REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

LAW

LAND REFORM

Chapter 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Objectives of the Law

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;

4) grandchildren of deceased farm owners, who return to the

land with the intention to farm, and other citizens of the

Republic of Lithuania.

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;

2) land which adjoins settlements and is used for the needs

of residents;

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;

7) land of preserved areas where economic activities are

prohibited under law; and

8) land whereon State-owned objects have been built or are

planned to be built.

Article 14. The State Land Fund

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

preparation and distribution shall be established by the

Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

Vytautas Landsbergis

President

Supreme Council

Republic of Lithuania

Vilnius

25 July 1991

No. I-1607