Analysing Land Law Reform

In this important article, accepted for publication by Social and Legal Studies before Patrick McAuslan's death in January 2014, the author explores the role of land law in globalization. McAuslan argues that:there is remarkable continuity stretching back some 800 or more years in the use of land law to spearhead first English, but now Anglo-American, inputs into and interference with the spatial ordering and national land laws of countries in the developing world. (p. 1)

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The Politics of Land Law: Poverty and Land Legislation in Bangladesh

Billah¹

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<p>This thesis examines the major colonial and post-colonial land laws of Bangladesh and their relationship with poverty. It interprets them in the light of historical developments and social realities. The thesis argues that land laws in Bangladesh are essentially anti-poor. They contribute to the perpetuation of poverty. At present, two-thirds of the poor in Bangladesh are land-related poor. The land system that prevailed in colonial Bengal during the British period deprived the peasants of their land rights. This situation demanded a radical land reform based on a distributive approach upon decolonisation in 1947. Unfortunately, in the post-colonial political and legal settings of Bangladesh, land distribution has been unequal. Such inequality coupled with a weak land tenure system and fragile institutional reform created widespread poverty. The Bangladeshi land laws are complex and vague and dominated by politics. Its land law regime has structural loopholes and ideological drawbacks, which are enough to make reform attempts dysfunctional. Poverty in Bangladesh is a result of cumulative and mutually reinforcing deprivations. Land law is a major participant in it. Poverty will persist unless law addresses the true reasons of the poverty and a pro-poor approach to land reform is pursued. The gap between “law” and “land” is exposed and a distributive land law reform model is proposed.</p>

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Analysing Land Law Reform

Cited by 3 publications

References 12 publications

The Legal Environment and Incentives for Change in Property Rights Institutions

The Legal Environment and Incentives for Change in Property Rights Institutions

Patrick McAuslan

The Politics of Land Law: Poverty and Land Legislation in Bangladesh

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