Legal Regulation of the Territory of the Ruler

This study examined the legal framework of miri (state) land in Palestine given its importance, as much of the land is state-owned and numerous problems surround it. This study, which falls into two chapters, examined the miri land in accordance with the law provisions effective in Palestine. Chapter one was devoted to the intrinsic nature of miri land and its transfer to private ownership. In section one, the researcher explained the concept of miri land, and tracked its history in Palestine over several historical eras and different regime rules, starting from the Islamic caliphate, Ottoman Empire, the British occupation, the Jordanian rule of the West Bank, the Egyptian administration of the Gaza Strip to the Israel military occupation and the advent of the Palestinian national Authority. This section concluded with a look at the laws and military orders issued pertinent to this type of land. The second section was devoted to a detailed study of unregistered miri land in terms of acquisition of this land, conditions for public acquisition, conditions specific to acquisition of miri land pertinent to the ten- year term, non-negligence of its cultivation, which otherwise would be restored by the state if disused for more than three years. Section three dwelt on the ways and cases of miri land transfer to private ownership and particularly the ones stipulated in the Miri- Mulk Land Transfer Law. These cases are either based on the request of the land in accordance with the conditions and procedures stipulated in the law or by force of the law if the miri land falls within the municipality limits. The section concluded with the case of transfer of right of disposal of this land to heirs. Chapter two dwelt on the right to use the miri land. In this respect, the researcher illustrated the nature of this right, its elements and restrictions on it. In section one, the researcher explained the concept of the right of disposal and differentiated between this right and the right of ownership and exploitation, given the presence of commonalities and confusion, thus making some people mix up between them. Then the researcher studied these elements of the right of disposal. These elements are similar to the elements of ownership right which allow the owner to use, exploit and dispose of the land legally and physically The researcher dwelt on the restrictions on the right of disposal stipulated in the law. These restrictions were either general, combining the right of disposal with the right of ownership, or special to the right of disposal: refrain from using the miri land to the extent of establishing a village or a city and non-permissibility of transferring the miri land to wakf (endowment) or transferring it by will to somebody. Section two was devoted to the study of ways of transfer of right of disposal between individuals in transfer willingly to the exploiter through the contract which matches the sale contract in owned land, or by the force of the law through the right of priority which matches the emotive right in owned land. Lastly, the researcher dwelt on the particularity of the transfer of the right of disposal in miri land to heirs and the special regime governing this transfer which differs in some aspects from the legitimate inheritance system in owned land. This study concluded with a number of important findings and recommendations.