Communal Rights and LimitsThe characteristics of communal land rights of indigenous communities, as opposed to private ownership rights, are generally depicted in the Land Law as follows: “Ownership of the immovable properties described in Article 25 is granted by the State to the indigenous communities as com- munal ownership rights. This communal ownership includes all the rights and protection of ownership as are enjoyed by private owners under this law, but the community does not have the right to dispose of any commu- nally-owned property that is State public property to any person or group” (Article 26a). Ambiguity lies in the fact that protective language in the law to prevent alienation of community land has, in turn, limited the com- munity’s right of disposal. Within the communal rights, individual rights over the community ownership are also generally recognized: “For the purpose of facilitating the cultural, economic and social development of members of indigenous communities and in order to allow such members to freely leave the group or to be relieved from its constraints, the right of individual ownership of an adequate share of land used by the commu- 77nity may be transferred to them” (Article 27). Thus, although alienation of communal land to outsiders (whether individuals or communities) is prohibited, limited alienation of communal land to individuals to own as private property within a community is generally accepted.The Land Law of 2001 acknowledges the existence of traditional land administration authorities, but it subordinates the protection of indige- nous community rights to land to “the laws of general enforcement”, which include the regulations that protect the environment. This is similar to Agenda 21 in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, which subordinates indigenous peoples’ rights to environmental protec- tion (K. von Benda-Beckmann 1997). On the other hand, the exclusivity of the indigenous community rights is well recognized by the state under the Land Law of 2001: “No authority external to the community may acquire any rights related to any immovable properties belonging to an indigenous community” (Article 28).
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