Section 1: In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"basic map" means a flat graphic representation of the area of the earth's surface of interest, depicting topologically true, the boundary fabric of landed property with unique identifiers, and sufficient geographic orientation features, produced by parasurveyors in consultation with local stakeholders in the field, and certified by licenced surveyors, applying a general boundary approach, and with adequate levels of geometric accuracy; "Board" means the Board established under section 4; "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Board; "Chiefdom Land Committee" means the Chiefdom Land Committee established under section 48; ''Chief Registrar" means the Chief Registrar appointed under section 64; "Commission" means the National Land Commission established under section 2; "Commissioner-General" means the Commissioner- General appointed under Section 18; "Communal or Community land" means land subject to customary law , owned and managed by a community in any of the provinces in Sierra Leone may include- (a) wetlands; (b) forests; (c) grazing lands; Interpretation. 79. (1) Land tenure disputes arising within the community shall be referred to the Town or Village Area Land Committee or the Chiefdom Land Committee for resolution. (2) The Town or Village Area Land Committee and the Chiefdom Land Committee shall address disputes in accordance with their byelaws and shall comply with constitutional guarantees on fair hearing and the principles of natural justice. (3) A party that is dissatisfied with the outcome of a land tenure dispute before a Town or Village Area Land Committee or Chiefdom Land Committee may appeal to the District Land (4) A party to a dispute before the District Land Commission that is dissatisfied with the outcome may appeal to the Magistrate Court. (5) Any party to a dispute may apply directly to the Local Court or any other appropriate court for redress. 80. (1) An investor shall set up a field level grievance redress mechanism to address complaints relating to his operations. (2) An investor shall- (a) appoint a grievance officer; (b) maintain a grievance register; and (c) adopt diversified means of receiving complaints (3) Where a member of the community is not satisfied with the result of the mechanism set up by an investor he shall take the same complaint to another redress mechanism. (4) An investor shall cooperate with all community-level land tenure dispute resolution bodies when implicated in complaints before these bodies. Land Tenure Disputes. Field-level grievance Redress (d) market areas; (e) sacred sites; (f) graveyards; and community" means any settlement of people in a village, chiefdom, town or city; "community member'' means a male or female who is ordinarily resident in a village, town or chiefdom and include persons who- (a) were born in the community; (b) have married into the community; (c) have moved to the community for any other reasons "customary land" means land owned, governed by, or administered under customary law in the provinces; "customary land rights" means the full range of primary and secondary rights to land under customary law; "customary law" means any rule other than a rule of general law having the force of law in Sierra Leone and by which rights and duties are acquired or imposed in accordance with natural justice and equity and in accordance with the provisions of the 1991 constitution or any other law applying to the provinces including any amendment made to customary law by any enactment; "District Land Commission " means the District Land Commission established under section 35; (c) landowning families and the Town or Village Area Land Committee; or (d) two or more Town or Village Area Land Committees. (3) Where the dispute involves Chiefdom Land Committees, the District Land Commission shall serve as the adjudicating body. (4) The Land Adjudication Tribunal shall consist of the following three persons- (a) one member of the Chiefdom Land Committee who shall serve as the Chairperson; and (b) two other persons selected by the Chiefdom Land Committee. (5) At least one of the members referred to under subsection (3) shall be literate and responsible for keeping records of the tribunal's proceedings and decisions. (6) At least one of the members referred to under subsection (3) shall be a woman. (7) The Land Adjudication Tribunal shall gather the necessary information from the parties to the dispute and issue its findings on the validity of a land right within one month from the date the matter is lodged with the Chiefdom Land Committee by either party. (8) Any party dissatisfied with the findings of the tribunal on the grounds of abuse of rules or procedure may appeal to the local court within one week of the tribunal's issuance of its findings. (9) Where the tribunal finds a land right to be valid, upon the expiration of the time period for appeal, the right shall be entered into the registry by the authorised office and the title document issued to the lawful owner "District Registry" means the District Registry established under section 66; "ecologically sensitive areas" include- (a) wetlands; (b) wildlife habitats; (c) steep slopes; (d) virgin or old growth forest; and (e) any other area designated as sensitive under formal or customary law; "family" means a group of persons tracing descent from a common ancestor or persons who have married into the family; "family land" means land vested in and owned by a family as a unit under customary law and administered by a family head; "Government land" (also known as State Land) means (a) lands belonging to the Government by virtue of any