The relation between plot fragmentation and land consolidation success in Slovakia

1. The relation between plot fragmentation and land consolidation success in Slovakia Imrich Hornanský Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava Faculty of Civil EngineeringDepartment of Mapping and Land Consolidation Radlinského 11, SK 813 68 Bratislavae-mail: imrich.hornansky@stuba.sk

2. The law definition of land consolidation In present time the institute of land consolidation (LC) in Slovakia´s right system is defined in § 1 of LC Law: The LC content is rational space ordering of plot ownership in certain zone and with it connected other immovable agriculture and forestry ownership ordering which is executed in public interest in harmony with requests and conditions of environment protection, in harmony with creation of territorial ecological stability system, in harmony with agricultural landscape functions, in harmony of operational – economical modern agriculture viewpoints and forestry management and with harmony of countryside development support.

3. The land consolidation content The LC incorporates determination and new ordering of ownership and usage relations and with them connected other tenures (jus in re) in LC zone and new plot division (mending, separation or other plot modification), technical, biological, ecological, economical and right measures connected with new ordering of right relations.

4. Land consolidation functions The LC is multifunctional institute. It is visible from detail analyse of LC definition. But there is especially presenting from the defined set of functions the role of rational space ordering of plot ownership in certain zone. It is in direct connection with fragmentation of plot ownership and with fragmentation of co-ownership plot shares.

5. Land ownership fragmentation/1 Land ownership fragmentation is extremely numerous in Slovakia. It causes the ownership recording only with difficulties, or it causes impossibility of recording it (and it is the basic condition for right disposal with plots!). It creates in individual cases insignificant economical value without factual motivation effect or it becames a value, which unables acceptance of needful verdict of co-owners.

6. Land ownership fragmentation /2 Land ownership fragmentation causes weaken ownership right guarantee and ownership right execution possibilities. It sets agriculture plot owners and forestry plot owners into unequal state in comparison with other things owners. It makes the enterprising in agriculture and forestry disadvantageous in comparison to other enterprising sectors. It eliminates the land ownership as factual element from the mechanismus of preservation of nature sources and from environmental habitat.

7. Land ownership fragmentation /3 Land ownership fragmentation level reached in many cases such stage, that fraction (used for formulation of co-ownership share) is for laicus hardly readable, its factual value is unimagineable and it does not have the sense for disposing in real estate market.

8. Land ownership fragmentation /4 The problem of land fragmentation with its negativ consequencies is present in all central European countries, which do have together with Slovakia common “cadastral” history. Nevertheless the Slovakia has one separate privacy: the volume in past time applied and in present time functioned inelegible high level of plot fragmentation and co-ownership plot share fragmentation in agriculture and forestry regions.

9. Further plot fragmentation prohibition/1 Voluminous plot fragmentation level in Slovakia resulted in the end of XXth century into tendencies to prohibit/to prevent a further fragmentation. In 1995 Slovak parliament accepted the Law 180/1995 about certain measurements to arrange plot ownership. A significant part of those law is directed into public regulation of relations in region of plot fragmentation and co-ownership share fragmentation restriction/prevention.

10. Further plot fragmentation prohibition/2 The Law 180/1995 joined economical and administrative instruments of agricultural and forestry plot prohibition/prevention. The Law 180/1995 in interest of further agricultural and forestry plot fragmentation prevention declares: in case of plot ownership exchange in municipalities unbuilt-up areas only such process is possible, which is based on this law.

11. Further plot fragmentation prohibition/3 The Law 180/1995 determines for plot fragmentation prohibition quantity restrictions. There is in case of restriction trespassing resulting nullity of right operation. The Law 180/1995 monitors plot fragmentation prohibition concerning quantity of plot acreage and also quantity of co-ownership shares acreage. Operations, which content a contract, that by division of existing plots have create new plots with smaller acreage, as defined in law are, will be illegal (contradiction with law).

