Property Rights and the Need for More Inclusive Concepts, Laws, POLICIES, and PRACTICES / Jean Du Plessis Scott Leckie1

Realizing Property Rights page / 194

Property Rights and the need for more inclusive conceptS, laws, POLICIES, AND PRACTICES / Jean du Plessis Scott Leckie1

Various contributions in this book address between property rights and rights to per- one of the most vital, yet still controver- sonal integrity and security. sial issues within the vast and growing discourse of human rights law: the no- The issues raised form part of debates tion of “property rights.” The perspectives and struggles taking place all over the of the respected authors throughout this world in a variety of contexts, ranging volume take many forms and make many from the conference rooms of academia contentions, but one thread rightly runs to the corridors of government and inter- through them all: No matter the place or national finance, and the boardrooms of context, the question of property rights is business – and all the way down to the an ubiquitous one which impinges upon streets, homes, fields and factories where the lives and livelihoods of people in every the urban and rural poor live and work. country and, indeed, in every neighbor- The stakes in these debates and struggles hood and every home. are incredibly high and their outcome will invariably determine whether or not the The chapters are indicative of the count- world’s poor will remain so or be lifted out less ways by which property rights are re- of poverty. Because the notion of property garded, understood, and interpreted. The is by definition exclusive, how it gets authors in this volume touch on a mix- managed, controlled and manipulated in ture of issues including philosophical con- society is a crucial determinant of who cerns; the manner by which the treatment enjoys the fruits and benefits of the earth of property rights may have both caused and who does not. conflict and acted as a key determinant to long-term peace following conflict; how Not surprisingly, then, the history of hu- property issues relate to broader economic man rights and the body of law that holds development objectives; and the interface these vital values in place has been heavily Property Rights and the Need for More Inclusive Concepts, … page / 195 chequered when it comes to the approach ing human rights for all. One key area of taken towards property rights. Much has concern is the problem of exclusivity. The been written about, for instance, the work of the Centre on Housing Rights and glaring and explicit omission of the term Evictions (COHRE) over the past decade “property rights” from both of the Inter- has illustrated, time and time again, the national Covenants, as well as the for- danger of property rights approaches to mulation of the relevant language with- human rights questions if these are al- in the European Convention on Human lowed to be seen in isolation, or are allowed Rights – the right to the peaceful enjoy- to dominate understanding of the broad ment of possessions (and thus explicitly spectrum of human rights. From the Do- not “property rights”). At another level of minican Republic to Kosovo and from Zim- debate, much excitement and fanfare has, babwe to India we have found that the from time to time, accompanied particular terminology of “property rights” is too ex- analyses and proposed reforms to prop- clusive, ideologically loaded and linked to erty rights and how they are managed, specific political and economic trends. A which seemingly offer miracle answers key challenge is, therefore, to develop a to the problem of poverty, provided more unified view of property rights in a that certain sets of reforms are imple- manner reflecting all of relevant human mented and touched with the magic wand rights law. There is, of course, a place for of title deeds. property rights within the human rights domain, but these rights must be con- It is evident from these debates, and also sidered together with a spectrum of other from the inevitable outcome of what are rights. peddled as nothing less than miracle cures, that the real answers to the problems For example, in the realm of housing and caused and represented by property rights land, property rights have often proven in the world, and the advent of a world in inadequate for fully achieving the objec- which property rights can be viewed as tive of universal access to a place to live in truly empowering, inclusive, and human- peace and dignity. Indeed, on their own, rights-supportive, instead of tools of exclu- property rights are often seen to under- sion and privilege, are still some way off. mine the pursuit of this goal, in many situations serving – as a concept as well as in The problem of exclusivity from the law, policy, and practice – merely to justify perspective of Human Rights a grossly unfair and unequal status quo. The issues surrounding both the concept In other instances, property rights are of property rights, and the way in which confused with housing and land rights, this concept fits within the broader human effectively usurping them in an effort to rights legal framework, pose some urgent give an impression that all residentially- questions and challenges to all of those in- related human rights requirements can be volved in the global effort towards achiev- met via property rights. For this reason Realizing Property Rights page / 196 we have increasingly advocated the more The bundle of rights approach inclusive terminology of “housing, land, Treating what is traditionally referred to and property (HLP) rights” as a far better as “property rights” as “HLP rights” also term with which to describe the residen- promotes a unified and evolutionary ap- tial dimensions of the property question, proach to human rights grounded deeply set within a human rights framework. in the indivisibility and inter-dependence of all rights. In the real world of 2006, The term “housing, land, and property “property rights” is simply too narrow a rights” ensures that all residential sectors concept to promote the achievement of are included in legal analyses and in the core objectives of innumerable human development of plans, policies, and insti- rights treaties, as well as, for instance, the tutions addressing the legal and physical UN’s 1996 Habitat Agenda such as “the conditions in which people in all societies provision of an adequate supply of land in live. Working with HLP rights also ensures the context of sustainable land use poli- that the terminology used in one country cies” or “equitable access to land.” Rather, to describe the rights possessed by every- we believe that an integral, comprehensive one, e.g. “housing rights,” are treated as approach holds the best promise for mar- the human rights equivalent of terms such shalling resources and assets associated as “property rights” or “land rights” and with the HLP sector and which will lead to vice-versa. Using only the term “proper- the improvement of the lives of lower in- ty rights” to describe all of the residential come groups. Treating HLP rights simul- issues that require attention by policy and taneously as human rights concerns and law-makers and the residential rights pos- development concerns is both practical sessed by all under international human and universally relevant. Ultimately, this rights law, can very easily result in the ex- approach can provide one of the clearest clusion of certain sectors (tenants, coop- examples of how a rights-based approach erative dwellers, informal sector dwellers to development actually looks in practice. without secure tenure, women, vulnera- ble groups, nomads, indigenous peoples, When we speak of HLP rights, of course, and others), inequitable treatment and, we refer to the totality of the residence far too often, outright discrimination. In and resource-related rights of everyone, contrast, the term “HLP rights” is univer- set within a human rights framework. If sally relevant within all legal and political we view these matters in this way, we can systems, and resonates in both developed identify six fundamental positions held by and developing countries. COHRE there- different rights-holders, depending upon fore regards it as a more appropriate way their current residential situation: of describing in full the relevant human rights framework affecting the place and 1. The rights of those without hous- conditions in which people reside and live ing, land, or property (the landless, the out their lives. homeless); Property Rights and the Need for More Inclusive Concepts, … page / 197

