Impact of the customary law on the implementation of land use rights of Bana ethnic minority in Vinh Thanh district, Binh Dinh province

Abstract

The study was conducted to test the impact of customary law on the exercise of land use rights of ethnic minorities. The research model of the paper is the linear structural equation model (SEM). The method of partial least squares (PLS) tests the SEM model with 124 survey samples of households and individuals of the Bana ethnic group in Vinh Thanh District, a mountainous district in West Northern Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. The research results show many differences between customary law and law in implementing land use rights of the Bana ethnic minorities, leading to transactions on land use rights of the Bana ethnic group not being registered at the state agency. The research results confirm a robust relationship between customary law and the exercise of land use rights of ethnic minorities. This relationship is shown through the significance level of the research model achieved at 1%; the coefficient β for evaluating the relationship between customary law and the exercise of land use rights is 0.458. The estimated path coefficient close to +1 indicates a strong positive relationship. The research results provide some suggestions for further integrating customary law into the law in implementing and developing land law policies to improve the efficient implementation of land use rights for ethnic minorities.