Overview

This Proclamation repeals the previous rural land law (No. 456/2005) and establishes a new legal framework for the administration, use, registration, and transfer of rural land in Ethiopia. It aims to strengthen land tenure security, recognize customary land rights, promote sustainable land use, and protect the rights of vulnerable groups (women, youth, orphans, persons with disabilities).

Key Words:

Rural land, Landholding right / holding right, Land use right, Tenure security, Customary land use and management, Communal landholding, Private landholding, State landholding, Rural land administration, Rural land registration, Rural land information system (digital), Landholding certificate, Unique parcel identification number, Cadastral surveying, National geodetic reference point, Registry book, Adjudication, Participatory registration, Rural land use plan, Sustainable land use, Sharecropping (gära arashi), Exchange of holdings, Sale of immovable property on land, Access to rural land, Landless persons, Distribution, Minimum parcel size, Maximum holding size, Pastoralist, Semi-pastoralist, Pastoral communal land, Customary conflict resolution

Key Provisions

1. Scope & Ownership

• Applies to all rural land in Ethiopia, including certain rural kebeles within urban boundaries.
• All rural land is owned by the state and the Ethiopian people. Farmers, pastoralists, and semi-pastoralists have holding rights (use rights), not full ownership.

2. Access to Rural Land

• Any person engaged in agriculture has the right to access rural land for free (subject to regional laws).
• Minimum age for applicants is 18 years.
• Orphans under 18 whose parents had no land may also receive land.
• Spouses without land can apply as landless persons; land acquired during marriage is jointly registered.

3. Holding Types

• Private holding (individual or joint).
• Communal holding (grazing, forest, social services).
• State holding (government land, forests, protected areas, lakes, rivers).

4. Rights of Landholders (including farmers, pastoralists, religious institutions)
Holders have permanent (no time limit) rights to:

• Use, lease, sharecrop, and exchange land.
• Use land as collateral for loans (max. use by creditor: 10 years).
• Bequeath or donate land (subject to family law and protection of minor children/disabled).
• Sell immovable properties (buildings, perennial crops) on the land without selling the land itself.
• Consolidate holdings or cultivate through cluster arrangements.

5. Restrictions & Obligations

• Land must be used according to land use plans.
• Damage to land can lead to loss of holding rights.
• Redistribution of private/communal land is generally prohibited, except for government/NGO-funded irrigation projects.
• Distribution (to landless) is allowed only in specific cases (e.g., deceased with no heirs, long-term absence beyond regional limits).

6. Pastoralist-Specific Provisions

• Customary land use and conflict resolution systems are recognized (provided they don’t violate constitutional or women’s rights).
• Communal pastoral lands cannot be privatized without community decision (min. 3/4 majority) and study.
• Communal land can be leased based on community decision; income must go to a communal fund benefiting all, especially disadvantaged women and vulnerable groups.

7. Land Registration & Certification

• Compulsory, systematic, parcel-based registration using modern surveying.
• Unique parcel identification numbers (combining region, zone, woreda, kebele, parcel).
• Landholding certificates are conclusive evidence of holding rights; contrary evidence is not admissible except for lack of authority or unlawful documents.
• Digital land information system to be established.

8. Dispute Resolution

• Disputes may be resolved through negotiation, mediation/conciliation, or regular courts.
• Customary dispute resolution is recognized but cannot violate fundamental rights.
• Women and vulnerable groups may be represented by women, children, and social affairs institutions.

9. Criminal Penalties

• Illegal invasion of land: 30,000–100,000 Birr fine +/or 1–5 years imprisonment.
• Causing damage: 50,000–150,000 Birr +/or 3–7 years.
• Selling or buying land: 100,000–200,000 Birr +/or 1–5 years rigorous imprisonment.
• Unauthorized construction or misuse against land use plan: 20,000–50,000 Birr +/or 1–3 years.

10. Implementation

• Federal government sets national master land use plan and standards.
• Regions issue detailed laws consistent with this Proclamation and establish administrative institutions.
• Initial registration and surveying are free of charge.
• The Proclamation came into force on 14 August 2024