Property
Torrens-style registration with extensive state ownership
Land is registered under a system derived from the French régime foncier, with unregistered land treated as state domain. Forest land, which covers most of the country, is allocated by concession under the Forest Code rather than sold.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Direction des Domaines registers title; the Tribunal de première instance decides disputes.
- Deadline — Titre foncier: objection period during publicity
- Deadline — Forest concession: allocated for renewable terms by decree
Governing law
- Loi n° 14/63 fixant la composition du domaine de l'État
- Loi n° 016/01 portant Code forestier
- Décrets on the titre foncier procedure
In practice
In a country that is roughly 85% forest, the operative property regime for most of the territory is concession under the Forest Code, not freehold title. Community forest rights were recognised in the 2001 Code but their implementation has been slow.