‘Fair’ compensation for land expropriation, GLTN grant for Nicholas Tagliarino

Due to increased urbanization, land and resource scarcity, and the expansion of infrastructure, the use of expropriation to clear land for development projects may occur more and more in the coming years. Under the supervision of prof. Leon Verstappen, PhD student Nicholas Tagliarino is conducting a comparative study on the right of expropriation in 50 different countries.

As a broad legal power enabling governments to take land from citizens in order to serve public needs, expropriation must balance the interests of private landholders and the general public. While roads, schools, and other public infrastructure are essential, so are safeguards that ensure the livelihoods of displaced populations are adequately restored.

The UN Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGTs) establish standards on expropriation, compensation, and resettlement. However, more research is needed to determine whether these standards are adopted in law and implemented by governments and the private sector in practice.

To conduct this research, Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) launched a tool on expropriation, eviction, and compensation. This tool can be used to measure expropriation, eviction, and resettlement practices in a variety of settings, including both rural and urban settings.

Additionally, the University of Groningen (prof. Leon Verstappen) and True Price are currently implementing a project aimed at developing a protocol on fair compensation in cases of land tenure changes with a focus on expropriation. 1 To develop this protocol so that it can be effectively used in a range of countries and settings, more empirical research is needed to identify current issues relating to expropriation, compensation, and resettlement that need to be addressed.

This article was published by the Faculty of Law.

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