2. The rights of those informally in pos- The right to adequate housing: The right session of housing, land, or property (slum to adequate housing was first recognized dwellers, squatters); within Article 25(1) of the Universal Dec- 3. The rights of those in possession of laration on Human Rights,2 and subse- housing, land, or property under custom- quently promulgated in various stand- ary or traditional law arrangements (in- ards, most notably the International Cov- digenous peoples, many rural dwellers); enant on Economic, Social and Cultural 4. The rights of those with formal legal Rights (CESCR).3 Beneficiaries of this right title to housing, land, or property (private are entitled to housing that is adequate, land owners); which is defined to include: security of 5. The rights of those that commonly tenure; availability of services, materials, face discrimination in equitably access- facilities and infrastructure; affordability; ing housing, land or property (women, habitability; accessibility; location; and ethnic minorities); and cultural adequacy. Governmental obliga- 6. The rights of all persons to be protected tions derived from this right include du- against arbitrary or illegal, forced eviction ties to take measures to confer security or displacement from housing, land, or of tenure (and consequent protection property. against arbitrary or forced eviction and/or arbitrary confiscation or expropriation If these six types of rights are examined of housing); to prevent discrimination in through the lens of international human the housing sphere; to ensure equality of rights law, they can be considered in terms treatment and access vis-à-vis housing; of a wide range of specific rights with much to protect against racial discrimination; more scope and complexity than is possi- to guarantee housing affordability; and ble to include within the rubric of “prop many others.4 There is a duty incumbent erty rights.” Existing and widely recog- upon those exercising powers of govern- nized rights as diverse as the right to ad- ance to promote access to and provision equate housing; the right to be protected of housing resources suited to the needs against forced evictions; the right not to of the disabled, the chronically ill, migrant be arbitrarily deprived of one’s property; workers, the elderly, and refugees and in- the right to privacy and respect of the ternally displaced persons.5 home; the right to freedom of movement; the right to an adequate standard of liv- The right to security of tenure: Security ing; and others need to be considered as of tenure is perhaps the key HLP rights is- a bundle of rights – HLP rights. These sue. Without security of tenure – whether must be acted upon and enforced in their formal, informal or in other traditional or entirety if people everywhere are to have customary forms – people’s HLP rights are access to a decent and affordable home, permanently under threat, and the risk notwithstanding in which country or locale of forced eviction, displacement or other they may reside. Four of these are notable: forms of dispossession are ever-present. Realizing Property Rights page / 198

