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The 1945 Constitution, Article 33 paragraph (1) grants the State the authority to regulate and manage natural resources, including land, for the welfare of the people. This authority is further elaborated in the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA), which establishes regulations concerning land ownership, utilization, and management. The UUPA recognizes the state's right of control (recht van beschikking), customary land rights (hak ulayat), and land use rights for business purposes. However, these rights must align with the principle of prioritizing the public interest. In practice, the subordination of customary rights and land use rights to public interest policies can potentially lead to conflicts and economic losses for the rights holders. Issues such as inadequate compensation, lack of consultation, and improper recognition of customary rights often arise, particularly in regions where land is closely tied to indigenous traditions and livelihoods. To address these concerns, there is an urgent need for a standardized regulatory framework that balances the principle of public interest with the protection of customary rights and business land use rights. Such a framework should ensure legal certainty, equitable compensation, and mechanisms for conflict resolution to prevent injustice. By harmonizing state authority with individual and communal rights, the regulation can contribute to sustainable land management while upholding justice and public welfare. This study highlights the importance of legal reform to create comprehensive and inclusive land policies that safeguard the rights of all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last two decades, commercial crop production has boomed to meet global food and biofuel demands as well as produce industrial commodities, while also being promoted as an effective approach for poverty alleviation in the Global South. Despite possible new economic opportunities, scholars are concerned that crop booms could exacerbate vulnerability in farmer livelihoods. However, it is little known how local resilience can be built in the context of crop booms. Through mixed methods of combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches, this research conducted a multidimensional assessment of livelihood resilience by focusing on absorptive, adaptive and anticipatory capacities of local people in Southwest China. Unlike existing literature, this research found that farmers who adopted a hybrid livelihood strategy that was partially involved in crop booms under agriculture modernization while simultaneously maintaining some degree of traditional agricultural practices had a higher level of livelihood resilience. In contrast, those who were fully involved and put all of their capital into cash crop planting as well as those who did not participate in cash crop production and completely avoided crop booms both showed a relatively low level of livelihood resilience. The paper argues that crop booms might provide more possibilities for farmers to diversify their agricultural systems and livelihood strategies to strengthen livelihood resilience when they have better access to land and markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender quota opens politics to women and ensures full and equal participation of women in politics. However, the initiative is not an end itself to ensure the representation of women in politics. In 2017, Nagaland witnessed the protest against the thirty-three per cent reservation for women in the urban local body (ULB) after the government's decision to conduct local election. The article seeks to understand the negligible presence of women representation in the political sphere despite having better gender indicators compared to national average in terms of education, literacy rate and employment in Nagaland, India. Based on the empirical research, it explores the various reasons for resisting the implementation of thirty-three per cent reservation for women in ULB elections. Since the formation of Nagaland as a state in 1963, nineteen women have stood in the assembly election. None of them have won in the election till the year 2022. Even though women are completely absent in the institutional forum, there is a resistance against the implementation of the policy. In its continued exploration, the article discusses the impact of group rights on the women in accessing liberty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revealing the extent of the existence of customary law communities' customary rights over forests before the enactment of Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2020 concerning Recognition and Protection of Customary Law Communities; and Revealing the extent of the existence of customary law communities' customary rights over forests after the enactment of Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2020 concerning Recognition and Protection of Customary Law Communities. The discussion is first, the existence of customary law communities before the formation of North Lombok Regency regional regulation number 6 of 2020 concerning recognition and protection of customary law communities has been recognized, this is proven in various statutory regulations, namely the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia Article 18B paragraph 1 and paragraph 2, the basic agrarian law of the Republic of Indonesia number 5 of 1960 concerning land, as well as in various other statutory regulations, however, this existence is recognized with certain limitations, namely that the Customary Law Community as long as it is still alive, the Ulayat Rights are in accordance with with the development of society, the existence of Ulayat Rights must be in accordance with the principles of the Republic of Indonesia. Second, the existence of customary law communities in North Lombok Regency was recognized after the establishment of North Lombok Regency Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2020. However, the existence of customary law communities in terms of MHA protection of customary forest areas is still very weak because the rights given are in the form of management rights. This right can be waived if faced with public interests or revoked based on certain laws. KEYWORDS: Legal Protection, Customary Rights, Customary Forests, North Lombok

Agrarian conflicts between indigenous peoples and large-scale oil palm plantation companies in Indonesia always occur in tandem with the processes of expansion of new land for oil palm plantations. The article reveals how the strategies of large-scale oil palm plantation companies organize land as the key capital for the production of the oil palm plantation industry. The study case found that most of the land needed by the company was under the tenure control of the Dayak community, and the company succeeded to control the customary land through means of excluding the Dayak community from their lands by utilizing territorialization policies, organizing formal support from the village government bureaucracy to localize space for the Dayak community’s resistance to the land acquisition process. This study provides a lesson that the domination of state-village power relations is an entry point for customary land occupation processes without the resistance of indigenous peoples.

