REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW
LAND REFORM
Chapter 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Law shall regulate land ownership relations and the
procedure of land reform.
Article 2. The Goal of Land Reform
The goal of land reform is to implement the right of
Lithuanian citizens to land ownership by returning the
expropriated land in accordance with the procedures and terms
established by law, and by buying land, as well as to create
legal, organizational, and economic preconditions for the
development of agricultural production by freely chosen forms of
farming.
Article 3. Objects of Land Reform
The objects of land reform shall be the Land Fund of the
Republic of Lithuania.
Article 4. Conditions for Implementing Land Reform
1. Land reform shall be implemented according to the land
reform plans for the organization of land exploitation, and in
pursuance of this law and other laws which regulate land
relations. The interests of natural and legal persons who wish to
acquire land, and the recommendations of the agrarian reform
agencies shall be taken into consideration.
The plans shall be prepared according to the principles
approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. The process of land reform shall embrace legal, economic,
and ecological substantiation, preparatory works of the land use
planning, and preparation, coordination and approval of land
reform schemes, legal registering of land ownership, or land
lease.
3. The implementation of land reform shall be financed by
the State, as well as by natural and legal persons.
4. During the privatization of land, land reclamation
facilities built with State funds shall be left in the ownership
of the State. The maintenance and protection of such facilities
shall be regulated by the Law on Land and by other legal acts.
Article 5. Forms of Land Ownership
In the Republic of Lithuania, land shall be either privately
or State owned.
During the implementation of land reform, private and State
ownership land-use systems shall be formed. On the basis of such
land-use systems, the land may be jointly owned by several
natural persons, or by natural and legal persons.
Chapter 2
Private Land
Article 6. The Privatization of Land
1. Persons who are citizens of Lithuania under the laws of
the Republic of Lithuania, who have documentation of their
citizenship, and who are permanent residents of the Republic of
Lithuania, shall have the right to private ownership of land.
2. In the implementation of land reform, land shall be
acquired by either restoring the right to ownership, or by
purchasing the land.
The grandchildren of the former owners of land shall receive
land without payment if, on the day of enforcement of the Law of
the Republic of Lithuania on the Procedure and Conditions for the
Restoration of Ownership Rights of Citizens to Surviving
Immovable Property, the child who would have had the ownership
right restored is dead, and if the grandchildren, pursuant to the
provisions of Article 4 of that Law, are tilling the land or
return to farm the land.(Repealed 16 January 1992)
Persons who have been awarded the Order of Vytis, or, if
they have been killed (are dead), the spouses of such persons,
or, in the absence of spouses, their parents or children, shall
be, at their request, allotted land without payment.
3. Land may be acquired for private ownership with the
intent of establishing a private farm, an individual (private)
enterprise, a private housing estate, a gardening plot for
members of gardener societies, or developing agricultural or
other activities which are not prohibited by law.
Article 7. Restoration of Land Ownership Rights
The procedure for restoring private land ownership rights in
towns and rural localities, as well as the size and terms for
returning land and forest plots, shall be established by the Law
of the Republic of Lithuania on the Procedure and Conditions for
the Restoration of Ownership Rights of Surviving Immovable
Property to Citizens.
Article 8. The Sale of Land to Citizens
1. Citizens who are establishing a private farm, who do not
have private land ownership rights, or who have received land
under the Law on Farmer's Holding in excess of the amount to
which they were entitled by the right of ownership, shall
purchase land over a period of 25 years, according to the
procedure established by the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania.
In all other cases, citizens shall acquire land for private
ownership by way of a lump-sum payment or repayment in due
course.
2. Land shall be sold to persons who are prepared to farm
for the establishment of a private farm.
A person's preparation to engage in farming shall be
assessed by the Agrarian Reform Agency in accordance with the
procedure established by the Ministry of Agriculture.
3. The price of State land and forests, and the procedure
for purchase and payment, shall be established by the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania. (Amended 16 January 1992)
Article 9. The Size of Land Plots Sold to Citizens
1. Taking local conditions and the area of the land to be
returned into consideration, the total area of land in a farm
holding that may be sold to citizens who are establishing a
private farm may not exceed 80 hectares, including 25 hectares of
forest land.
Upon taking local conditions and the principles of land use
planning into consideration, and upon the decision of the
regional privatization commission, the above specified areas may
be increased by up to 10 percent.
2. Taking local conditions into account, land plots of the
size specified in Paragraph 1 hereof may be sold to one family,
if citizens are buying land for joint agricultural activities in
accordance with forms of economic activity provided for in the
Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Enterprise.
