of use, location and other economic conditions,
in conformity with the criteria set by the Council of Ministers.
Article 5
Upon division of the land,
the families which have been members of the agricultural cooperative have the
right to secede and operate on their own, becoming owners of the agricultural
land pertaining to them from the whole of the subject they were members of. The
size and location of this land in defined by the land commission.
In the hilly and mountainous
zones where peasant families cannot get the necessary minimum of agricultura1
land, the state takes measures and guarantees them other sources of livelihood
through subsidies, bigger investments which will create more jobs, the
establishment of the social assistance system and the controlled movement of
the population, on the basis of program endorsed by the Council of Ministers.
Article 6
Families which reside in the
countryside but are not members of the agricultural cooperative as well as
those which work and live in agricultural enterprises, are given agricultural
land for use, the size of which is defined by the Council of Ministers.
Article 7
A government land commission
at the Ministry of Agriculture, land commissions at the executive committees
and people's council of districts and the people's councils of villages are set
up for the distribution of land as ownership or for use to Juridical or
physica1 persons, and for the elimination of the recently created confusion in
this field.
The rights and duties of
these commissions are defined by the Council of, Ministers.
Article 8
Prior collectivization
ownership, size or boundaries of the land given for use or as ownership to
juridical or physical persons are not recognized.
Article 9
The state organ specialized
in information on the land is the land survey office at this executive
committee of the people's council of the district.
Article 10
The land which is given as
ownership of for use to any juridical or physical person is registered in the
cadastral office.
Any change made after the
first registration is also registered in the cadastral office.
Article 11
_____ as ownership or for use
are obliged to use it only for agriculture, to preserve and increase its
productive capacity, to systemize and protect it with various projects.
Article 12
The owners and users of
agricultural land are obliged to protect the irrigation and electro-energetic
projects' their installations and equipment. No owner or user has the right to
prohibit other owners and users from using this equipment and installations.
The organs of power at the
base and in the districts have the right to settle disagreements.
Article 13
Dwelling houses, economic,
socio-cultural and any other type of building are built within the bordering
line (the yellow line ) .
Land for construction is
given with or without remuneration according to the criteria set by the Council
of Ministers.
It is prohibited to build any
type of project outside the bordering line without special decision of the
respective competent organ.
The value of the land is
included in the total value of construction and assembly.
Article 14
The construction of buildings
and other projects for agricultural and livestock purposes is allowed on
agricultural land according to the rules set by the Council of Ministers.
Article 15
Any
juridical or physical person who is given land for use and does not exploit it
for agricultural or raising livestock purpose within one year, is deprived of
his right of use of the land.
Article 16
When the juridical or
physical persons who get land as ownership or for use,
for construction or for other economic activities, do not respect the term of
the completion of the product according to the prior agreement, they are
obliged to pay an amount equal to the average annual rent of the land.
Article 17
Industrial and mineral
refuse, waters with a chemical content harmful for agriculture, must be channeled and gathered in special places in order to
protect the land and the plants, prevent the pollution of water and not
endanger the life of people, animals and birds. The location
of such places and the area where a project is to be built need approval.
If this is not given, no construction or functioning of the project can begin.
It is prohibited to deposit or bury any type of dangerous locally produced or
imported refuse.
Article 18
With the approval of the
draft ideas and area of construction by the respect4ve organ, the land is given
as ownership or for use to those who carry out the construction, but not before
3 months after work has begun. The change in the cadastral entry is made when
concrete work begins.
Article 19
Juridical or physical persons
are deprived of their right of ownership of use of the land, in cases when this
is needed by the state for various projects, on the basis of the approva1 of
the respective organ. When the state occupies land which is the property of juridical
or physical persons, it is obliged to replace it with another equal piece of
land, and if this is not possible, to reimburse the investments made there and
the value of the land. Disagreements on the amount of money to be reimbursed
are settled by the court.
Article 20
The damage caused by fruit
plantations, olives, vineyards, agricultural crops, in
economic, socio-cultural, social and other buildings is compensated for by the
subject which has caused the damage. The amount of compensation is set by the
executive committee of the district people's council on the basis of the real
value.
Disagreements on the amount
of compensation are settled by the court.
Article 21
The organs of the local power
of the respective jurisdiction prohibit occupation or ill usage of land within
their Jurisdiction in contravention of this law and the other respective
sub-legal acts.
If a case of occupation or
damage of the land is observed, the members of the people's councils of the
respective jurisdiction, the owners or users of the land, the land survey
office, the legal urban planning staff and the people's police are obliged to
keep reports on the basis of which the offender is asked to return the land to
its former state within 3 days. Otherwise, the report is handed over to:
- The people's councils of
the village, the city quarter, the city or the region, which within 2 days
decide on the destruction of the object and the return of the land to its
former state. The decision is implemented by the organ which has taken it
within 5 days from its proclamation. The offender has to meet the expenditure
for the return of the land to its former state.
- The cadastral office which
has to take the administrative measure when the violation is not a penal act.
- To the investigation organ
when the violation is a penal act and the decision of the respective people's
council has not been implemented.
Article 22
When the land is taken,
occupied or damaged by a third party, the owner or the user has the right of
appeal to the court.
Article 23
The persons
who act in contravention of the dispositions of this law and the special
dispositions of the. sacts of the Council of Ministers on this question, who do
not exploit the land they have been given as ownership or for use themselves
but transfer it to a third party, who do not take protective measures, build
objects without authorisation, who do not- bring the land back to use within
the term set in the contract, and do not inform the land survey office on time
on the changes in the state of the land they own or use without justified
reasons, and when these violations do not constitute penal acts, are charged by
the head of the land survey office in the district with a fine from 2000 to
5000 leks for administrative offence.
An appeal can be lodged
against the sentence within 10 day n from its proclamation or notification to
the head of the executive committee of the district people's council, the
decision of which is final.
The persons who, in
contravention of legal dispositions, occupy, damage or
misuse land in any form, are prosecuted according to the dispositions of the
Penal Code.
Article 24
The criteria on the division,
registration, change, transfer of ownership, evaluation and renting of land, as
well as the duties of the land survey office, are set by the Council of
Ministers
Article 25
Agricultural land given as
ownership on the basis of this law, is inherited
according to the legal dispositions on inheritance which will be approved.
Article 26
Law no. 5686, dated
Article 27
This law comes immediately
into force.
Tirana,
No. of law: 7501 . PRESIDENT OF
Ramiz Alia