Project description

Title: Advice in Economic Law Reform / Land Registry Project
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lead executing agency: Justice ministries and authorities for property rights and geodetic affairs
Overall term: 2001 to 2011

Context

The cadastre and land registry system introduced under the Austro-Hungarian administration before the First World War is still legally binding today, although it is largely no longer up to date. The cadastre was updated after the Second World War, unfortunately without reference to the then-existing land registry. The resulting discrepancies between the registries arise from a lack of reliable data, out-dated legislation and obsolete working methods. The enactment of the land registry and notary laws between 2002 and 2003 generated a strong impetus towards legal security and modernisation. GTZ (since January 2011 GIZ) was contracted to support the relevant authorities in re-establishing and modernising the cadastre and land registry. It cooperates with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), whose financial input to this project  corresponds in volume to Germany’s contribution.

Objective

The reliability of the cadastre and land registry system complies with European standards. Authorities and specialists in the private sector offer efficient and economical services thanks to clear guidelines and standardised norms.

Approach

From 2001 to 2005 the cadastre project promoted the roll-out of new technologies and helped modernise working methods in the three pilot districts, whilst supporting the development and enactment of new cadastral laws.
From 2003 to 2005 the land registry project played a part in implementing the new land registry laws throughout the country by developing new work methods, providing all 48 land registry offices with hardware and software, and carrying out further education measures.
At the beginning of 2006 both projects were merged into a single 'Land Administration Project' with the additional tasks of supporting the integration of the cadastre and land registry, designing medium-term strategies for improving services, and supporting and coordinating other international projects in this area. The main objective of the last project phase 2008-2011 is to ensure the sustainability of the project results and their complete transfer to the local institutions.

Results achieved so far

The land registry is once again functional throughout the country and receives more and more acceptance. The number of applications for entry in the registry is growing steadily, both in terms of liens and changes of ownership, and the country-wide backlog of outdated applications is shrinking. As highly-qualified specialists, the notaries are making an important contribution to the land registry’s revival.
In 2003 the land registry office in the capital, Sarajevo, faced the difficult situation of a ten-year backlog of roughly 90,000 unprocessed land registry accounts. Since June 2008 this court has been the showcase model for a highly successful GIZ cooperation with the processing time for a land registry application having been reduced from several years to between 7 and 30 days.

Further information

• Website of the Land Administration Project
  www.lexinfosys.de