treaty, cession, conventions or agreement; (b) lands acquired by or on behalf of the government in the Western Areas , the Provinces or outside the jurisdiction of Sierra Leone for any public purpose; (c) land acquired under the Public Land Act which incudes- 76. (1) The Chiefdom Land Committee and the Town or Village Area Committee shall have the power to bring and defend legal action in respect of their land and natural resources. (2) The Town or Village Area Land Committee shall have the first option to bring a legal action. (3) Where multiple towns or villages are affected, they may institute legal action individually, jointly or through the chiefdom. PART XI –LAND DISPUTE 77. (1) The Commission shall establish a grievance redress mechanism whereby a person can challenge decisions of the Commission in respect of land for which he has a right or claim. (2) Any grievance redress mechanism established by the Commission shall be effective, accessible and affordable to all, and provide prompt resolution of and enforcement of outcomes of disputes over tenure rights. (3) Where a person is deprived of a land tenure right by the government for a public purpose, compensation shall be provided to that person irrespective of the resolution provided by any grievance redress mechanism established by the Commission. 78. (1) The Commission shall set up within each Chiefdom Land Committee a sub-committee to be known as the Land Adjudication Tribunal. (2) The Land Adjudication Tribunal shall adjudicate land title disputes between the following parties prior to the registration of title- (a) members of the same family; (b) two or more landowning families; Legal action Grievance redress Mechanism Adjudication Tribunals No. 19 The National Land Commission Act 2022No. 19 The National Land Commission Act 2022 5 (i) shores; (ii) beaches; (iii) lagoons; (iv) creeks; (v) rivers; (vi) estuaries and (vii) other places and waters belonging to and acquired by the Government; "investment" means an enterprise or undertaking for the production of goods and services for commercial purposes; "land" includes land covered by water, any house, building or structure whatsoever and any estate, interest or right in, to or over land or water; "lease agreement" means a grant of a specifically defined area of land, in writing, for a term of years, and containing an obligation to give consideration, signed by the landowners as lessors and those renting the land as lessees; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for land and "Ministry" shall be construed accordingly; "paralegal" means a person who has completed basic training and acquired key competencies and qualifications in advising clients on the registration of property rights and supporting them in preparation of legal documentation required for land registration, and is authorised by the Commission to work as a paralegal for land registration purposes; "para-surveyor" means a person qualified by education, training, or work experience to perform cadastral surveying work that requires knowledge (5) The Commission shall determine the fee for land title registration in the Western Urban and Western Rural Areas with approval of the board. 71. The Chiefdom land Committee shall serve as a conduit for- (a) submission of application to the District Land Commission; (b) receiving registered title documents from the District Land Commission ;and (c) obtaining information contained in the National Land Registry Part X - Management of Communal Lands and Natural Resources 72. Communal land in a town or village that falls under the category of public land shall be administered by the authorised institution. 73. All the benefits of communal land and natural resources shall belong to the community. 74. (1) Rules or bye-laws adopted by the Chiefdom Land Committee shall apply to all villages within the chiefdom that have not adopted their own bye-laws. (2) Rules or bye-laws adopted by a Town or Village Area Land Committee on land , natural resources and the environment shall have priority of application and enforcement within the particular village 75. Towns or Villages that have not established a Town or Village Area Land Committee shall have their land and natural resources managed and administered by the Chiefdom Council. Public land Submission of Application etc. Benefits of Communal land Rules or bye Laws. Nonestablishment of Town or Village Area Committee of surveying concepts, mapping techniques and demarcation tools and authorised by the Commission to undertake work as a para-surveyor; "primary rights" means the right to exclude, transfer, transact, bequeath, manage and make decisions about the land; "private land" means land vested in and owned by (a) a community in the provinces; (b) a family; (c) an individual; (d) group of individuals ;or (e) other legal entity "public land" means land reserved, held or used by the government, local councils or communities for public purposes and includes forest reserves, community forests, national parks, community parks, common grazing fields, wildlife sanctuaries, road reserves and lands carrying public infrastructure and similar land categories which are fully protected in the long-term public and national interest; "public purposes'' means - (a) exclusive government use or for general public use; (b) in connection with sanitary improvements of any kind including reclamations; (c) in connection with the laying out of any new Government station or the extension or improvement of any existing Government station; 6 39 (2) Where the instruments referred to under subsection (1) are unavailable the Commission shall determine types of oral or landscape based evidence which may serve as prima facie evidence of a land tenure right. (3) Except where the right or its registration was obtained by fraud or dishonesty, earlier registered rights shall be considered superior to later registered rights. (4) The Commission shall by Statutary Instrument make regulations setting out the processes for challenging a land right claim or registration of the right on the basis that it was obtained by fraud or dishonesty. 