Land Rights Settlement Ordinance [New Version], 5729-1969

In this Ordinance –

"court" – the District Court;

"block" – a defined area of locality land containing a plot or plots and constituting a unit for survey and registration;

"transfer of real property or transfer of a charge (security interest)" – the passing of real property or of a charge (security interest) from one person to another by virtue of an act of theirs or by virtue of an order of the court;

"plot" – a contiguous unit of real property within a block, belonging to a person;

"locality" – includes real property of a locality within the boundaries of a municipality or within the boundaries of a tribal area or bordering on such boundaries, or part of such real property, and all real property within a settlement-of-title area as determined by a settlement officer in a preliminary notice under section 5;

"village masha'a" – real property of a village or part of a village, held by the inhabitants of the village or some of them in undivided ownership and periodically redistributed among them for the purpose of cultivation;

"the Administrator" – a person appointed by the Minister to administer and supervise the settlement of title and registration under this Ordinance and to supervise them;

"document" – includes a deed, judgment, Order or other certificate required to be registered or capable of being registered under this Ordinance;

"real property" – includes a building and any other thing permanently affixed to real property, and includes a right derived from real property, an undivided share in real property and a benefit in real property required to be registered or capable of being registered under this Ordinance;

"transaction" – any act affecting rights in or over real property, or creating or affecting a charge (security interest), other than an agreement to transfer real property or to charge real property;

"new register" – a real property register prepared under this Ordinance;

"existing register" – a real property register predating the settlement of title;

"settlement officer" – includes a person duly authorised to act in place of a settlement officer for a specified purpose;

"Registrar" – includes an assistant to the Registrar and any person duly authorised by the Administrator to act in place of the Registrar;

"plaintiff" – includes a tribe or group of persons;

"the Minister" – the Minister of Justice.

Where the Minister considers it appropriate to carry out settlement and registration of rights in real property in a particular area, he shall publish in Reshumot (Official Gazette) a settlement Order specifying the location and boundaries of the settlement area and the day on which the demarcation of plots and the submission of claims shall commence in the settlement area (hereinafter – the commencement day of the settlement).

The Minister may, by notice, exclude any area from a settlement area, and upon doing so no settlement operation shall be carried out in the area specified in the notice, other than an operation necessary for demarcation between the settlement area and that area.

Upon publication of a settlement Order or thereafter, the Minister shall appoint a settlement officer and assistants to the settlement officer as necessary for the execution of the settlement.

The preliminary notice shall be published at the offices of the district administration in which the settlement is situated, at the offices of the sub-district administration and at appropriate places in the vicinity of the settlement, and shall also be sent to the court and to the Administrator.

From the publication of a preliminary notice in a settlement until the publication of a rights register under section 57, no proceedings shall be instituted in any court concerning rights in real property in the settlement, except as provided in this Ordinance.

Not later than ten days before the commencement day of the settlement, the settlement officer shall publish, in the settlement in respect of which a preliminary notice has been published, a settlement notice containing the particulars that have been prescribed.

A partition of real property effected after a settlement notice has been published, which is intended for the sub-division of real property that was held in individual portions, or for the permanent division of real property that was held jointly by the inhabitants of the settlement and periodically redistributed among them, shall have no validity except in accordance with the provisions of section 36; however, a partition effected before the settlement notice was published may be approved and accepted by the settlement officer.

During the course of the settlement, the settlement officer shall publish notices regarding the progress of the settlement and the arrangements for the continuation of the work; such a notice shall be published at the offices of the sub-district administration, in the settlement in which the settlement is being carried out and at the office or camp of the settlement officer.

The settlement officer may, in consultation with the District Commissioner, appoint two or more of the members of the Committee to represent the interests of a particular part of the settlement for which the Committee was appointed, and those members shall have the powers and functions of the Committee with respect to the interests of that part.

The Committee may at any time, with the approval of the settlement officer, authorise two or more of its members to act on its behalf.

If a plaintiff does not appear, in person or through an agent, it is possible to demarcate, register or carry out any other settlement operation in his absence.

The appearance of one of the co-owners in a single plot shall be deemed the appearance of all of them, unless the settlement officer has directed otherwise; and the same applies to the appearance of one of the heirs of a plaintiff or of an owner, or of one of a group of heirs having a separate interest from that of another group of heirs.

A claim of a hekdesh or waqf to a right shall be submitted by the guardian of the hekdesh or the mutawalli of the waqf or another person appointed by the competent authority of the community to which the beneficiaries of the hekdesh or waqf belong.

A local or religious authority, association, company or charitable institution claiming a right in real property in a settlement area may appoint an authorised representative to submit and defend their claim throughout the settlement.

The rights of the State in real property shall be investigated and settled whether or not they have been formally claimed, and any right in real property not proved by the claim of another shall be registered in the name of the State.

Real property lawfully designated for public purposes shall be registered in the name of the State; however, if it was designated for the use of a town or village and a corporation capable of holding real property on behalf of the town or village has been established, the real property shall be registered in the name of that corporation.

If the settlement officer or the court finds that a person who has not submitted a claim has a right in real property, the settlement officer or the court may act as though that person had submitted a claim within the prescribed time.

Every plaintiff, other than the State, shall demarcate or otherwise mark on the land the boundaries of the plot being claimed, as directed by the settlement officer.

Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, the settlement officer may, in the performance of his duties –

Where the boundary between separate plots is a curved or winding line, or where in the opinion of the settlement officer the boundary is inconvenient for the use of the real property, the settlement officer may, in the course of demarcation, determine a new boundary in place of the former boundary and reconcile the rights of the owners of real property on either side of the boundary by exchange of real property of equal value or by payment of compensation as referred to in section 31.

The settlement officer may, in the course of demarcation, demarcate an existing road or path, or indicate an existing right of way or a new right of way to a public road for the benefit of an owner of real property surrounded by other plots.

Where the settlement officer considers that it is appropriate to pay compensation to a particular person as a result of an action taken by him under sections 28 to 30, he shall direct that this be done and shall determine in the direction who shall pay the compensation.

Upon the application of two or more owners, the settlement officer may consolidate their real property into one plot or several plots, provided the consolidation does not prejudice the plots of others.

The powers under sections 28 to 32 are also vested in the court in the course of its deliberations on a dispute brought before it under this Ordinance.