The imperative of according tenure secu- the requirements of the Covenant (on Econ rity has been widely recognized as both a omic, Social and Cultural Rights).” Within positive development goal, and increasing- the development context, the 1992 Agen- ly as a distinct human right.6 In terms of da 21, which emerged from the UN World the particular human rights dimensions Conference on Environment and Develop- of security of tenure, for the past fifteen ment, stated that “people should be pro- years, international human rights bodies tected by law against unfair eviction from have been linking the full enjoyment of their homes or land.” human rights to the enjoyment of security of tenure. For instance, in 1991 the The right not to be arbitrarily deprived Committee on Economic, Social and Cul- of one’s property: Closely related to the tural Rights stated in General Comment eviction question, the right not to be arbi- No. 4 that “tenure takes a variety of forms, trarily deprived of one’s property is widely including rental (public and private) ac- addressed throughout human rights law. commodation, cooperative housing, lease, This, of course, forms a key element of owner-occupation, emergency housing, property rights. The basic principles as and informal settlements, including oc- sociated with this right stipulate that cupation of land or property. Notwith- property can only be expropriated or com- standing the type of tenure, all persons pulsorily acquired if this is carried out in should possess a degree of security of accordance with the law, in the public in- tenure which guarantees legal protection terest and subject to the payment of just against forced eviction, harassment, and and satisfactory compensation. other threats”. If we then take a more inclusive approach The right to be protected against forced to the question of property rights, by em- evictions: Many international standards bracing sister rights to housing, land, pro- assert that forced evictions constitute “a tection against displacement and eviction, gross violation of human rights, in par- and security of tenure, this actually al- ticular the right to adequate housing.” 7 A lows the notion of “property rights” to be- leading UN human rights body has con- come a more expansive concept, and one sistently proclaimed that States parties that ultimately may serve the poorest of to the CESCR had violated the right to the poor far better than miracle cure ap- adequate housing because of the preva- proaches. Let us look briefly at three areas lence of forced evictions on their territo- to show how this might look in practice: ries. General Comment No. 7 on Forced the question of land; the question of con- Evictions (1997) provides the most com- flict and post-conflict reconstruction; and prehensive statement on forced evictions the question of title deeds. and the CESCR. General Comment No. 7 confirms, for instance, that forced evictions “are prima facie incompatible with Notes page / 301

Property Rights and the Need for More equate housing as provided for in interna- Inclusive Concepts, Laws, Policies, tional instruments. To that end, we shall and Practices seek the active participation of our public, Jean du Plessis, Scott Leckie private and non-governmental partners at all levels to ensure legal security tenure, 1 This paper has been written by COHRE. protection from discrimination and equal COHRE is an independent international or- access to affordable adequate housing for ganization working for the realization of the all persons and their families.” right to adequate housing and to protection 4 General Comment No. 4 on the Right to Ad- against forced eviction for everyone, eve- equate Housing (1991) also stipulates two rywhere. COHRE is based in Geneva and clear circumstances amounting to viola- has offices in Brazil, South Africa, Ghana, tions of the housing rights provisions of the the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Covenant, namely: “11. A general decline Australia. See www.cohre.org for further in living and housing conditions, directly information. attributable to policy and legislative deci- 2 Article 25(1) of the Universal Declaration on Hu- sions by States parties, and in the absence man Rights reads as follows: “Everyone has of accompanying compensatory measures, the right to a standard of living adequate for would be inconsistent with the obligations the health and well-being of himself and of found in the Covenant.” (Para. 11); and “18. his family, including food, clothing, housing [T]he Committee considers that instances of and medical care and necessary social serv- forced evictions are prima facie incompatible ices, and the right to security in the event of with the requirements of the Covenant and unemployment, sickness, disability, widow- can only be justified in the most exceptional hood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances, and in accordance with the circumstances beyond his control”. relevant principles of international law.” 3 Article 11(1) of the CESCR states: “The States 5 The obligation of governments to prioritize at- Parties to the present Covenant recognize tention to securing the housing rights of the right of everyone to an adequate stand- the most disadvantaged groups in society ard of living for himself and his family, in- is also addressed in General Comment No. cluding adequate food, clothing and hous- 4: “States parties must give due priority to ing, and to the continuous improvement of those social groups living in unfavourable living conditions. The States Parties will take conditions by giving them particular con- appropriate steps to ensure the realization sideration. Policies and legislation should of this right, recognizing to this effect the correspondingly not be designed to benefit essential importance of international co-op- already advantaged social groups at the ex- eration based on free consent.” The Istanbul pense of others” (Para. 11). Principle 18 of Declaration (1996) adopted by the world’s the IDP Guiding Principles provides: “1. All governments during Habitat II, states: “8. internally displaced persons have a right We reaffirm our commitment to the full and to an adequate standard of living; 2. At the progressive realization of the right to ad- minimum, regardless of the circumstances, Realizing Property Rights page / 302