Globally, the forced displacement of socially vulnerable communities causes significant contestation, irrespective of whether that occurs for mega-projects or smaller infrastructural, agricultural, urban renewal, or property developments. Despite multilateral guidelines for "socially inclusive" development, it is difficult to avoid the marginalization of evicted, local communities. Grounded on the credibility thesis, this article provides a new, theoretical basis for understanding the "social function of property" and how this may be used as a criterion to assess whether development-induced and resettlement projects should be given the go-ahead. Methodologically, this article employs the FAT (Formal, Actual, and Targeted) Institutional Framework to unpack the social function of property. To this end, it analyzes the acquisition and privatization of the common property of Indigenous Peoples to construct the Malaysian Bakun Hydroelectric Project, purportedly Asia's second-largest dam. The FAT analysis ascertains the following three conditions on which basis projects should be halted: (1) the property of the evicted communities fulfills a critical role in providing social welfare; (2) the said function is disregarded by the expropriating agency; (3) the power divides between the expropriator and expropriated prevent meaningful participation by the latter. This study demonstrates that the social function of property can be effectively measured and validates the FAT Framework as a viable tool to analyze development-induced projects (and policies), with particular reference to expropriation, privatization, and formalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Alauddin Law Development Journal is the property of Alauddin Law Development Journal (ALDEV) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The spread of smallholder cash cropping in Myanmar's southeast is undermining Karen customary land use practices and communal tenure. The ceasefire agreement reached in 2012 with the main Karen rebel group, the KNU, led to a rapid expansion of smallholder cash cropping. Based on field research during 2020-2023 in 19 Karen villages under Karen rebel administration, we found smallholder agriculture to have directly contributed to significant land use change and the privatization of communal forestland. Wealthier Karen villagers and newlyarrived non-Karen migrants are increasingly replacing Karen traditional swidden rice farming and their communal tenure system with that of private household cash cropping plots with land titles. This agrarian change has increased land disparity and economic inequality, and transformed Karen relations to land and the Karen rebel group. These findings point to challenges for community-led forest conservation, the revitalization of the traditional Karen governance system, and ethno-nationalist struggles for federal democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to analyze the complexities of land tenure in the Tormatutung protected forest region, where the issuance of land ownership certificates does not guarantee possession due to overlapping designations as registered and protected forest zones. This anomaly restricts certificate holders from exercising their legal rights over the land. The study assesses Indonesian land tenure policies, focusing on individual land ownership rights granted by certificates. Using a normative research method with a legislative approach, it examines statutory provisions and land use planning policies by relevant agencies responsible for issuing certificates and implementing land rights. The key finding of the research reveals governmental passivity in upholding land ownership rights in protected forest areas, prioritizing global forest preservation over individual property rights. The implications highlight governmental failure to protect the legal rights of certificate holders, constituting a violation of property rights. The research concludes the lack of coordination among government bodies leads to contradictory decisions in the Tormatutung forest area, necessitating proactive measures such as area remapping, reforestation of certified or community-controlled land, and collaborative agreements for regulated land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the forced displacement of socially vulnerable communities causes significant contestation, irrespective of whether that occurs for mega-projects or smaller infrastructural, agricultural, urban renewal, or property developments. Despite multilateral guidelines for “socially inclusive” development, it is difficult to avoid the marginalization of evicted, local communities. Grounded on the credibility thesis, this article provides a new, theoretical basis for understanding the “social function of property” and how this may be used as a criterion to assess whether development-induced and resettlement projects should be given the go-ahead. Methodologically, this article employs the FAT (Formal, Actual, and Targeted) Institutional Framework to unpack the social function of property. To this end, it analyzes the acquisition and privatization of the common property of Indigenous Peoples to construct the Malaysian Bakun Hydroelectric Project, purportedly Asia’s second-largest dam. The FAT analysis ascertains the following three conditions on which basis projects should be halted: (1) the property of the evicted communities fulfills a critical role in providing social welfare; (2) the said function is disregarded by the expropriating agency; (3) the power divides between the expropriator and expropriated prevent meaningful participation by the latter. This study demonstrates that the social function of property can be effectively measured and validates the FAT Framework as a viable tool to analyze development-induced projects (and policies), with particular reference to expropriation, privatization, and formalization.