12. Further plot fragmentation prohibition/4 In case the law Nr. 180/1995 does not defines otherwise, it can not (based on right operation, or based on court verdict, or based on co-ownership settlement verdict, or based on heritage verdict) originate by division of present plots the plot which is smaller as 2000 m² (agriculture plot) or the plot which is smaller as 5000 m² (forestry plot).

13. Land consolidation validation/1 One from the most important steps in LC elaboration and implementation process is its validation by LC participants. LC participants in LC zone otherwise have the right to search in which volume the new recommended space ordering in LC zone reflects individual LC functions defined in LC law, but they will in majority cases confine oneself to search for recommended plots position availability from their subjective point of view (that is recommended plots position in their ownership).

14. Land consolidation validation/2 An older version of LC Law, which was effective till October 1st, 2002, defined: “LC project can be approved after discussing reclamations, in case 2/3 of LC participants approved it.”. It happened many times, 2/3 of LC participants – owners approved such version of project, which was conform to their imagination notwithstanding that they owned only minority part of LC zone acreage (e. g. only 20%). Or it happened many times, 2/3 of LC participants – owners never came to approval/validation of LC project, because they did not have the interest.

15. Land consolidation validation/3 Revision of LC law which is effective from October 1st 2002 carried only small improvement of this stage. Paragraph 13 of LC law defines: LC project can be approved after discussing reclamations, in case of improvement by such group of LC participants, which own at least 2/3 of acreage of LC zone.

16. Problems of land consolidation application /1 Not only Slovakia, but all new EU member states have the same question, whether in connection with LC problems solution A) it is more suitable to use some modification in old EU member states well established practice or B) whether it is more suitable to search basicly new practices. It seems, in majority cases will be more clever to use way Nr. A) and only in extreme cases to start to use way Nr. B).

17. Problems of land consolidation application practice /2 Such extreme case is often also in Slovakia due to extreme plot fragmentation and co-ownership share fragmentation. The stage of plot fragmentation is in Slovakia often so extreme, that insufficiently motivates LC participants to suitable attendance by new stage validation after elaboration of LC project.

18. Problems of land consolidation application practice /3 Such insufficient participation of LC participants blocks the acceptance some new solution alternative and in some cases leads only to original stage renewal – setting-out (without rational space ordering of plot ownership).

19. Solution It seems to be suitable to accept a legislation arrangement, which will such dead point in such extreme situations overcome.The legislation arrangement can not be directed only into procedural law sector, but it must be directed into material law sector.

20. Literatúra [1]   Zákon c. 162/1995 Z. z. o katastri nehnutelností a o zápise vlastníckych a iných práv k nehnutelnostiam (katastrálny zákon) v znení neskorších predpisov [2]   Zákon c. 180/1995 Z. z. o niektorých opatreniach na usporiadanie vlastníctva k pozemkom v znení neskorších predpisov. [3]   Zákon Národnej rady Slovenskej republiky c. 181/1995 Z. z. o pozemkových spolocenstvách [4]   Zákon SNR c. 330/1991 Zb. o pozemkových úpravách, usporiadaní pozemkového vlastníctva, pozemkových úradoch, pozemkovom fonde a o pozemkových spolocenstvách v znení neskorších predpisov [5]   Zákon Národnej rady Slovenskej republiky c. 420/2002, ktorým sa mení a doplna zákon SNR c. 330/1991 Zb. [6]   HORNANSKÝ, I. : Kataster nehnutelností. Skriptá. Slovenská technická univerzita v Bratislave, Stavebná fakulta. Bratislava, 2002. 191 s. [7]   HORNANSKÝ, I. : Kataster nehnutelností v praxi. Vydavatelstvo EPOS. Bratislava, 2003. 365 s. [8]   HORNANSKÝ, I. : Dokážeme zamedzit drobenie pozemkov ? Geodetický a kartografický obzor, 49 (91), 2003, c. 11, s. 235 – 239. [9]   HORNANSKÝ, I. : K problematike drobenia pozemkov v pozemkových spolocenstvách, Geodetický a kartografický obzor, 50 (92), 2004, c. 10, s. 199 – 202.