Property
Citizens only may own land, with matrilineal clan title and a Land Court
The Constitution restricts land ownership to Palauan citizens. Much land is clan-held through matrilineal descent, and title claims are determined by the Land Court.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National law with state and clan dimensions. The Land Court adjudicates claims arising from the return of public lands and from customary ownership.
Governing law
- Constitution of Palau 1981 (art. XIII, s. 8 (land ownership))
- Palau National Code, title 35land
- Land Court provisions, PNC title 35
- Lease limitations under PNC title 35
In practice
Article XIII, section 8 confines land ownership to citizens, and because citizenship requires Palauan descent the restriction is durable rather than transitional; a corporation must be wholly citizen-owned to hold land. Foreign use is by lease, and statute caps lease duration, so long-horizon investment is structured around renewal risk. Underlying tenure is substantially customary: land is often held by a clan and controlled through matrilineal descent, with senior women holding decisive voices in clan land decisions, which surprises advisers who assume chiefly authority is exclusively male. A large body of Land Court litigation arises from the return of lands taken during Japanese and Trust Territory administration, where claimants prove entitlement through genealogy and customary evidence rather than documentary title. Determining who can validly grant a lease is consequently the central diligence question in any Palau transaction.