New legislation to update 13th century land laws
Legislation to reform Ireland’s archaic land laws dating back to the 13th century are to be published today.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said the land law and conveyancing law needed to be updated and modernised to meet the requirements of 21st century Ireland.
The reforming legislation, the Land and Conveyancing Law Bill 2006, is to be published today in a bid to clear up the current law which is made up of 13th century statutes and common law.
A consultation paper was published by the Law Reform Commission in October 2004 on the legislation, and a report was published last July containing an outline bill.
The Bill being published was approved by Government last week and deals with 11 separate areas of land and conveyancing law.
The modernisation is aimed at clarifying the law, simplifying procedures and helping to reduce the costs and delays encountered when buying and selling property in Ireland.