Farming communities have played a vital role in making plant genetic resources available to commercial plant breeders for development of new varieties of plants. They are instrumental in ensuring sustainability of agriculture, which is a must to meet the demands of an increasing world's population. Despite the above the contributions of farming communities are undervalued. Agriculture‐based economies cannot do justice with these communities by treating them as steward of biological resources only. Attempts have been made in different jurisdictions to protect commercial plant breeders as well as farmers using different options available under the TRIPs Agreement. But, in no jurisdiction, farming communities have affirmative rights equal to or better than commercial plant breeders due to the demands of privatization of seed industries and technological developments in agriculture sector. An attempt has been made by the Government of India under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 to recognize the enormous contributions of farming communities and give them protection at par with commercial plant breeders. In fact, the Act recognizes the long‐due customary claims of farming communities. The paper examines the rights of farmers as customary rights particularly in light of the UNDROP, 2018. It critically examines the recent decision of PPV&FR Authority in Kavitha Kuruganti case to understand PepsiCo's concerns and its contradictions with customary rights of farmers in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to land and its peaceful and uncontested use have always been at the center of reflections in the context of sustainable development in Mali. This question arises more acutely when it comes to land ownership and governance. There is existing, superficial evidence of slavery by descent in West Africa, particularly in Mali. And also the existence of cumulative waves of displacements of groups with assigned slave status (based on the historical status of their family members or on the basis of their late arrival as newcomers and foreigners) in Mali postcolonial. Slavery-related displacement in West Africa has been largely ignored in development and humanitarian practice and related gray literature. Our subject questions the legal instruments guaranteeing the right of property and their implementation in Mali. Based on a socio-anthropological, historical and legal methodology, it is a question of highlighting the legal logics which underlie fundamental freedoms in a context marked by the serious violation of human rights in the Republic of Mali. In doing so, it analyzes on the one hand the legal instruments guaranteeing land ownership and on the other hand the adequate means of implementing these legal instruments in Mali. With this in mind, the study suggests a number of avenues to be taken into account in domestic legislation, such as the drafting of a law criminalizing slavery and the resettlement of victims in their respective localities with a view to guaranteeing the land ownership of descendants of former slaves in Mali. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developments taking place under the framework of the Ocean Economy represent the latest wave of ocean grabbing in South Africa, with dire implications for small-scale fishing communities. This article provides an overview of the governance systems in the ocean space in South Africa. It examines the challenges confronting small-scale fishers under Ocean Economy policies and presents strategies implemented by these communities to counteract the displacement caused by the actions of the state and other actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia has a vast area of state forests (kawasan hutan) covering 65 percent of the country's land surface. State forests provide timber and enable the protection and conservation of forests. They also provide a living environment for local people, which comes with many problems, including overlapping land rights, illegal logging, and serious environmental degradation. This study looks into the origin of the state forest system during the colonial era, paying particular attention to the establishment of the Forest Service. Faced with deforestation at the end of the eighteenth century and the middle of the nineteenth, a forest administration system was established in the name of forest protection and conservation, to implement a bureaucratic system of administration based on wage labor. Finally, the Forest Service was set up. The Forest Service supplied timber for the government's infrastructure development, such as state railway construction, and supplied timber and firewood for local people. The Forest Service's revenue covered its expenditure and even created a budget surplus that contributed to state revenue. The system was quite unsympathetic to local people--for example, slash-and-burn practices were prohibited, and defiant locals were punished--and the government never attempted to involve local people in the implementation of the forest conservation program. The government attempted to stabilize the system in part by issuing permits allowing certain activities. However, the permit system barely functioned, and almost nobody tried