The disposal right over amiri land: meaning, scope and transfer
Many owners of orchards and farms on the outskirts of Baghdad and in the provinces ask: is the land registered in my name my property? The answer depends on its category in the land register. If it is amiri, what is registered in the person's name is not title to the land but the disposal right over it. The office of lawyer Ali Barakat in Baghdad explains that right here as the texts set it out.
Types of amiri land in the register
The seventh article of Land Registration Law No. 43 of 1971 divides amiri land, meaning land whose ultimate title belongs to the state, into:
- Pure amiri land: title and all rights belong to the state, and the disposal right has not been granted to anyone.
- Amiri land granted by tapu: the disposal right has been granted to individuals under the law.
- Amiri land granted by lazma: a third type governed by the same article, with specific restrictions on disposal in article 203.
A record extract therefore shows first whether the land is outright property or amiri, and then which amiri type. The difference matters for division, transfer on death, bequests and registration in a foreigner's name.
What the holder may do
Article 1169 of the Civil Code lists what the disposal right covers: using the land and its yield, cultivating it, putting up agricultural buildings, planting vines and trees, using it as a garden, orchard, woodland or pasture, building houses, shops and workshops for agricultural purposes, demolishing buildings and turning the plot into a farm, uprooting trees, using its soil, selling its sand and stone within the relevant regulations, and using it as a threshing floor.
Article 1170 provides that what the holder plants and builds follows the land in disposal and transfer, as do trees that grow naturally. A rural house or fruit trees on amiri land are therefore not treated as property separate from the disposal right.
What the holder may not do
- Waqf and bequest: article 1172 bars the holder from dedicating amiri land as waqf or bequeathing it, and articles 250 and 257 of the Land Registration Law bar registration of a bequest or waqf of the disposal right.
- General restrictions: article 1173 carries over to the disposal right the legal or contractual restrictions that apply to ownership.
- Old easements: article 1174 keeps in place long-standing rights of drinking water, channels, drainage and pasture over amiri land.
A property right that can be attached and assigned
The disposal right is more than permission to farm. Article 1202 allows the holder to assign the land for consideration or without, article 1171 makes the right general security for creditors that may be attached even after the debtor's death, and article 1328 allows a possessory pledge of amiri land. See selling the disposal right and pledging and attaching the disposal right.
Transfer on death
Article 1187 provides that on the holder's death amiri land passes without consideration to those entitled to transfer, ranked in degrees, each excluding those below it:
- First rank: the deceased's descendants, children and grandchildren, with a male receiving twice a female's share; the descendants of a child who died before the holder take that child's place (article 1188).
- Second rank: the deceased's parents and their descendants, each parent receiving the same share as the other (article 1189).
- Third rank: grandparents on both sides and their descendants (article 1190).
Article 1199 provides that the right of transfer does not arise between persons of different religions or between an Iraqi and a foreigner. Article 191 of the Land Registration Law requires those entitled to be Iraqi; if all of them are non-Iraqi, the land is treated as vacant and registered to the Ministry of Finance.
Registering heirs
Article 190 of the Land Registration Law provides for registering transfer of the disposal right to those entitled on the basis of a legal division deed or a final court judgment. The legal division deed differs from the Sharia division deed that distributes owned estate property under inheritance shares, so two deeds may be issued for a deceased person who left both owned property and amiri land. The page on death deeds and inheritance deeds explains how they are obtained.
Legal basis and sources
- Civil Code No. 40 of 1951, articles 1169 to 1174, 1187 to 1191 and 1199 (Official Gazette, issue 3015 of 8/9/1951)
- Land Registration Law No. 43 of 1971, articles 7, 190, 191, 250 and 257 (Official Gazette, issue 1995 of 10/5/1971)
Frequently asked questions
Can I bequeath the amiri orchard to my eldest son?
No. Article 1172 bars bequests of amiri land, and after death it passes to those entitled to transfer according to their ranks.
Does a daughter receive a share of amiri land?
Yes. Descendants in the first rank take with a male receiving twice a female's share under article 1188.
Is a house built on amiri land separate property?
No. Article 1170 provides that buildings and trees follow the land in disposal and transfer.
Which document registers the land in the heirs' names?
A legal division deed or a final court judgment under article 190 of the Land Registration Law.
Related topics and articles
- 01Selling and assigning the disposal right over amiri landHow the disposal right over amiri land is transferred between living persons under articles 1202 to 1208 of the Civil Code and article 203 of the Land Registration Law, the effect of unpaid consideration, boundaries versus area, and agrarian reform restrictions.
- 02Pledging and attaching the disposal right over amiri landThe disposal right is general security for creditors under article 1171 of the Civil Code; it may be mortgaged or pledged with possession under article 1328 and articles 305 and 325 of the Land Registration Law; the Execution Law exempts a farmer's tools, seed and crops from attachment; and sale may proceed with the enforcement officer's permission.
- 03Death deed, inheritance deed (qassam) and distributing an estateProving death and issuing the inheritance deed before the Personal Status Court under articles 300 and 310 of the Civil Procedure Law, and the order of rights in an estate under articles 86 to 91.
- 04The musataha contract in Iraqi law and its relation to amiri landThe musataha right under articles 1266 to 1270 of the Civil Code and articles 229 to 234 of the Land Registration Law: which land it arises on, the fifty-year term, rescission for unpaid rent, what happens to buildings at the end, and the difference with amiri land.
- 05Approvals from the agriculture directorate and other authorities in agricultural land transactionsWhen the texts require approval from the agriculture directorate, the Minister of Agriculture, the agricultural council, the groundwater authority or a court in agricultural land transactions, under Law No. 24 of 2013 as amended, the Agrarian Reform Law, the Well Drilling Instructions and the Civil Code.