Property
Loi sur le domaine national 1964 vesting most land in the state
Loi n° 64-46 placed unregistered land in the domaine national, administered by rural councils that allocate use rights. Titling is possible but limited, and urban land pressure in Dakar drives most litigation.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Local councils allocate domaine national land; the Tribunal de grande instance hears title disputes.
- Deadline — Allocation of a use right: decision of the conseil municipal or rural
- Deadline — Registration of title: through the Direction Générale des Impôts et Domaines
Governing law
- Loi n° 64-46 du 17 juin 1964 relative au domaine national
- Loi n° 2011-07 portant régime de la propriété foncière
- Loi n° 2013-10 portant Code général des collectivités localesland allocation powers
In practice
Because the 1964 Act vested roughly 95 per cent of Senegalese land in the state as domaine national, most occupation rests on administrative allocation rather than ownership, and the decentralisation of allocation to local councils made those councils the decisive actors in land disputes. Large agricultural concessions granted over allocated land have generated sustained conflict in the Senegal River valley.