EU Land Law - Sylabus

 

Objectives, needs

  • to explain main objectives of EU land law
  • to explain broad complex of legal regulations related to land law in Slovakia in the context of the EU
  • to discuss the impact of the EU on the land law in Slovakia
  • to explain barriers of insufficient implementation of legal regulation related to land use in Slovakia

Land law in Slovakia has among the EU countries one of the most complicated and uncoordinated legal regulation. Barriers preventing effective implementation of EU and Slovak land policy and law are mainly: fragmentation of agricultural land, unfinished landscaping and problems with determination of prices of agricultural land, different regional policy for tax collecting regarding agricultural land, unsettled ownership and usage relations. There is a gap of experts who are able to explain and summarize land law in Slovakia.

Methodology

  • Methodology of teaching content: lectures including guest speakers, seminars, practical assignments, class discussion, team project work, study of related publications and relevant websites
  • Evaluation of the students: class participation (10%) + work on specific research questions (60%) + written exam (30%)

Teaching syllabus (12hours lectures/semester + individual research work)

  1. Introduction to the European Union and EU legislation
    Questions for discussion: Importance of European Union and its legal system? Crucial tasks of European legislation nowadays? 
    History and development of the EU fundamental principles, philosophies and concepts of the EU legislation, importance of harmonisation of EU legislation
  2. Functioning of the EU legislation
    Explanation and discussion on EU Treaties, legal acts: regulations, directives and decisions and other binding legal norms and its realisation in EU, decision making process, implementation process into to legal order of Slovakia
  3. Policies of the EU, EU land law
    Development of the EU policies, special interest will be given to the history and development of the Common Agricultural Policy and its legal background as the most integrated and broadness policy of the EU, its functioning and task for current society.
    EU land law- history and background, system of implementation to the Slovak legal order.
  4. Land law in Slovakia in the context of EU land law
    EU and Slovak legislation on land use and land protection- similarities, differences. Reasons for inefficient application of Act No. 220/2004 Coll. on protection and use of agriculture land. Discussion about possible measures for improving at local and national level. Barriers for development of land law.
  5. Land fragmentation – problem of EU land policy
    30% of EU’s territory is highly fragmented, affecting the connectivity and health of ecosystems. Legal regulation of landscaping – positive and negative impacts on land use and quality of land in Slovakia. Practical exercises landscaping in concrete regions. Functions of Land registry.
  6. Decision-making related to land
    Decisions related to land belongs to the most complex ones because the administrative bodies need to respect social, economic and environmental aspects. The topic will contribute to proper understanding of creation and consequences of decisions. Practical cases will be presented.
  7. Future challenges of the land law in the EU and Slovakia
    Acquisition of Agricultural land by foreigners- positive and negative opinions. Addressing issues of unknown owners in Slovakia (21% of all agriculture land have unknown ownership). New act on land registry.
  8. Individual research work commonly prepared by students on EU land law problems
    This activity will help to increase the experiences of students to be active in some concrete research questions.

References

  1. BANDLEROVÁ, A. a kol.: Agrárne právo Európskej únie. SPU v Nitre .2007 218s. ISBN 978-80-8069-990-1
  2. BANDLEROVÁ,A.- MARIŠOVÁ,E. Introduction to study of EÚ Agrárian Law.SPU v Nitre.2003 ISBN 80-8069-209-2
  3. BANDLEROVÁ,A.- MARIŠOVÁ,E: Úvod do štúdia Agrárneho práva EÚ. SPU v Nitre:2003, ISBN 80-8069-208-4 
  4. ŠTEFANIVIČ, M.: Pozemkové právo. Bratislava 2006.Eurounion. ISBN 80-88984-92-0
  5. MUCHOVÁ, Z. - KONC, Ľ. Pozemkové úpravy: postupy, prístupy a vysvetlenia. 1. vyd. Nitra : Slovenská poľnohospodárska univerzita, 2010. 222 s. ISBN 978-80-552-0426-0 (brož.)
  6. Specific EU and Slovak legal acts
  7. Peter Sparkes : EUROPEAN LAND LAW
  8. HART PUBLISHING ,Oxford And Portland ,OREGON 2007,ISBN :978-1-84113-758-2