and without discrimination, competent au- Tenure, UNCHS, Nairobi. thorities shall provide internally displaced 7 For instance: In 1993 the United Nations Com- persons with and ensure access to: (a) Es- mission on Human Rights passed resolution sential food and potable water; (b) Basic 1993/77 that asserted that “forced evic- shelter and housing; (c) Appropriate cloth- tions are a gross violation of human rights.” ing; and (d) Essential medical services and Principle 6 of the IDP Guiding Principles sanitation. 3. Special efforts should be made reaffirms these sentiments, stating, “Every to ensure the full participation of women in human being shall have the right to be pro- the planning and distribution of these basic tected against being arbitrarily displaced supplies.” from his or her home or place of habitual 6 “Security of tenure describes an agreement residence.” For a comprehensive listing of all between an individual or group to land and international standards, see COHRE (1999) residential property which is governed and Sources No. 3 – Forced Evictions and Hu- regulated by a legal and administrative man Rights, Geneva. framework. This legal framework is taken to 8 The increasing concentration of land owner- include both customary and statutory sys- ship in fewer and fewer hands is not only a tems. The security derives from the fact that phenomenon affecting developing countries. the right of access to and use of the land In the United States, for instance, the top 5 and property is underwritten by a known percent of the population owns almost 75 set of rules, and that this right is justicia- percent of the land base. Harvey M. Jacobs ble. The tenure can be affected in a variety (ed.) “Who Owns America: Social Conflict of ways, depending on constitutional and Over Property Rights,” University of Wis- legal frameworks, social norms, cultural consin Press, 1998, p. 247. values and, to some extent, individual pref- 9 Ben Cousins, Tessa Cousins, Donna Hornby, erence. In summary, a person or household Rosalie Kingwill, Lauren Royston and War- can be said to have secure tenure when ren Smit, “Will formalizing property rights they are protected from involuntary removal reduce poverty in South Africa’s ‘second from their land or residence, except in ex- economy’?” in PLAAS POLICY BRIEF No.18, ceptional circumstances, and then only by October 2005, p.6. means of a known and agreed legal proce- 10 COHRE, Land, Housing and Property Rights dure, which must itself be objective, equally in Zimbabwe (2001); Jean du Plessis, Land applicable, contestable and independent. Restitution in South Africa: Overview and Such exceptional circumstances might in- Lessons Learned. Working Paper No.6 (De- clude situations where physical safety of cember 2004), BADIL Resource Centre; life and property is threatened, or where Jean du Plessis, “Slow Start on a Long Jour- the persons to be evicted have themselves ney: Land Restitution Issues in East Timor, taken occupation of the property by force 1999 – 2001,” in Scott Leckie (ed.), “Return- or intimidation.” See: UNCHS (1999) Im- ing Home: Housing and Property Restitu- plementing the Habitat Agenda: Adequate tion Rights of Refugees and Displaced Per- Shelter for All, Global Campaign for Secure sons” (2003), Transnational Publishers, Notes page / 303

