Land tenure Land tenure is the name given to the legal regime in which an individual owns land. Tenure refers to the rules, relationships and institutions that define rights of ownership in and access to landed property. Land tenure is an institution with rules that define how property rights to land are to be allocated within societies. The rules of tenure define how access is granted to rights of use, control and transfer of land, as well as associated responsibilities and obligations. Land tenure systems determine who can use what resources, for how long, and under what circumstances. Tenure is an important part of the social, political and economic structures. It is multi-dimensional, bringing into play social, technical, economic, institutional, legal and political aspects that are often ignored but must be taken into account. Land tenure relationships may be well defined and enforceable in a formal court of law or through customary structures in a community. Security of tenure is the certainty that a person's rights to land will be recognized by others and protected in cases of specific challenges. People with insecure tenure face the risk that their rights to land will be threatened by competing claims and even lost as a result of eviction. Land Restitution Land restitution is the act of restoring to the rightful owner something that has been taken away, lost, or surrendered. It is the act of making good or compensating for loss, damage or injury. It is indemnification. It implies a return to or restoration of a previous state or position, whereby something is given to make up for loss or damage. It is giving something back to the rightful owner or returning something to its original value or condition. The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery. It is to be contrasted with the law of compensation that is the law of loss-based recovery. It stems from unjust enrichment or gain or benefit. A person deemed by law to have been unjustly enriched at the expense of another is required to make restitution to the other. Since the Lancaster House Agreement, restitution has been a requirement for land acquisition but this was changed in the 1992 Land Acquisition Act, which blatantly violated the general land restitution rules. In Zimbabwe, the cash-strapped government has failed to compensate commercial farmers whose land was taken by force since 2000. In 2009, the Minister of Lands and Resettlement, Hebert Murerwa, acknowledged government's obligation to pay restitution for improvements on acquired land but accused Britain of going back on its colonial obligation to pay for land constitutionally acquired for resettlement. Property Rights Property rights can be defined as “the exclusive right of possessing something” or “rules governing the use of resources.” 17 In its most basic form, a “property right” is visualized as “a defensible claim to a particular place or thing.”18 Defining and enforcing these rights and obligations is up to the community. Property can only be protected by a regime of laws, norms and rules known as property rights. Laws must aim at limiting official discretion to alter property rights in unpredictable ways and at promoting stable and secure rights, thus limiting governmental interference with the most productive uses of property. Property rights include real rights and personal rights. A real right is an exclusive interest or benefit enjoyed by a person in a thing. It is said to be absolute as it entitles the holder to enforce it against other people. The holder of a real right can bring an action against any person who interferes with this right. Whereas personal rights are concerned with people in general, a personal right is relative. It is a right from a person by a person claiming something or restraining someone from doing something. In Zimbabwe there exists a mix of real and personal rights. 17 Ensminger J. (1992) Making a Market: The Institutional Transformation of an African Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 18 Rugadya MR (2009) Natural Resource Rights and Biodiversity Protection: Guidelines for Policy and Strategies to strengthen Local Governance Systems paper presented at Best Practices for Land Tenure and Natural Resource Governance in Africa March 1-7, 2009, Nairobi, Kenya, located at http://www.afdresearch.org/files/LandResearch/001.pdf, p1, accessed on 22 January 2010. 7