3. The size of land plots required by private (personal)
enterprises which manufacture non-agricultural products shall be
determined as follows:
for functioning enterprises -- on the basis of the
area of land actually required for their activities;
for newly-established enterprises -- on the basis of the
well-grounded plans of their founding.
4. Land which contains farm buildings, trees, shrubs, and
other plants of the farm, as well as the area of yards and plots
within the territory of the farm which is constantly used for
vegetable growing, shall be sold as a separate farm (farm
holding).
5. In towns, plots that are the actual size of the holding
shall be sold for private house holdings, but not in excess of
0.2 hectares in the towns of Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda, Siauliai,
Alytus, Marijampole, Druskininkai, Palanga, Neringa, and
Birstonas, and 0.3 hectares in other towns and urban-type
settlements.
The size of land plots sold for the construction of new
private houses, and the procedure of such a sale, shall be
established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
6. The size of land plots for members of gardener societies
and for persons wishing to set up gardens shall be determined by
the lay-out of the garden, but shall not exceed 0.12 hectares.
Article 10. The Priority Right of Land Purchase
1. During the implementation of land reform, land shall be
sold for private ownership according to the following order of
priorities:
1) persons who have worked for a minimum of 5 years in an
agricultural enterprise which is presently being reorganized.
Deportees and former political prisoners who possess a
private house on the said territory shall also have this right,
regardless of their present or former place of employment;
2) other persons residing on the territory of the
agricultural enterprise which is being reorganized;
3) farmers who wish to expand their farm holdings to the
size prescribed by paragraph 1 of Article 9 of this law;
2. If there are several prospective buyers who wish to
establish a private farm on a single plot of land, and if these
prospective buyers have equal priority rights to purchase this
plot, the land shall be sold by auction. In such cases, the buyer
must pay, without delay, an amount exceeding the nominal price of
the land.
Article 11. Restriction of the Disposition of Privatized
Land
1. The land (or forest) acquired for agricultural activities
may not be sold, given away, or traded for a period of five years
from the date of acquisition thereof.
Privately-owned forest areas must be managed, utilized, and
re-forested in accordance with the Forest Management Plan.
If the owner of land becomes unable to work, or in other
cases provided for by the laws or the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania, the land may be leased or sold.
2. Pursuant to the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, land
which is privatized for agricultural activities (manufacturing of
agricultural products) and which is not used for the said purpose
for more than one year (in spring or in autumn), shall be
assigned to the State Land Fund according to the procedure
established by the Government. The owner shall be compensated for
the land and for expenses related to the increase of land value
in installment payments.
Article 12. The Privatization of Land whereon Economic
Activities are Restricted
1. Upon coordination with the appropriate State agencies,
the land of preserved areas whereon economic activities are
restricted may be privatized for restricted economic use.
2. Upon privatization of land whereon economic activities
are restricted, conditions for the use of such land shall be
established for its owner.
3. Owners who disregard land-use restrictions shall be held
materially responsible under the laws of the Republic of
Lithuania. On these grounds, the plots of land in their ownership
whereon economic activities are restricted may be appropriated to
the State Land Fund by paying their owners the total value of the
appropriated land.
Chapter 3
State Land
Article 13. Land not Subject to Privatization
Not liable to be sold to citizens for private ownership
shall be:
1) land under roads, airports, and ports and their
facilities, as well as land of State borders, and land necessary
for national defence;
3) land needed for public use, recreation, and public
construction in towns, urban-type and rural settlements,
according to the revised decisions of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania;
4) land which, according to the established procedure, is
allotted or is planned to be allotted to institutions of science
and learning for conducting experiments and for other scientific
needs;
5) land which is assigned by the laws of the Republic of
Lithuania to Group 1 forests, as well as the land of forest
seedlings and seed-plant plantations;
Upon the formation of rational land-use plans, forest areas
of up to 25 hectares of State forest land of forest districts, or
larger areas which merge with land under cultivation, may be
sold.
6) land which contains mineral resources which are explored
and identified in the prescribed manner;
1. The State Land Fund shall be composed of land not subject
to privatization, not liable to be returned for ownership or sold
under Article 13 of this Law, as well as land which is
appropriated to this fund in cases specified in paragraph 2 of
Article 11, and paragraph 3 of Article 12 of this Law.
2. Land which, according to the land reform plan for the
organization of land exploitation, is planned to be allotted for
the establishment of private farms, and whose return, upon the
request of the future owner, has been postponed for a period of
up to 5 years, shall be temporarily appropriated to the State
land fund.
