Land

Land Law – Allocation of land – Validity of Form C – Applicable legislation – Whether land allocated under the Land Act 1973 or the Land Act 1979 – Determination governed by the date of allocation and issuance of Form C – Principal Chief’s authority under section 4(2) of the Land Act 1973 – Commencement of the Land Act 1979 on 16 June 1980 – Absence of proof that
appellant unlawfully allocated land to himself – High Court misdirected itself by treating Form C as issued under wrong statute – Appeal upheld; Form C validly issued under the 1973 Act.

FLYNOTE
Land Law – Bona fide possession – Right of retention – Section 62 of the Land Act 1979 – Regulation 6 of the Land Regulations 2011 – Effect of statutory deeming –
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Compensation for improvements – Absence of title – Public purposes – Vindicatory action – Equitable doctrines.

FLYNOTE
Land Law – Registered lease – Allegation of fraud – Evidentiary burden – Donation inter vivos – Improvements made in good faith – Right to compensation – Presumption of regularity – Family dispute.

FLYNOTE
Land Law – Donation under customary law – Competing claims of heirship and perfected donation – Regularisation of title through systematic adjudication – Lease issued pursuant to possession and long-standing occupation – Effect of vague and delayed nomination of heirship – Good faith purchasers – Failure to comply with appellate procedural rules.

FLYNOTE
Land Law—Unjust enrichment—Bona fide possessor—Compensation for improvements—Measure of enrichment—Retention of rental income—Set-off—Discretion of the court—Limits of discretion—Condonation—Whether late appeal permissible.

Land law—Jurisdiction—Whether dispute falls within statutory jurisdiction of the Land Court—Meaning of “concerning land” under section 73 of the Land Act 2010—Characterisation of claims sounding in contract or delict as opposed to vindicatory actions—Claim based on familial arrangement concerning proceeds of sale of land—Proper forum for adjudication.