Property
Registered title alongside strong matrilineal customary tenure
Land registration follows the French-derived régime foncier, but most land is held under customary arrangements. Comorian custom is substantially matrilineal, with the manyahuli land passing through the female line, which interacts awkwardly with Islamic succession and with registration.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The land administration registers; ordinary courts and qadis address competing claims.
- Deadline — Registration: publicity period before title issues
- Deadline — Expropriation: compensation assessed before possession
Governing law
- Legislation on the régime foncier and the domaine national
- Loi portant code de l'environnement
- Customary manyahuli tenure as recognised in practice
In practice
Comoros is an unusually clear case of three tenure systems interacting: matrilineal manyahuli custom, Islamic succession rules that favour male heirs, and a French-derived register that recognises neither by default. Which system governs a given plot is frequently the substance of the dispute.