Usufructuary Right Over Land in Eritrea: Can it Be Sold?

Abstract

This is a commentary on usufructuary right over land in Eritrea’s legal system. After Eritrea’s independence, land related issues are perhaps the most confusing areas of law in the country. Some of the uncertainty stems from the difference between customary and modern land laws. Although land laws proclaimed by colonizers, Italy and Ethiopia, and later by the Transitional Government of Eritrean annulled customary land laws, and despite conflicts between the two set of laws, both existed in parallel. The reason is that these governments did not fully implement the land proclamations they enact. Perhaps, another source of the misunderstanding is lack of clarity in the proclaimed laws and inadequate information on content and application. As a result, the misunderstanding continues. In this paper an attempt will be made to analyze the property right attached to usufruct. The emphasis is on one aspect of these rights that still persists. An effort is made to answer whether a holder of a land right, usufructuary, can sell that right. Although the focus is on the right to sale, other modes of transfer, such as inheritance, are touched upon. The concept of ‘usufruct’ is believed to be one of the most serious causes for land related disputes and misinformation. The uncertainty on this type of right over land has significantly impaired a large number of citizens the enjoyment of their right over property.