68. Any family or community wishing to register its land may request the assistance of a community specialist paralegal or parasurveyor. 69. Non-registration of any land subject to customary law shall not invalidate title or ownership of the land. 70. (1) The Commission shall determine the cost of registration and the manner and time frame within which title and the various rights and interest in or over customary land shall be registered. (2) The cost of registration of customary land shall not be prohibitive. (3) The registration fee shall be reduced or waived for persons whose monthly income does not exceed the minimum monthly wage. (4) The Commission shall determine and periodically review the amount of the fee collected from registrants of title to land in Sierra Leone, as well as criteria for fee waivers on the basis of financial need with the approval of the Board. Assistance to register Land Non registration of Land Cost of registration (d) obtaining control over land contiguous to any port or airport; (e) obtaining control over land required for defence purposes; (f) obtaining control over land required for civil aviation purposes (g) obtaining control over land the value of which will be enhanced by the construction of any railway, road or other public work or convenience about to be undertaken or provided by the Government; "secondary rights" include (a) right of way; (b) right of access to use natural resources located on land shared by more than one community such as permanent or seasonal access rights which include- (i) right to use the land for pasture or agriculture; (ii) right to use trees or collect firewood in the forest; (iii) the right to travel across the land or water ; (iv) the right to drive cattle across an area to obtain water from a river (c) for land acquired by individuals the following shall be complied withi. preparation of a basic map of the land area; ii. two signed copies of the signed instrument of transfer 66. (1) The instrument of transfer referred to under subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c) of section 72 shall be endorsed by an authorised member of the Chiefdom Land Committee and the Chief Administrator of the District Council. (2) An instrument of transfer that is not signed and endorsed as stipulated under subsection (1) shall not be registered by the District Land Commission. (3) The Commission shall establish the maximum fee that an authorised member of the Chiefdom Land Committee and the Chief Administrator of the District Council may charge for endorsement of the instrument of transfer. 67. (1) The following registered instruments may serve as prima facie evidence of a land tenure right- (a) a title deed; (b) a customary land title certificate; (c) a lease agreement; (d) a mortgage deed; or (e) any other document memorialising a proprietary or use right under general or customary law. Instrument of transfer. Land tenure rights. No. 19 The National Land Commission Act 2022No. 19 The National Land Commission Act 2022 37 PART IX–REGISTRATION OF CUSTOMARY LAND 65. The requirements for registration of customary land shall include the following- (a) for family land the following shall be complied withi. preparation of a basic map of the land area; ii. signed boundary harmonisation agreement with neighbouring land owners; iii. the planting of trees or other natural physical markers to delineate the land; (b) for community land the following shall be complied withi. adoption of community rules to govern the use of the land area, including rules for the protection of the environment and rules relating to governance and decision-making, including negotiations with outsiders; ii. preparation of a basic map of the land area; iii. establishment of a Village Area land Committee; iv. signed boundary harmonisation agreement with neighbouring communities; v. the planting of trees or other natural physical markers to delineate the land Registration of land subject to customary law. ""survey" means the gathering of data concerning a land parcel in order to determine the relative position of boundary corners or physical and cultural features above, on, or beneath the surface of the Earth, and document property boundaries and to depict them in a usable form known as plan or map, using "fit for purpose" surveying technologies and participatory methodologies ensuring adequate levels of data quality for variations in density of settlement, parcel size and topography, (with generally higher degrees of geometric accuracy for high-value, small size urban parcels, and generally lower degrees of geometric accuracy for lower-value, larger size rural parcels); "Town or Village Land Committee" means a Town or Village Area Land Committee established under section 55. PART II–ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL LAND COMMISSION 2 (1) There is hereby established a commission to be known as the National Land Commission. (2) The Commission shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and power to acquire , hold and dispose of property whether movable or or immovable , charge fees for services provided, enter into contracts, sue and be sued in it corporate name and subject to this Act do all things which a body corporate may lawfully do.