Field consultations: a step forward in resolving land issues in rural areas

Lawyers of the Center for Legal Information and Consultations under the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights continue to conduct field group consultations on typical problems of registration of land ownership rights and other property issues for residents of villages in the Chernihiv region. The first such visits have already taken place to the villages of Seredynska, Dniprovska, Krasnyanska village councils of the Chernihiv district.

Villagers who turn to lawyers are most concerned about the issue of registration of inheritance for land plots, problematic aspects of relations with tenants, land and property shares, the procedure for concluding and terminating contracts, payment of rent, preparation of projects for the allocation of a land plot, obtaining a land share from reserve lands, registration of inheritance, boundary disputes, etc.

“For rural residents, the issue of land ownership is particularly relevant, – notes

Natalia Piddubna, lawyer of the Center for Legal Information and Consultations at the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights

. – It is the villagers who most often encounter problems with the implementation of this right in practice. The reason for this is mainly people’s ignorance of the relevant legislation in this area. In our opinion, such activities will improve the legal awareness of residents of the villages of Chernihiv region on the issues of registration and protection of land rights, other property issues.”

Lawyers of the Center for Legal Information and Consultations have developed standard statements of claim, which are already useful to the villagers.

But, as it turned out, in addition to standard appeals, special questions also arise.

For example, the village of Dniprovske is located on the picturesque bank of the Dnieper, so the consultations had a specific focus. In particular, the residents of the village are concerned about the construction of coastal protective strips, which makes it impossible to even approach the reservoir. Therefore, lawyers provided assistance in drafting a collective complaint to the Chernihiv Interdistrict Environmental Prosecutor’s Office in order to respect the rights of the residents of the settlement.

As human rights activists note, today many villagers are faced with the problem of ineffective management of their land plots. First of all, this concerns lease issues. Despite the fact that there are many regulatory acts designed to protect the rights of villagers when leasing land, an analysis of case law and requests for legal assistance indicate significant problems in this area. During field visits, it was found that such a problem is systemic.

As it turned out, to protect their rights, farmers lack professional legal support: consultations, explanations of the law, assistance in preparing documents. The positive experience of those who have already received assistance becomes a motivation for other landowners, who will now also be able to defend their rights with dignity.