pp.143 –164; Scott Leckie, “Addressing 15 Ibid, McAuslan, p. 36. Housing, Land and Property Rights in Post- 16 Ibid, McAuslan, pp. 34 – 35. Conflict Settings: A Preliminary Frame- work for Post-Conflict Iraq” (30 July 2003), UNOPS, OHCHR and UNHCR, Baghdad; “If He Asks Me to Leave this Place, Scott Leckie and Jean du Plessis, “Housing, I Will Go” Property and Land Rights in East Timor: The challenge to secure equitable land Proposals for an Effective Dispute Reso- rights for rural women lution and Claim Verification Mechanism” Robin Nielsen in Refugee Survey Quarterly Vol.19 No.3 (2000), pp. 151–186; Marcus Cox and Made- 1 The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms line Garlick, “Musical Chairs: Property Re- of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”) possession and Return Strategies in Bosnia and UN Economic and Social Commission and Herzegovina,” in Scott Leckie (ed.), “Re- on the Status of Women are only two in a turning Home: Housing and Property Res- series of articulations of the fundamental titution Rights of Refugees and Displaced right of nondiscriminatory access to natu- Persons” (2003), Transnational Publishers, ral resources. See overview discussion in I. op.cit., pp. 65 – 82. Ikdahl, A. Hellum, et al., “Human Rights, 11 See Jean du Plessis, “The growing problem of Formalization, and Women’s Land Rights forced evictions and the crucial important in Southern and Eastern Africa,” Studies in of community-based, locally appropriate al- Women’s Law (University of Oslo) 57 (2005) ternatives,” in Environment and Urbaniza- p. 18 – 24. tion, Vol.17 No.1 April 2005, pp. 123 –134. 2 See C. D. Deere & M. Leon, “Empowering Also COHRE, Forced Evictions: Violations of Women: Land and Property Rights in Lat- Human Rights – Global Survey 9. Geneva: in America,” Pittsburgh 2001, p. 23 – 31; Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions B. Agarwal, “A Field of One’s Own: Gender (COHRE), 2003. and Land Rights in South Asia,” Cambridge 12 Durand-Lasserve and Royston (eds.) Holding 1994, p. 38 – 45. Their Ground: Secure Land Tenure for the 3 Sources that provide a comprehensive review Urban Poor in Developing Countries, Earth- of issues relating to women’s land rights scan, 2002, p. 19. include the contributions of Deere & Leon 13 Patrick McAuslan “Tenure and the law: the (n. 2) (Latin America); B. Agarwal (n. 2) (In- legality of illegality and the illegality of legal- dia); Sh. Razavi (ed.), “Agrarian Change, ity” in Geoffrey Payne (ed.) “Land, Rights & Gender, and Land Rights,” Oxford 2003. Innovation: Improving Tenure Security for 4 United Nations, 1980. “Report of the World the Urban Poor,” ITDG Publishing, 2002, Conference of the United Nations Decade for p. 36. Women: Equality, Development and Peace,” 14 Polis, UN Habitat and Caixa, “The Statute of Doc A/Cof.94/35 (New York: United Na- the City: New Tools for Assuring the Right tions), at 8. Data allowing for an estimate to the City in Brasil,” 2002. of how much of the world’s land is owned Realizing Property Rights page / 2

The Authors /

Philippe Baechtold is Head of the Patent Law the Mercatus Center. Her main areas of in- Section in the Sector of PCT terest include property rights and develop- and Patents, Arbitration and ment, human rights, and international law. Mediation Centre and Global The current focus of her research is contem- Intellectual Property Issues at porary Africa and the ways in which particu- the World Intellectual Prop- lar institutional arrangements have either erty Organization (“WIPO”). helped or hindered human flourishing and His work involves legal ques- economic development on the continent. tions related to patent law, as well as to other areas of industrial property, includ- Jean du Plessis (M.A. Political Philosophy, ing, in particular, international patent law University of Stellenbosch, harmonization. Before joining WIPO, Mr. South Africa) is the Deputy Baechtold had been working at the Swiss Director of the Centre on Federal Intellectual Property Institute, first Housing Rights and Evic- as a legal officer in the International Affairs tions (“COHRE”) and coordi- Unit, then as Head of the Patent Law Sec- nator of the COHRE Global tion, and finally as acting Head of the Patent Forced Evictions Programme. Department. As a representative of Swit- Jean has been active in the field of land, zerland, he has attended expert meetings housing, and development for fifteen years, and negotiations on patent law at WIPO, occupying senior positions in both NGOs the European Patent Office, and during the and government. He has worked with com- WTO TRIPS negotiations. Mr. Baechtold is munities and institutions in South Africa, an attorney-at-law (Faculty of Law of the East Timor, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, and University of Berne, Switzerland). Thailand. His current focus is the growing global problem of forced eviction, the nega- Karol Boudreaux is Senior Fellow at the Merca- tive impact this has on human development, tus Center at George Mason and the importance of developing innovative University. She is the Lead alternatives in consultation with the affected Researcher for “Enterprise Af- communities. rica!” a research project that is investigating, analyzing, and reporting on enterprise- based solutions to poverty in Africa. Ms. Boudreaux teaches Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at George Mason Univer- sity and was Assistant Dean at George Ma- son University’s School of Law before joining The Authors page / 5

