Laws on Desert Land in Contemporary Egypt: Examining Article 874 of Civil Law and the Subsequent Special Laws since the 1950s

DOI Web Site
  • TAKEMURA Kazuaki
    Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo:Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 現代エジプトの沙漠地の法：民法第874条と1950年代以降の特別法の検討から
  • ゲンダイ エジプト ノ サバクチ ノ ホウ : ミンポウ ダイ874ジョウ ト 1950ネンダイ イコウ ノ トクベツホウ ノ ケントウ カラ

Search this article

Description

This paper illustrates how laws on desert land in contemporary Egypt have been shaped as part of state-led desert development processes since the 1950s. As modern state powers pervade all aspects of ordinary lives, laws represent an indispensable framework through which contemporary society engages with the state. First, the paper discusses Article 874 of Civil Law (Law No. 131 of 1948) on the acquisition of immovable property without owners, granting Egyptian citizens over desert plots, which they cultivate, plant or build on, even without state permission. Based on the Islamic principle of the “vivification of the dead land” (iḥyā’ al-mawāt), the Civil Law drafters established individual rights to desert land while disregarding state power as “weak ownership.” Article 874 was thus contested since the 1950s when the “1952 revolution” regime tightened its grip over the territory, most of which comprised vast desert. Law No. 124 of 1958 barred access to desert lands, requiring prior permission from the War Minister for exercising legal action. Law No. 100 of 1964 introduced a centralized system for selling, renting, and distributing desert land to citizens. Finally, Law No. 143 of 1981 enabled the investment and large-scale utilization of desert land. Consequently, those special laws revised Article 874 to prohibit individual seizure of desert land without permission. These provisions compose the legal framework that individuals in contemporary Egypt must navigate for pursuing desert land.

Journal

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top