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This paper aims to compare the law with regard to private property rights and restrictions and public controls in England and the USA, and the theoretical debates that surround them, to understand whether the private land use controls of nuisance and restrictive covenants could have a greater role to play or the public law system of planning is the best way to manage land.

This paper starts by summarising and comparing, firstly, the private laws of nuisance and restrictive covenants and then laws relating public planning, zoning and takings in England and the USA. It then reviews theoretical approaches taken in both jurisdictions to land use restrictions.

The paper concludes that private land use restrictions can only play a limited role in land management in England. Scarcity and cost of available housing necessitate a mechanism by which the state can intervene to remove or modify restrictions to enable alteration and development. The structure of freehold ownership in England and the low take-up of Commonhold as an alternative tenure mean that expansion in the use of private land use restrictions to control the use of land is unfeasible.

The value of this paper is that it seeks to provide insight into the contested relationship between private and public law and the relationship between property law and planning.

Cambodia has been undergoing a seemingly continual metamorphosis over the last 200 years. During that time, the government has changed from the traditional Khmer feudal system; through periods of colonialism; independent self‐rule under a monarchy; republicanism; agrarian socialism during the horrendous Khmer Rouge period; socialism under the Vietnamese‐controlled government; and finally an evolving democratically‐elected government. Along with the changes in overall governance of Cambodia, there have been major changes in the control of its resources, particularly land. Cambodia’s economy has also undergone periods of radical transition, none more so than since 1993 with the surge towards free market operations. The major challenge for Cambodia is to establish the rule of law and create the effective property rights which are a prerequisite for a market economy. There now exists an opportunity for the Cambodian people to refine their legal system and other major institutions. Such changes cannot be made in isolation from the lessons and the legacies of the country’s history. Summarizes the history of land law and its related institutions in Cambodia and examines the implications of this history for the current state of land laws in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Valuation for compensation on land and buildings compulsorily acquired for public purposes is statutory. The Land Use Act (LUA) of 1978 now cited as Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, CAP l5 LFN 2007, stipulates the use of Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC) Method in the valuation for compensation purposes for building and installation. The purpose of this paper is to criticize the application of the DRC technique in the valuation by acquiring authority as it does not arrive at fair market value and adequate compensation in Nigeria.

The method adopted for the study was a case study of real world valuation for compensation. Data used in the study were gathered mainly from government ministries and agencies responsible for land acquisition and compensation purposes. They included the Ministry of Lands and Housing, Land Use and Allocation Committee, and Ministry of Works and Transport. Market data on rental value, sales prices and other relevant data were collected from firms of professional that deal in real property.

The result of the study reveals that valuation by acquiring authority using DRC methods as prescribed by the LUA does not reflect market value and it is inadequate to put the claimants in the position they were before the acquisition. As such, most victims expressed dissatisfaction with the amount paid to them, which sometimes result to crisis, conflict and prolonged litigation, resulting in delay in executing or abandonment of the intended project.

The study is limited to only one case study on acquisition and compensation for land and buildings with particular reference to Akwa Ibom State. This limitation does not invalidate the result as the law is applicable to the whole country.

The implication is that the LUA needs to be review to fair market value as basis of valuation and payment for site value as well as the constitution to add “adequate” to Section 44 (1a). This will reduce the incidence of many communities and land owners protest against the decision of government or its agents to acquire their land for public purposes.

The methodology meets the requirement of the law regarding compulsory land acquisition and compensation in Nigeria: The LUA of 1978. Using three scenarios: the valuation by acquiring authority, claimant’s valuers and independent valuers to illustrate the critique of the methodology, the result shows the inadequacy of compensation.

This study aims to systematise the methodology used in comparative urban planning law and propose primary contexts for comparison in planning law.

This study undertook a review of comparative law methodology discourse and sought to establish connections between the discourse and the field of planning law.

This study argues for establishment of a realistic goal for comparative planning law by focusing on the planning law's modifiability. The goal of comparison in planning law should not be to find universally desirable principles or better solutions. Rather, the goal should be to identify a motive for devising a solution. This is because it is not only difficult to establish legal values that are universally applicable to planning law but also inappropriate to determine superiority of planning laws that have been developed over time by each jurisdiction’s sovereignty and policies on land use. When determining comparable systems for analysis among legal systems that are functionally equivalent, it is important to consider the context of land use relations alongside the comparative analysis to be done. To set realistic goals, the context should not be extended indefinitely but be systematised. Based on the foundational relationship underlying planning law, including the tension between planning authorities and property owners, this study presents five specific contexts for comparative analysis: “Strength of Property Rights,” “Level of Judicial Intervention,” “Plan- or Development-led System,” “Allocation of Planning Power” and “Level of Participation.” Examination of these contexts will allow better understanding of the similarities and differences among different systems and practical application of the results of comparative studies.

This study presents a novel approach to systematising the methodology and framework of comparative planning law.

The paper seeks to describe the historical development, current status, and operation of real estate law and policy in Nigeria in the context of global requirements for sustainable development.

The paper takes the form of a literature and legislative review. It examines the existing real estate law and policy (Land Use Act No. 6 of 1978) in Nigeria. The relevance of sustainable development to real estate laws and policy is highlighted. A brief comparative study of land issues in Nigeria and some developing nations is also included.

