The right to fair compensation for land acquired for petroleum activities: a critique of law and practice in Tanzania

Rugazia, Aloys R

The right to fair compensation for land acquired for petroleum activities: a critique of law and practice in Tanzania

Doctoral Thesis

2021

Abstract

Compensation for land acquired for petroleum exploitation can be highly contentious. Often, the discovery of petroleum in a locality raises the landholders' expectations about the net benefit that the resources will bring their way. These expectations collide with the state's interest to exploit the discovered petroleum resources for the benefit of the whole nation. This brings to the fore the clash between the right of the landholders to their property and the right of the general public to natural resources. To resolve the clash, international human rights law requires the state to pay fair compensation for the land it acquires for petroleum projects. The main question this study asks is: to what extent is the Tanzanian petroleum legal framework for land compensation fair? To answer this question, the study draws on Rawls' theory of fairness, and analyses the jurisprudence of international human rights law, which helps to identify the elements of a fair land compensation regime in the context of petroleum projects. The study shows that, at the international level, the legal instruments and jurisprudence largely incorporate Rawls' theory of fairness by demanding that in acquiring land for petroleum projects the state must approach the landholders as equals. As such, the state must employ a participatory approach, which calls for consultation with the affected people, obtaining their consent, make decisions by consensus where possible, and considering their livelihood situations in calculating compensation. While Tanzanian petroleum laws and practices recognise the duty to give fair compensation to the people affected by petroleum activities before acquiring their lands, the study highlights numerous shortcomings in these laws and practices that prove that the land compensation scheme for petroleum projects in Tanzania fails to meet all the requirements of fairness. The study makes several key recommendations that could ensure that Tanzania fully complies with such requirements of fairness.

Keywords

public law

Reference:

Collections

PhD / Doctoral

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