3. The State Land Fund shall be at the disposition of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania, and of local governments
and other bodies authorized by the State who may lease, sell, or
use the land in any other manner.
Article 15. Allotment of State Land for Utilization
1. During the implementation of land reform, natural and
legal persons who wish to lease land shall submit applications to
the local agencies of agrarian reform, stating therein the area
of the desired land, the type of economic activities, the period
of lease, the location of the plot, and, as necessary, the
technical-economic motivation which makes the land necessary.
2. Upon the request of natural and legal persons, taking the
total area of the unprivatized land and the interests of the land
users and the State into account, the land reform plan for the
organization of land exploitation shall provide for the
distribution of land for new users of land.
3. Upon the establishment of agricultural partnerships or
other enterprises, the founders must obtain the decision of the
local agency of agrarian reform concerning the plot of land that
may be leased to the enterprise and its location.
4. The size of land plots allotted to enterprises, as well
as their arrangement, must guarantee their rational and efficient
management.
Article 16. Private Farm Land of Citizens
1. Persons residing in rural localities may, on their
request, lease plots of State-owned land for their private farms.
2. Land shall be leased for private farms from the State
Land Fund which is at the disposition of the local governments of
a rural district (town).
Taking the area of land assigned to the Land Fund into
consideration, plots of agricultural land up to 3 hectares or 2
hectares may be leased to a private farm ( the Supreme Council of
the Republic of Lithuania Resolution No. I-411 of 26 July 1990),
not including the area of land occupied by a private farm
(separate homestead).
Chapter 4
The Implementation of Land Reform
Article 17. Bodies Implementing Land Reform
1. Land reform shall be implemented by the agrarian reform
agencies of rural districts, and by district privatization
commissions. Their activities shall be coordinated and controlled
by the Agrarian Reform Commission under the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania, and by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The procedure for forming agrarian reform agencies and their
functions shall be established by the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania.
2. Land reform plans for the organization of land
exploitation shall be prepared by the State Institute of Land
Exploitation Organization.
Article 18. The Procedure for the Submittal and
Consideration of Applications for the
Acquisition of Land
1. Natural and legal persons who wish to acquire land for
economic or other activities shall submit applications to the
agrarian reform agency of the rural district wherein the plot of
land is located.
Applications concerning the acquisition of land shall be
submitted in the manner and terms established by the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. The agrarian reform agency of a rural district, in
conjunction with the State Institute of Land Exploitation
Organization, shall consider applications for the acquisition of
land, prepare draft decisions for the fulfillment of such
requests, and shall, in writing, notify the applicants thereof.
Article 19. The Procedure for the Lodging and Consideration
of Appeals which Dispute Decisions of Agrarian
Reform Agencies
1. Natural and legal persons may appeal to the district
privatization commission against decisions adopted by agrarian
reform agencies of rural districts concerning the acquisition of
land within 15 days from the receipt thereof.
The district privatization commission shall consider the
appeal within the period of one month, and shall adopt a decision
thereon. This decision may be appealed within 15 days to the
Agrarian Reform Commission under the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania, upon which the Commission shall consider the appeal
with the period of one month and shall adopt the final decision.
2. Higher level agrarian reform agencies shall not consider
complaints which have not yet been considered by the lower level
agrarian reform agencies.
Chapter 5
Land Exploitation Organization
Article 20. The Drafting of Land Reform Plans for the
Organization of Land Exploitation
1. Comprehensive land reform plans for the organization of
land exploitation shall be drafted for the territory of an
agricultural enterprise or of a rural district.
2. Land reform plans for the organization of land
exploitation shall be drafted with State funds. The schedule of
their preparation shall be approved by the Ministry of
Agriculture, according to the applications of district
privatization commissions.
Article 21. The Procedure for Considering, Coordinating, and
Approving the Land Reform Plans for the
Organization of Land Exploitation
1. Land reform plans for the organization of land
exploitation shall be considered at the meetings of natural or
legal persons who are applying for land with the agrarian reform
agency of the respective rural district , and shall be
coordinated with the State institutions concerned.
2. The coordinated comprehensive land reform plans for the
organization of land exploitation shall be approved by the
district board.
Article 22. The Marking of Land Plots and the Distribution
of Land Ownership Documentation
In coordination with the land reform plans for the
organization of land exploitation, the State Institute of Land
Exploitation Organization shall mark the boundaries of the land
plots, and shall prepare documentation of land ownership or land
usage rights.
The forms of these documents, and the procedure for their