ABSTRACT
This chapter looks into the legal solutions, problems, and dilemmas of developing a formal land tenure system. By comparing the legal framework before and after the approval of Timor-Leste’s Land Law, the first part of the chapter studies the legal solutions adopted by the Timorese system to address problems caused by colonialism, conflict, and authoritarianism. The topics covered include (1) the legal status of formal rights issued before independence; (2) the legal recognition of customary land rights; (3) mechanisms to protect long-term possession of land; (4) the definition of state land; (5) the land rights of legal entities; (6) the process for identifying land claims and addressing conflicting ones; and (7) the regulation of evictions. The second part of this chapter looks into other key topics, including (8) the land rights established by the formal land tenure system; and (9) the legal mechanisms for acquisition and loss of these rights. This chapter demonstrates that each new piece of legislation addressed previous legal questions but also resulted in new gaps and problems. In part, this is the nature of wicked problems such as land tenure, where issues do not have perfect solutions and where solving one problem gives rise to others. However, the case of Timor-Leste exemplifies how an unfavourable political environment for legislating about land tenure and problems with the law-making process contribute to a legal framework with gaps and problems, which impacts the role of the formal land tenure system in improving people’s living conditions.