to get permits. The number of forest offenses such as stealing trees increased until the end of the 1930s. The fundamental problem was that local people regarded their use of the forest--such as for cutting trees and gathering fallen trees, leaves, and branches--as their customary right; the colonial government, on the other hand, denied them this right, confining it within the permit and police system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The political direction of agrarian law with regard to customary law and customary rights (beschikkingsrecht) of indigenous peoples during the Dutch colonial period wanted to unify and codify land law that applied to all groups of people based on the principle of concordance, but failed miserably, so that the pluralism policy was still applied. The current problem is in contemporary Indonesia, so it can be predicted that the prospect of pluralist customary rights of indigenous peoples must be maintained because it is in line with the mandate of the constitution in the upcoming reform era in the face of globalization by combining with efforts to reform agrarian law and land law through research on the political direction of customary rights law for the fulfillment of human rights or the public interest, The research method used by the author to conduct research is Juridical Nomaritf, the results of research in this study need to be followed up by mapping customary rights according to the rules of Geodesy, so that it is clear the extent of customary rights areas in the archipelago and ultimately can contribute to supporting the existence and legal certainty of customary rights in particular and land law for the public interest which will provide fulfillment of human rights.

The richness of the Albanian culture, its traditions, and customs easily fascinate any researcher. Amidst the diversity of these traditions and customs, certain elements have played a role in reinforcing gender role divisions and strengthening patriarchal mentalities. Through this article, it is intended to explore customary laws that have nurtured and strengthened gender role divisions, by exploring the customary rights in the Kanun of Leke Dukagjini and Kanun of Luma, which have been implemented in the northern and northeastern part of Albania. The Kanuns, as customary rights, and codes of laws, have served as a legal basis for a long time in the Albanian society, and they are an important part of the cultural tradition of Albania. This article highlights elements that have influenced the strengthening of patriarchal mindsets, which contributed to the unequal position of women in family and society. Although nowadays the customary rights in the Kanuns are considered obsolete, the Kanun norms have often served as the opposite of the current legal regulations and continue to do so. In many cases, the rules of the Kanuns have been followed by the people in different areas of life, often conflicting with the law in force. The customary rights of the Kanuns and the mindset created by them have contributed to the strengthening of the patriarchal mentality and the division of gender roles. Gender roles perpetuate inequalities between females and males, where there are clear divisions inside the Kanun regulations, which are still strong and influential on gender-related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two types of land are found in West Sumatra Province—private land known as state land and collective land known as communal land. In West Sumatra, this type of land is regulated by three strands of law: national law, regional law, and customary law that is upheld by Nagari, the smallest unit of government in West Sumatra. Despite the predominance of tanah ulayat throughout the province of West Sumatra, inconsistent and ineffective government policies and regulations have made its legal status and certification ambiguous. This study discusses customary right policies and their impact on the Minangkabau society. This study aims to address the issue of whether customary rights certification can guarantee the legal protection for communal land in West Sumatra, especially in Lima puluh Kota District, and whether communal land can return to its original status after it has been exploited as a state land (private land) by an investor under West Sumatra Regional Regulation No. 6/2008 on Communal Land Use. This is a socio-legal research drawing on both empirical and normative data analyzed qualitatively and presented in a descriptive evaluative form. The study reveals that the inconsistency between the central, regional, and Nagari governments in regulating customary rights has not only created ambiguity in the registration and certification of communal land, but it has weakened the legal protection of the customary law communities. This is exacerbated when in implementing norms, the authorities fail to capture the spirit of the constitution and/or customary norms, which makes it difficult for communal land to return to its original status once turned into a state land for business purposes. The study also reveals that the management of communal land is hindered by kinship structures in a matrilineal society, especially in the uncle- nephew/niece relationship.

