Conference Agenda

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Relying on the sequential-exchange theory of property rights (Arruñada 2012), this paper distinguishes between physical and legal land demarcation in order to understand the costs and benefits of three major demarcation policies. The analysis supports voluntary instead of mandatory demarcation, competitive provision of demarcation services and non-integrated services for land administration. Consistent with this theoretical argument, it empirically verifies that demarcation conflicts play a minor role in title-related litigation, and even seems to increase after physical demarcation is made mandatory. Moreover, a related popular policy, that of linking and even merging cadastres and land registries, does not correlate with lower transaction costs.

The Dutch merger of Cadastre and Land Registers is strongly based on Dutch culture and history. The original aim of merging was to achieve economies by preventing duplications and to ease the sorting out of information. Especially during the years of manual registrations this purpose seems to be achieved. In present time these types of advantages are less serious. Without merging the same type of economies can be achieved by electronic connecting of registers. Main drawback is the hybrid juridical system. The system of one servant for two masters with different demands contributed to misunderstandings, inadequate security demands for ICT systems, hampered the exchange of data with other registers and increased the financial vulnerability. In future new technical developments could very well result in a change of the merger. At the horizon appears a multi purpose Land Register with a department for outsourcing surveying activities.