The existing real estate law and policy in Nigeria is inadequate to meet the aspirations for sustainable development.

The paper makes recommendations geared towards appropriate real estate laws and policies for sustainable development in Nigeria.

The paper contributes to the critique on the existing real estate laws and policies in Nigeria. Based on tenets of sustainable development, it offers useful guidance on future formulation of real estate law and policy, in particular community participation, setting of different time periods, and the targets that each period must realize.

The law of catastrophic wildfire prevention and response in the Mediterranean member states of the European Union stands in stark contrast to that of common law nation states such as Australia and the United States. This is due primarily to the higher levels of reciprocal moral and legal obligations between governments and citizens established in various sources of European law. Focusing on the relationship between the EU, Spain, and the Autonomous Community of Catalonia within Spain, this chapter describes these three legal frameworks as they are nested within each other, followed by some case law examples of these laws in action. We compare and contrast the philosophical assumptions underlying the utilitarian cost–benefit approach to regulatory justification used in the United States with the precautionary principle model emblematic of the European Union, the member state of Spain, and its Autonomous Community of Catalonia. Regardless of approach, protection of the public health, safety, and welfare will only be as robust and effective as the government agencies that have that responsibility, and the degree of cooperation with those agencies of the citizens they serve.

Competition among various potential land uses for the finite and ecologically vulnerable resources of attractive landscapes is a problem of the first magnitude for the United States. Americans increasingly sense that the ‘frontier psychology’ of virtually unlimited space and resources as applied to recreational amenities and spaces is no longer valid; that they are indeed competing for recreational space. They compete with forms of land‐use incompatible with recreation and, more serious in terms of long‐term trends, they find themselves competing for access and enjoyment of facilities with other Americans.

This paper aims to present the merits of cross‐national comparative research as a method for pushing the frontier of knowledge about planning laws. Since in every country there is usually some dissatisfaction with its present planning laws or certain aspects of them, cross‐national research can open an arena of alternatives based on real‐life experiences. To demonstrate this argument the paper focuses on a shared dilemma – how should the law handle the negative effects of some planning decisions on land values. This case is used to demonstrate both the comparative method and the usefulness of comparative findings. The conclusions point out the opportunities for cross‐learning.

The overall argument about the comparative research draws on the author's extensive experience in conducting cross‐national research on a variety of issues in planning laws. The research on compensation rights reported here draws on the author's recent book which analyses the laws and practices in 13 countries. To ensure a “common platform” for comparison, the author developed a method based on a set of factual scenarios and a shared framework of topics. A team of country‐based researchers conducted the legal analysis, and the team leader conducted the comparative analysis.

The 13‐country analysis shows that there is a great variety of approaches to compensation rights around the world and a broad range of degrees, from no compensation at all to extensive compensation rights. There is no “consensual approach”. The search for similarities based on region in the world, legal family, cultural background, density or demography, shows that the differences cannot be “explained” on the basis of these variables. The degree of political controversy on this issue also varies greatly. The breadth of laws and practices offer a range of alternative models to enrich local debates.

Any comparative research on a new topic is bound to be exploratory. There are not yet any established theories in planning law (or in comparative research) from which hypotheses can be derived and tested. However, the large sample of countries, covering 40 per cent of the OECD countries (at the time), and the careful shared method have likely produced reliable findings.

Most of the comparative research that the author has conducted over the years charted new grounds in both its topics and its comparative breadth. The paper reports in brief on cross‐national comparative research on compensation rights. The full research, on which this paper draws (published as a book in 2010), is the first to look at this specific issue globally with a large 13‐country sample of OECD countries.

This chapter examines the history and evolution of land use regulation in the United States. The economic effect and influence on neighborhood composition is considered. The work of political theorists Antonio Gramsci and Michel Foucault is utilized to analyze the practice of zoning in the United States. An overview of the Standard Zoning Enabling Act, which sets the foundation for zoning within the United States, is presented. Michel Foucault’s notion of “disciplinary power” and Gramsci’s theory of “environmental hegemony” are highlighted to elucidate how land use regulations have operated to enhance the social and economic status of some populations, while limiting the opportunities of others. The potential for changing land use polices is also discussed.

The Lagos State land use charge (LUC) 2001 represents a radical and wholesome restructuring of the entire erstwhile land‐based tax system in the state, and the first of its kind in Nigeria. The purpose of this paper is to examine how this maiden holistic intervention in property tax administration in Nigeria has fared in its first nine years.

Primary data were garnered from stakeholders through personal interviews and structured questionnaires, while secondary data include information from the enabling act and other‐related materials.

It was noted that the intervention failed to conform to best practice both in policy and administration. As a result, the reform has not ceased to generate controversies, has enjoyed limited acceptability, and achieved limited success.

Taking a cue from the experiences of countries that have demonstrated best practices in property tax reform, the paper proffers suggestions, covering both policy (e.g. extensive stakeholders' consultation) and administration (e.g. improved links between tax payment and provision of local services) that would help to sustain the reform intervention and make it sufficiently worthwhile.