The transfer of rights or transactions does not exist in customary land tenure because it is a common property; thus, it can never be transferred to another party. On the other hand, in the Minangkabau indigenous community, West Sumatra, there is a shift in the concept of ulayat land tenure that occurs through two forms of change with six values: religious-magical, self-existence, socio-kinship, cultures and customs, structural and socio-economic asset values. This research will present the concept of the customary land tenure, which is based on these values. The study uses the socio-legal method with sociological approaches, including historical and case approaches. This research shows that there has been a change in land tenure values, moving from communal ownership to individual ownership. There has been an interaction between the laws, the incorporation interaction. It becomes the right concept for the customary land tenure in the future.

This article examines relations between state and customary land claims in Francophone West Africa. This region, despite a broadly common legal heritage at the time of independence, experienced a wide variety of changes at the national scale to the point where these countries now form a full spectrum of statutory/customary relations. After a historical review of rural property rights in Francophone West Africa, this article proposes a typology of State vs. Customary ownership in the region with a focus on four exemplary cases: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Mauritania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customary law communities are one of the legal subjects of the state that are recognized in statutory regulations. Customary law communities have a multidimensional relationship with customary rights, not just an economic resource, but an integral part of the overall life of the customary law community. This research aims to study and analyze the settlement of disputes by indigenous peoples over land exploitation which is customary rights in the Forest Zone. The research method used in this research is normative juridical research, namely the method of doctrinal law research by examining and examining the provisions of the applicable laws and regulations as a basis for later analyzing the problems being studied. Based on the results of the research that the importance of the role of land in human life, land becomes an object that is prone to disputes or disputes between humans, this happens because human needs for land are increasing, land can cause disturbances and involve the community at large, so it is demanded to handle it appropriately. The parties involved and authorized to deal with the issue of customary rights in the forest area of indigenous peoples, resolve it in various ways. The method of dispute resolution that has been taken so far is through court (litigation). Over time, dispute resolution through deliberation is increasingly being carried out. Land disputes, which are more related to issues of interest or interest of the parties, are relatively easier to resolve through deliberation as long as both parties are open to each other and want the best solution for all parties.

This paper presents the process of real estate reallocation as a mass cadastral subdivision process of agrarian communities’ customary rights. The agricultural communities have existed for centuries and have been jointly owning and using the common land. Such gatherings were developed mainly due to the unique requirements deriving from land use and relief characteristics, such as joint forest management on mountain slopes. The main objective of this research has been to analyse the process of real estate subdivision, which has its legal background in Slovenian legislation. In this paper, the process of cadastral subdivision of land owned by agricultural communities is presented as a mass cadastral land subdivision process: from preparatory work to the new geometric structure of the common land. The cadastral, organisational, and engineering role of the chartered surveying engineer and the surveying company is examined. An aim of the paper is, inter alia, to develop a conceptual model of the process that will serve as a basis for optimisation, for a more just and more efficient distribution of assets among community members. The course of the individual steps of the community established land subdivision is shown with unified modelling language (UML) activity diagrams. As a case study, we have considered the subdivision of the property of the agricultural community of Zgornja Sorica in Slovenia.

Two types of land are found in West Sumatra Province—private land known as state land and collective land known as communal land. In West Sumatra, this type of land is regulated by three strands of law: national law, regional law, and customary law that is upheld by Nagari, the smallest unit of government in West Sumatra. Despite the predominance of tanah ulayat throughout the province of West Sumatra, inconsistent and ineffective government policies and regulations have made its legal status and certification ambiguous. This study discusses customary right policies and their impact on the Minangkabau society. This study aims to address the issue of whether customary rights certification can guarantee the legal protection for communal land in West Sumatra, especially in Lima puluh Kota District, and whether communal land can return to its original status after it has been exploited as a state land (private land) by an investor under West Sumatra Regional Regulation No. 6/2008 on Communal Land Use. This is a socio-legal research drawing on both empirical and normative data analyzed qualitatively and presented in a descriptive evaluative form. The study reveals that the inconsistency between the central, regional, and Nagari governments in regulating customary rights has not only created ambiguity in the registration and certification of communal land, but it has weakened the legal protection of the customary law communities. This is exacerbated when in implementing norms, the authorities fail to capture the spirit of the constitution and/or customary norms, which makes it difficult for communal land to return to its original status once turned into a state land for business purposes. The study also reveals that the management of communal land is hindered by kinship structures in a matrilineal society, especially in the uncle- nephew/niece relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous peoples in the Aru Islands coastal area manage the potential of coastal and marine resources in a traditional manner known as sea customary rights. This paper analyzed customary rights to the sea in the Aru Islands District. In analysing the problems above, this study used descriptive qualitative methods carried out in Aru Islands Regency, Maluku Province. As for data collection, a series of observations, in-depth interviews and focused group discussions (FGD) have been successfully carried out. Then the results showed that in carrying out the management of the coastal and marine environment, the indigenous community of the Aru Archipelago adheres firmly to the rights of the customary land. Customary rights to the sea are traditions that have been passed down for generations and are respected by indigenous peoples. Customary rights are also part of the conception of customary act regarding land and sea rights to indigenous peoples. However, the current condition is that not all villages in Aru Islands Regency impose sea customary regulations. Villages that enforce marine customary guidance only consist of ten traditional villages with different systems and patterns between one customary village and other customary villages. Some traditional villages such as Luthur Village and Rebi Village impose sea customary guidance based on clan (Fam). While other villages impose sea customary guidance based on their villages. Enforcement of the rules-based on villages in the form of payments for traditional guidance paid by fishermen through the owners of capital.