Kosovo 2002 – 2003, OSCE Mission in Ko- Scott Leckie (LL.M), the Founder and Executive sovo; OSCE/UNHCR Tenth Assessment of Director of COHRE, is a re- the Situation of Ethnic Minorities in Kosovo spected international human and Remedies Catalogue, OSCE Mission in rights lawyer with many years Kosovo (2003 and 2004). of experience. He has been in- strumental in the promotion Alexandre (Sandy) Kedar holds a doctorate in of housing rights, prevention Law from Harvard Law School and monitoring of forced evic- and is a senior lecturer at the tions, and design of remedial strategies. He Law School at Haifa Univer- has been widely published on a range of sity in Israel. His principal issues including housing rights; economic, research focus is on legal ge- social and cultural rights; forced evictions; ography, legal history, and the right to return for refugees and inter- land regimes in settler soci- nally displaced persons and other human eties and in Israel. He has co-edited “The rights themes. History of Law in a Multi-Cultural Society: Israel 1917–1967” (2002). Dr. Kedar is the During the past 8 years, Cédric Lombard has founding editor of “Haifa Law Review” and visited and analyzed over 150 its current editor in chief. He is also active micro-finance institutions in in public struggles over distributive justice 30 developing countries. He is in Israeli land and has co-founded the As- currently responsible for op- sociation for Distributive Justice, an Israeli erations, research, and analy NGO addressing these issues. sis at Symbiotics, a Swiss private company offering pro- Georg Kohler, born 1945, studied philosophy fessional services to micro-finance investors and law in Zurich and Ba- and fund managers, an enterprise he co- sel. After his habilitation in founded at the beginning of 2005. He has philosophy, he lectured in worked previously as head of investments Munich. Since 1994, he has and operations at BlueOrchard Finance, held the professorial chair for which he co-founded in 2001, and as project political philosophy at Zurich consultant for the United Nations Confer- University. ence on Trade and Development (“UNCTAD”) on the Virtual Micro-finance Market. Mr. Lombard was a free-lance micro-finance consultant in Peru and Bolivia and a micro and small-enterprise consultant for Genilem in Switzerland. He holds a degree in inter- Realizing Property Rights page / 6

national relations from the Graduate Insti- Charles B. Philpott served as Senior Legal Ad- tute of International Studies in Geneva. visor on Property in the De- partment of Human Rights of Robin Nielsen is a staff attorney at the Rural the OSCE Mission to Bosnia Development Institute (“RDI”), and Herzegovina. There, Mr. based in Seattle, Washington, Philpott was a member of the USA. RDI has worked in for- inter-agency Property Work- ty countries, partnering with ing Group and Property Law governments of developing Implementation Plan (“PLIP”) Cell. He was a countries to provide land- major contributor to the legislative overhaul based solutions to rural pov- of the Bosnian property restitution laws in erty. Robin currently manages RDI’s India 1999 and, again, in 2001. Mr. Philpott has and women & land programs. also worked and reported on land reform elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia and in José M. Pallí is a land-titling expert with more the former Soviet Union, as well as legal re- than thirty years of experi- form in Central and Southeast Asia. He is ence in entrepreneurial land currently a Senior Technical Advisor to the titling endeavors and legal Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and UNDP consulting. He serves as land on implementation of Vietnam’s long-term titling advisor for the Insti- legal development strategy. tuto Libertad y Democracia (“ILD”) and as registral law, Roy L. Prosterman is founder and Chairman registral system reform, and improved ac- Emeritus of the Rural De- cess to real estate financing expert for the velopment Institute, based National Law Center for Inter-American in Seattle, and Professor Free Trade. José Pallí has extensive experi- of Law at the University of ence with both civil and common law envi- Washington. ronments and land title registration laws throughout Latin America and the Carib- bean. He holds a J.D. and M.A. from the University of Miami, School of Law, and a B.A. from the Universidad del Museo Social Argentino School of Law, Buenos Aires.