Somaliland Agricultural Land Ownership Law (No:08/99).

This Act consisting of 22 articles aims at governing the ownership of the agricultural land in Somaliland, whether or not the entire land is the responsibility of the Government. Responsible for the administration of the agricultural land is the Minister of Agriculture (art.3). The already owned lands shall be registered at the Ministry of Agriculture within one year from the effective date of this Act, as provided by article 4. The maximum agricultural land to be given as private property is 8 hectares of rainfed land, and 4 hectares of irrigated land. The provision does not apply to government/company properties (art.5). Article 8, concerning ownership for the public interest, establishes that any cultivated land may be confiscated and the confiscation shall be compensated. The rights of the landowner are provided for in article 10. Responsibilities of the owner are (i) improving the land by increasing productivity; (ii) paying for the employees and guaranteeing worthy work according to the Labor Law; (iii) paying the required land taxes (art.11). The land can be confiscated for the reasons listed in article 12. Inheritance rules are dealt with in article 13. More detailed rules related to land registration are in article 16.