Can property and land be taken?

[PinkLily]

Hiya

I heard somewhere that if the Dominican government / army decides they want your land or your property, that they can just take it from you with no compensation. Does anyone know if there is any truth in this?

[sokitoumi]

I hope not I never heard that...It used to happen in Spain

[Robert]

Originally Posted by PinkLily

Hiya

I heard somewhere that if the Dominican government / army decides they want your land or your property, that they can just take it from you with no compensation. Does anyone know if there is any truth in this?

Complete BS.

If you have clear title to your property, they cannot just take it.

[RonS]

Under US law, and in other countries that have adopted the old English Common Law, and I would suspect even those that follow the Napoleonic legal tradition, real property is ultimately owned by the sovereign and then titled to person(s) or other legal entities. The sovereign retains the power to confiscate the land under conditions set out in the laws of the nation-state, in the US it is called Eminent Domain. The US Constitution requires the taking to be made only after due process of law is afforded the title holder and with "reasonable compensation."

So the idea that land can be taken by the sovereign power is not complete BS.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by RonS

Under US law, and in other countries that have adopted the old English Common Law, and I would suspect even those that follow the Napoleonic legal tradition, real property is ultimately owned by the sovereign and then titled to person(s) or other legal entities. The sovereign retains the power to confiscate the land under conditions set out in the laws of the nation-state, in the US it is called Eminent Domain. The US Constitution requires the taking to be made only after due process of law is afforded the title holder and with "reasonable compensation."

So the idea that land can be taken by the sovereign power is not complete BS.

And it's the same here.

Read the original post... "with no compensation".

Hence my response....

[Chirimoya]

When driving between San Cristobal and Baní and noticing all the homes and businesses earmarked for demolition for the highway construction, I wondered what sort of compensation their owners would receive. That is of course, if they have legal title.

[slug]

Any government, US, Dominican, or any other who wants property will eventually get it, legally or illegally.....they will wear the property owner down, force them to incur large legal fees, tie up the property for years........until you accept a pittance, submit, or die.

[sylindr]

they are going to re locate everyone in Javier. People there that have title to their property will be given title to the new home in the new location; so they have no choice but the government does indeed compensate them.

[Fabio J. Guzman]

Constitutional Rights -- Art. 8. Parr. 13 of the Dominican Constitution :

"El derecho de propiedad. En consecuencia, nadie puede ser privado de ella sino por causa justificada de utilidad pública o de interés social, previo pago de su justo valor determinado por sentencia de tribunal competente...."

"Property rights. Therefore, nobody may be deprived of them except for cause of public utility or social interest, previous payment of its just value determined by ruling of the competent court...."

[catcherintherye]

"Social interest", ah, there's the rub. How is "social interest" defined, and who does the defining?

In Conneticut, a neighborhood was taken by eminent domain in order to build an industrial park. The city used the argument that it was in the social interest to create jobs. The original owners sued, and they eventually lost their case in the Supreme Court, with the most liberal judge casting the deciding vote.

Kelo v. City of New London - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anyone who thinks they are protected by the law as far as property rights goes is sadly mistaken. The same is true in any country in the world, from the harsest dictatorship to the so-called "showcase" of democracy. Ultimately, the government owns your land.