Move to reclaim colonial-era land

Madagascar’s High Constitutional Court has validated a law allowing the state to reclaim land still registered in the names of foreign settlers from the colonial era, reviving a long-running land dispute while putting sovereignty and access to property ownership at the heart of the reform. According to africanews, the High Constitutional Court ruled on 3 August that Law No 2026-007 complies with the Constitution, clearing the way for the government to take ownership of certain colonial-era properties. The law uses 26 June 1960, the date Madagascar gained independence, as its cut-off point. Land that was still registered in a foreign name on that date and was never subsequently transferred to a Malagasy owner will automatically become state property. The court described the measure as part of the process of completing the de facto transfer of colonial-era foreign-registered land, restoring the rights of the Malagasy people and strengthening state control over strategic property. The National Assembly approved the legislation on 1 July before it was referred to the Constitutional Court. The law does not apply to land used by foreign diplomatic and consular missions. It also protects properties that had already been transferred to Malagasy citizens before the independence-day cut-off. Foreign nationals who subsequently acquired Malagasy citizenship and registered their naturalisation with the land authorities are also exempt from the automatic transfer.