Acquisition of Agricultural Land in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The article focuses on the acquisition of agricultural land in the Czech Republic. It aims to describe the topic in the context of both historical and property law. The article introduces historical context of property ownership relations and their composition. Agricultural land was nationalized by the State in the past. Therefore, after the Velvet Revolution, it was necessary to restate a significant part of state-owned property back to its original owners. Privatization and related matters form a significant part of the present analysis because it still affects the transfer of agricultural land from the State to private individuals. Historically, transfers of agricultural land have also been restricted on the basis of nationality. However, after the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union, this restriction has gradually been lifted. Pre-emption also remains an important issue. At present, however, there is no pre-emption right in general. It affects only certain types of agricultural land, where the pre-emption right is established in favor of the State. The next part of the article deals with actual transfers of agricultural land. This part introduces the basic requirements and elements of transfers, with an emphasis on transfers of state-owned agricultural land. On behalf of the Czech Republic, agricultural land is administered by the State Land Office, which is responsible for the disposal and alienation of land. First, the article focuses on privileged transfers the land in question is transferred only to a certain circle of subjects. In the succeeding section, methods of land transfers to non-privileged entities are described.