CUSTOMARY LAND

CHAPTER 59:01
CUSTOMARY LAND

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

    SECTION

PART I
PRELIMINARY

    1.    Short title

    2.    Interpretation

PART II
ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CUSTOMARY LAND

    3.    Traditional Land Management Area

    4.    Administration and management of customary land

    5.    Customary land committees

    6.    Functions of the land committee

    7.    Procedure for land committees

    8.    Land clerks

    9.    Advice by local government authorities

    10.    Complaints concerning management of customary land

    11.    Joint customary land use agreement between land committees

    12.    Joint customary land use agreement between Traditional Land Management Areas

    13.    Customary land in a traditional land management area

    14.    Communal land

    15.    Occupation of customary land by organizations and bodies

    15A.    Conversion of leases to customary estates

    16.    Conflict of interest

PART III
TRANSFERS

    17.    Transfer of customary land to Government or reserved land

    18.    Transfer of Government land or reserved land into customary land

PART IV
DECLARATION OF HAZARDOUS LAND

    19.    Declaration of hazardous land

PART V
GRANT AND MANAGEMENT OF CUSTOMARY ESTATES

    20.    Customary estate

    21.    Application for a customary estate

    22.    Determination of application of customary estate

    23.    Procedure on grant of customary estate

    24.    Payment of fees on grant of customary estate to an organization or body

    25.    Customary estate lease and sublease

    26.    Rent

    27.    Conditions for grant of customary estate

    28.    No sale of customary estate

    29.    Surrender of customary estate

    30.    Re-grant of surrendered customary estate

    31.    Breach of condition of customary estate

    32.    Fine for breach of condition

    33.    Revocation of customary estate granted to an organization or body

    34.    Abandonment of a customary estate

    35.    Application for relief

PART VI
ADJUDICATION OF INTEREST IN CUSTOMARY LAND

    36.    Grant of customary estate require adjudication

    36A.    Principles of parcel demarcation

    37.    Types of adjudication

    38.    Area adjudication

    39.    Procedure for area adjudication

    40.    Appeal against area adjudication

    41.    District adjudication

    42.    Spot adjudication

    43.    Guiding principles for adjudication

PART VII
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

    44.    Customary land tribunals

    45.    Appeals from customary land tribunals

    46.    District land tribunals

    47.    Appeals from district land tribunals

    48.    Central Land Board

    49.    Guiding principles for land tribunals

PART VIII
MISCELLANEOUS

    50.    Effect of disposition of customary land

    51.    Register of customary land

    52.    Private land to become customary estate

    53.    Regulations

    54.    Repeal and savings

19 of 2016
15 of 2022
G.N. 17/2018
29/2022

    An Act to provide for the management and administration of customary land and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto

PART I
PRELIMINARY

1.    Short title

    This Act may be cited as the Customary Land Act.

2.    Interpretation

    In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

    “adjudication” means ascertaining ownership to land or interest in land;

    “adjudication officer” means any person appointed to carry out adjudication functions pursuant to section 42;

    “Central Land Board” means a tribunal established under section 48;

    “Commissioner” bears the meaning ascribed to that term in the Land Act;

    “communal customary land” means customary land set aside as such under section 14;

    “communal land” means customary land that has habitually been used, as a matter of practice or under customary law, by the community and is managed by a land committee for the benefit of the community;

    “customary estate” bears the meaning ascribed to that term in the Land Act;

    “customary land” has the meaning assigned thereto in the Land Act;

    “customary land use agreement” means an agreement adopted and approved pursuant to section 11;

    “customary land committee” means a committee appointed under section 5;

    “customary land tribunal” means a tribunal established under section 44;

    “customary law” has the meaning assigned thereto in the Land Act;

    “district land tribunal” means a tribunal established under section 46;

    “hazardous land” means land declared to be hazardous under section 19;

    “indigenous Malawian” means a person who is a citizen of Malawi and can trace his descent from any of the ethnic groups in Malawi;

    “land clerk” means a clerk appointed under section 8;

    “Registrar” means the Land Registrar or Assistant Land Registrar in charge of a District Registry established under the Registered Land Act for a registration district in which the Traditional Land Management Area is situated;

    “spot adjudication” means adjudication pursuant to section 42;

    “Traditional Authority” has the meaning assigned thereto in the General Interpretation Act; and

    “Traditional Land Management Area” has the meaning assigned thereto in the Land Act.

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