Dear Editor,

Customary Land ruled on by the Lands & Titles Court registered under the LTRA 2008. Ruiping YE Master of Laws says,

`All land ruled upon by the Land and Titles Court is registered under the LTRA 2008 = Alienation of Customary Land Rights of Aiga.There are two mechanisms to bring lands under the registration system.

The first one is by the conversion of the previous register to the new register. Upon the commencement of the LTRA 2008, all lands registered in the Land Register under the LRA 1992/1993 are deemed to be registered under the LTRA 20008 as qualified title land.

The second mechanism is the registration of new transactions after the commencement of the LTRA 2008. Section 9(1) of the LTRA 2008 states that the Registrar must register any land that “becomes public land, freehold land, or customary land leased or licensed under the provisions of the Alienation of the Customary Land Act 1965” after the commencement of the Act.

Section 9(2) states that the Registrar may also register “customary land in respect of which judgment has been made by the Land and Titles Court”, for which the Land and Titles Act 1981 requires registration.

Compared to the LRA 1992/1993, the LTRA 2008 makes the registration of customary land leases and licences compulsory, and expressly includes the registration of adjudicated customary land. ‘

Maua Faleauto