Legal expert speaks out over land use certificates

Lê Công Đồng, director of the Voice of HCM City, at the seminar on Tuesday in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Giang

HCM CITY — At a seminar organised by National Assembly representatives of HCM City on the proposed revisions to the Land Law, experts spoke out against the proposal that the names of all household members should be included on the certificate of land use rights, house ownership, and other properties.

Ngô Thái Bình, a legal expert from the city's Law newspaper, argued that this practice would create unnecessary difficulties in identifying all household members and negatively impact determining land use rights.

He said household members are identified based on information from the household registration book. However, the household registration book has been abandoned.

Along with residents' freedom of movement and residence, he said there are still many shortcomings in identifying all household members. 

Bình said only the name of the household representative should be included, as per current regulations.

"If the household members want to decide the land use rights, they will agree or ask the court to arbitrate," he said.

If the proposal to include all household members on the certificate goes ahead, the draft law must also provide a convenient means of identifying all household members, he said.

Also at the seminar, the director of the Voice of HCM City, Lê Công Đồng, said that compared with the 2013 Land Law, the authority to settle land disputes in the draft law is different.

In the 2013 land law, the settlement of land disputes was being assigned to two agencies,  the People's Court and the People's Committee, he said.

However, the land disputes of households, individuals, and organisations were often very complicated, and he said the evidence to prove the land use rights was often unclear.

According to the draft law's provisions, the People's Committees of districts and provinces do not have the authority to settle land disputes. He said the authority would belong to the People’s Court of districts and provinces.

This would narrow down the choice of the involved parties in settling land disputes and increase pressure on the court system at all levels in settling land disputes.

Therefore, he suggested that the draft law restore the settlement authority of the People's Committees of districts and provinces to reduce the pressure on the number of land dispute cases for the People’s Court.

Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Dân, from Phụ nữ thành phố Hồ Chí Minh (HCM City's Women) newspaper, suggested that the draft law should strictly implement the publication of master plans on land use and land recovery.

A mechanism is also needed to handle individuals, organisations and State-owned agencies that do not comply with the provisions of the law, she said.

Also on Tuesday morning, the Ninh Bình Province’s Fatherland Front Committee held a conference to collect comments on the draft law.

Lê Chí Vịnh, Chairman of the committee’s Legal Democracy Advisory Council, said the draft's provisions needed to show that the State’s right to own land is not bound by too many administrative procedures that might hinder the State owning, especially in the recovery of land.

Under the draft law, he said that for the land allocated to residential communities, the representative of a residential community would be assigned to manage the land.

“It is not enough,” he said.

Because the representative of residential communities is usually the head of the village or the head of the town, it is unstable and unprofessional, he said.

Therefore, he said it needed to assign the Chairman of the People's Committee at the grassroots level to co-manage the land.

Đỗ Việt Anh, chairman of the committee, said that the amendment of the 2013 Land Law was necessary to meet the needs of effective management and use of natural resources and land resources for socio-economic development; overcome disputes; ensure national defence and security; ensure the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of the people; create conditions for equal and transparent access to land, and make the most of land resources.

The draft law consists of 16 chapters and 236 articles, of which 28 remain unchanged; 184 are amended and supplemented. It added 41 new articles and abolished eight.

The law compiling aims to perfect policies on land in line with developing a socialist-oriented market economy, resolving the overlapping and inconsistencies in policies and laws related to land, and solving problems arising from land use and management.

The other purpose is to strengthen land management, ensure harmonisation of rights and interests of the State, land users, and investors, as well as develop a transparent and pure real estate market.

The draft law collects comments from experts and people until the end of March 15.