An Overview of the Legal Status of Land Ownership in Bangladesh

Abstract

The determination of land ownership is one of the fundamental issues in the property law of any jurisdiction. Also, the concept of ownership in jurisprudence owes to the idea of land ownership for the development of many theories on ownership. The concept of land ownership is pivotal for various significant personal to governmental matters ranging from interpersonal trade to state taxes and revenues. The legal status of land ownership in Bengal varies in different periods of history. The intention of this paper is to find out the legal framework of land ownership in Bangladesh by dissecting and analyzing relevant constitutional provisions, statutes, theories, histories, and practices. The paper finds the recognition of private ownership of land with some legal restrictions along with the presence of state and co-operative land ownership in the current legal framework of Bangladesh. The paper also finds some practical official and documentation-related dilemmas in the establishment and recognition process of land ownership in Bangladesh. The author finally recommends some escaping measures to ameliorate the present lacunae of land ownership in Bangladesh.