Purpose. This paper assesses the effect of land title on agricultural investment and productivity in Togo. The purpose is to provide empirical evidence on the importance of land titles and so to encourage governments to promote land registration and facilitate small producers’ access to land titles. Results. The results show that land title positively affects investment decision of farmers and recursively the agricultural productivity. The possession of land title and customary rights increases the probability of investment respectively by 13 % and 21 % compared to farmers who do not have any rights on the land they exploit. The investment in turn, determines the level of productivity of the farmers. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of this paper is to show that the possession of the land title does not have a direct effect on productivity. This effect passes through the investment which itself depend on credit. The recursive model estimated by instrumental variable regression approach appeared as an appropriated model to understand the effect of land security on the agricultural productivity. Practical value. Since 2018, Togolese government has adopted a land code recognizing the land title as the main guarantee of land security likely to stimulate more agricultural investment and productivity. The results seem to indicate that legal land institutions do not protect the security of land tenure better than traditional institutions. Households, therefore, still essentially refer to local habits and customs that are accepted by their entire community. Public authorities must therefore recognize that local rights are as efficient as legal rights conferred by land title. However, to stimulate land titles demand, Government must remove constrainsts in land market. Specifically, he must struggle against corruption which plagues the country’s legal land institutions.

Copyright of Geodetski Vestnik is the property of Sveza Geodetov Slovenije and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article interrogates the meaning of kyukyaw, often shortened as kyu, a Burmese word that is used as both a verb—to occupy or encroach—and a noun—squatter or slum. This deployment of language demands attention because kyu evokes strong negative sentiments, despite its ambiguity. The rapid pace of change in post‐junta Myanmar has compelled both the elite and the marginalized to seek rightness through the notion of rule of law, even though customary practices have not adhered to the strictures of manmade law. Through the personal narratives of residents in Hlaingthaya Township in Yangon, this article raises questions about rightful settlement in unclear legal frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from the articles in the special issue, I review the goals of the movement to protect customary land rights, and assess the reasons why 25 years on, the trajectory of dispossessory development remains unchecked. Legal advocacy has opened pathways for customary land rights to be recognized in theory, but in practice, the number of communities that have qualified for recognition is very small, each 'case' demands heroic efforts and significant resources, and the content of recognition falls far short of restoring customary landholders' autonomy and control. New strategies are needed to forge a broad alliances capable of instilling social justice at the heart of Indonesia's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community advocates for land rights justice in post-reformasi Indonesia frame their claims in terms of either indigenous (adat) rights or agrarian justice discourses. This study considers how these framings function, how effectively they support land rights struggles, and how they advance justice claims. The article provides analytical insights by comparing two conflicts involving communities and large-scale forest plantation companies in Sumatra. It finds that, where democratisation has opened up political space, agrarian justice framing provides a more effective basis for mobilising a wider coalition of actors in heterogeneous contexts and can provide political leverage in such conflicts. While recent changes have widened the legal space for indigenous (adat) rights within de jure 'state forests', the customary framing needs to fit community claims into the restricted, bureaucratised adat concept found in state laws and, in diverse rural contexts, may provide a limited vehicle for social mobilisation. Irrespective of the framing, unless effective mobilisation and legal reform can provide legal and political empowerment, political, institutional and structural barriers will continue to generate truncated agreements in conflict negotiations that potentially cement the exclusion and marginalisation of local communities from land access and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formalisation of customary rights in land is currently being pursued by an increasing number of Indonesian rural communities, who wish to protect their livelihoods and prevent dispossession in favour of commercial concessions. This trend has accelerated during the current presidency (Joko Widodo). This is a