Land Tenure Security According to Land Registration Systems in Iraq

Land Tenure Security (LTS) is a significant way in which the land users' rights are protected. It can be safeguarded under different forms that are included in various concepts, practices and influences which can be registered and protected officially. In Iraq, land tenure administrations have deep historical foundations reaching back to different periods related to land tenure, however, the current land systems such as registration and recording systems are greatly influenced by conflicting policies and ideologies that control its programs and reforms, and this indicates a real need for more research within this area. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate this gap by studying the link between land tenure security and the Iraqi land administration regulations and its management, which have previously been, and may currently be, linked institutionally. Focusing on the Iraqi land institutional frameworks, this research considers the land registration process, the buy–sell process, and the registration process for obtaining approval for land tenure security. The paper will deal with both the Iraqi Land Institutional Structure (ILIS) and LTS within different periods related to LTS. It also focuses on tenure security aspects in the current conflict period in Iraq after the fall of the Ba’athist regime in 2003. The data collection is built on reviewing the available data and documents and then performing analysis in order to produce results contributing to the final findings. Accordingly, the paper concludes that the history and development of the LTS in Iraq were identified via its social, political and religious settings. It stresses that land registration systems in Iraq were linked directly to the main domination of feudalism and tribalism systems relating to the landlords in rural and semi-urban areas. There is an interconnected matrix of legal, social, religious and economic factors which are linked directly with the ILIS aspects, particularly in the context of the LTS.