Examination of Land Registration System in Iraq

Abstract

This study examines the current status of land (real estate) registration in Iraq from a legal, institutional and technical points of view. From a legal perspective, the right to property in Iraq is guaranteed by the constitution. Real estate owners have the right to use, benefit and control of their properties. The property of real estate can only be intervened in by expropriation for the public good by paying the price. The registration of real estate in Iraq is carried out by reference to the Civil Code No. 40, the Real Estate Registration Law No. 43 and the Agricultural Reform Law No. 117. In addition to these laws, the Real Estate Registration Regulation No. 1 published in 2010 also includes regulations regarding registration procedures. The registration procedures of real estate are carried out by 18 real estate registration offices scattered throughout Iraq under the Ministry of Justice. Technically, the rights, restrictions, responsibilities and value information regarding real estate are kept in paper forms. Some of these forms are named as perception form, Form 23, Form-25, Form-46, From-51, From-52 and Form-59. Independent drawings showing the boundaries of real estates are in various forms, but they are not based on a common coordinate system. Therefore, it is not possible to accept these drawings as cadastral maps. Within the scope of this study, the forms and drawings used in the registration processes of real estates in Kirkuk province of Iraq were examined and UML forms were created for real estate objects in the parcel and building form. In this way, the basic objects in land administration, the attributes of these objects and their relationships with each other were determined and a basis was created for a modern land administration system that could be established in the future. The advances in the fields of land data collection (modern surveying instruments, GNSS, Lidar), management (spatial database management systems) and standardization (ISO 19152-Land Administration Domain Model-LADM) in the last twenty years offer important opportunities for establishing a modern land administration system for Iraq. However, further examination of land policies at different periods in Iraq's history and their impact on land property and use is needed.