dramatic shift from the denial of recognition of customary rights during Soeharto's New Order. This article reports on the ongoing efforts by the indigenous peoples of Sorowako, South Sulawesi, who lost their land to a multinational mining concession during the New Order, to have their rights acknowledged and their economic losses compensated. I argue that in the current political era, their claims of indigenous status have been overlooked by the state which has given recognition to another group who are more able to enact the current 'script' of indigeneity. And in a significant shift, the contemporary generation of young indigenous adults in Sorowako emphasise their claims for cultural recognition as well as for distributive rights. This case leads me to question whether formalisation of customary rights, which in essence means converting them to individual title, addresses the questions of distributive justice that gave rise to claims of customary rights in the New Order period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of lowlands and small flood valleys can increase both agricultural production and resilience of family farming in Sudanian Africa. But the economic opportunities they represent can only be grasped by the actors having access to a plot. Projects' policy in terms of land redistribution is thus crucial. However, the land issues of development schemes remain poorly addressed. Drawing on the case of a lowland development scheme in southern Burkina Faso, this article shows how the existing rights over the area to be developed and the rules for access to new plots determine inclusion and exclusion from the benefits of the land, and thus the distribution of gains and losses between farms. It also shows that the practices of the project's team may create or awaken conflicts or tensions, particularly regarding the legitimacy of land redistribution rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 200 years after the King sold one of the “King’s commons” to urban timber merchants, local people in some ways still behave as if the area is a kind of commons. The paper outlines the history of the transformation of the area from an 18th century King’s commons to a 21st century battleground for ideas about ancient access and use rights of community members facing rights claimed by a commercial forest owner within local consequences of national legislation. The discussion is focused on the right of common to hunt small game without dog in Follafoss private commons. The right was confirmed in a judgement of the Supreme Court in 1937 and in legislation on hunting in 1951. The Government’s proposal for new legislation on hunting in 1981 removed the right without saying a word about it, and it was never commented on in parliament during the legislative process. To explain what we observe it is suggested that a new layer of legislation on rights of common from 1857 and 1863 created a structural amnesia about private commons making it easy to remove them from legislation.

The confirmation of a constitutional, rather than customary, right to petition the monarch in Scotland and England in 1689 has been recognized as an important precedent for modern constitutions, but the underlying forces impelling this historical transition have been less well recognized. The assertion of a constitutional right to petition the Scottish crown appeared after of decades of conflict over increasingly bold forms of collective political petitioning to crown and parliament. These innovations involved ordinary people in organized political protest, stimulating Scotland’s monarchs to block what they considered seditious and tumultuous activity. Standing laws against lese-majesté and unauthorized meetings were deployed to restrict petitioning, despite claims by Scottish dissidents for a customary liberty and natural right to petition. Within the composite British monarchy formed in 1603, England experienced similar but not identical conflicts over participative petitioning, leading revolutionary assemblies in both realms to demand in 1689 a right to supplicate the crown without fear of prosecution. Though Scotland’s monarchs still sought to discourage and evade unwelcome petitions, this new right allowed assertive political petitioning to crown and parliament to re-emerge in Scotland, contributing to the prominence of petitioning in British political culture after the Union of 1707. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dayak individuals and groups engage in plural ecologies -- characterized by different ways of integrating humans and non-humans and by different conceptions of "nature", "land", and "development". Two struggles for the maintenance of customary rights in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, exemplify this engagement. One is a rather forlorn dispute over land with a coal mining company, and the other a promising attempt to secure customary rights to a forested mountain area. Focus on individual and collective actors in these struggles allows consideration of how people appropriate and engage with different and partly contradictory ontological assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]