Land as a Human Right

A scholarly study by Abdon Rwegasira setting out Tanzanian land law alongside its historical development, pre- and post-independence. The thorny issues about rights and duties of the landed, the landless, and intermediaries are elucidated through the principle of reciprocity of rights and duties. The volume is not limited to events in Tanzania but includes the jurisprudence of land law from other countries for comparative insight. Various case types, reported and unreported, local and foreign, provide tangible content to what would otherwise remain pure theory. Rwegasira also draws on local newspapers as a way of tapping public responses about land matters. His survey led to judgments touching on women’s rights to matrimonial property and inheritance, individual and collective rights to land, and the rights of indigenous peoples to their land. A reference for lawyers, scholars, and land rights advocates.