A (former) law reformer's perspective : reforming the LRA 2002 : catalysts and questions / Elizabeth Cooke -- The land registry's perspective : the practical challenges of land registration / John Pownall and Richard Hill -- The land registration jurisdiction : an analysis of the first twelve years / Edward Cousins -- A broader development perspective: economic and political drivers of worldwide land registration reform / Pamela O'Connor -- Adverse possession under the LRA 2002 / Owen Rhys -- The continuing relevance of relativity of title under the Land Registration Act 2002 / Amy Goymour and Robin Hickey -- Guaranteed title : no title guaranteed / Emma Lees -- Can rectification be retrospective? / Charles Harpum -- Assessing rectification and indemnity after Gold Harp and swift 1st / Roger Smith -- De-throning King Midas : the new law of land registration in Scotland / Kenneth GC Reid -- Lack of proper care? / Simon Cooper -- Reforming the indemnity scheme / Nicholas Hopkins -- Priority contests involving registered titles / Martin Dixon -- Subrogation, priority disputes, and rectification : mapping a route through the thicket? / Stephen Watterson -- A tale of three promises : setting the scene / Stephen Watterson and Amy Goymour -- A tale of three promises : (1) the title promise / Stephen Watterson and Amy Goymour -- A tale of three promises : (2) the priority promise / Stephen Watterson and Amy Goymour -- A tale of three promises : (3) the empowerment promise / Stephen Watterson and Amy Goymour -- Lessons from Scottish land registration reform : changes under the bonnet? / Emma Waring -- Automating state guarantee of title systems : system design and possible outcomes? : Australasian thoughts / Rod Thomas, Roushi Low, and Lynden Griggs

The Land Registration Act 2002 has been in force for almost fifteen years. When enacted, the legislation, which replaced the Land Registration Act 1925, was intended to offer a clear and lasting framework for the registration of title to land in England and Wales. However, perhaps confounding the hopes of its drafters, the legislation's interpretation and application has since generated many unanticipated problems which demand attention. In this book's twenty chapters, leading land law scholars, Law Commissioners past and present, judges, and Registry lawyers unpick key technical controversies, and expose underlying theoretical and policy concerns. Core issues addressed in these chapters include: the legitimate ambitions of registration regimes; the nature and security of title afforded by registration; the resolution of priority disputes affecting registered titles; the relationship between the general law and the registration regime; and new challenges presented by modern technological developments.

Landownership is a cornerstone of our economic and social system, as it enables people to lead self-fulfilling lives by allowing them to participate in human activities. It also provides the necessary security for long-term investment and economic development. These purposes are undermined when non-owners acquire the ownership of land against the owner's wishes. Yet, both acquisitive prescription and adverse possession deprive owners of their property against their will. This book offers fresh perspectives on existing debates about whether these legal institutions still serve legitimate goals in contemporary society. To the extent that they still have a societal function, the contributors to this book inquire whether the requirements for an acquisition by a non-owner should be changed. They pay particular attention to the role of land registration systems in the context of these legal institutions and shed light on whether there should be alternative remedies available, such as compensation for the loss of land.

First published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The essays in this collection consider the fundamental concepts of property and obligations in law. Ideas of property and of obligations are central, organising concepts within law but are nevertheless liable to fragmentation and esoteric development when applied in particular contexts.

Land was the major economic resource in the pre-modern Middle East. Questions of ownership, of access, of management and of control occupied a central role in administration, in law, and in rural practice over many centuries. Nevertheless, the subject of land and property relations is still not well understood.