{"id":103249,"date":"2020-06-06T16:18:45","date_gmt":"2020-06-06T23:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=103249"},"modified":"2020-06-06T16:18:45","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T23:18:45","slug":"fake-news-poverty-ends-with-the-introduction-of-technology-with-western-laws-and-western-designs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/06\/06\/fake-news-poverty-ends-with-the-introduction-of-technology-with-western-laws-and-western-designs\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake News!! \u2018Poverty Ends with the Introduction of Technology with Western Laws and Western Designs\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Senior Lawyer<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

It was  heartening to\nsee the Deputy Survey General\u2019s advice  given in the Daily Mirror. He says  the new law  is  that\nOriginals will be of no value,  but\nI  strongly recommend the owners to\nretain the original deeds, extracts and the certified copies of their deeds,\u201d  http:\/\/www.dailymirror.lk\/breaking_news\/District-Bim-Saviya-offices-asked-to-report-issues-to-main-office\/108-189216<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deeds – should we get rid of them<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is   crucial  advice  to all land owners and lawyers ,  as the owners need  documents to establish their rights in a\ncourt of law. The  law of foreign origin\napplicable to the e register; it says original documents of ownership will be\nof no value. The foreign law is referred to as Bim Saviya, this law annuls the\nfundamental right of a citizen to access court, if affected by fraud. The\nabsence of deeds and paper documents is the main feature in the e register. Act\n21 of 1998 [Bim Saviya  in section 53 has\n  statutory provision    to  destroy notarised conveyancing documents submitted\nto the land registry [ notarised sales gifts mortgage bonds etc ] without\nreturning them  to owners .  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions often asked,  will these laws reduce poverty ? Or will they\nbe beneficial to  fraudsters to steal\nland from the  poor ? Is Sri Lanka  prepared   overnight to introduce laws and electronic  systems \ndeveloped  in nations that have\nsped in the last three decades with law reforms  to sustain the system and the  integrity of the registry  .  It\nmust be remembered unlike in other  countries , \nwe have not revised the old register. Names of owners   are \nentered to the e register from the \nold  register that   dates\nback to  1864 . The pages are badly\ndamaged and according to the Registrar   50% of the entries are fraudulent entries.    <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Torrens Law  referred to as Bim Saviya  govern \nthe e register <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how  the  Torrens law practiced in developed nations ,\nwhich we refer to as Bim Saviya found its way  \nto govern the e register.  Sri\nLanka is  not alone,  the conversion to Torrens law   is  happening in several countries, especially in  Commonwealth nations,  the   vacuum left by the British colonialists  tentatively filled  by the Global organisations such as the World\nBank.  With  aid  programs  laws working well in other nations and in\noperation for over  100 years are   haphazardly introduced to our countries repealing\nthe laws practiced for over 100 years  as\na \u2018one fit for all solution \u2018.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  It is therefore evident\nthat   Sri Lanka  has sufficient literature to follow as\nJudicial interpretation of the law has commenced in many countries where\nvictims of fraud are demanding their lands to be returned. A day will arrive    when the Judiciary  will be called upon to interpret the  Torrens Law \nwhich   we conveniently refer to\nas  Bim Saviya [which it self  a misnomer.]  \nUntil then the  advice given by\nthe Deputy survey General is  important\nas the owners need  documents to\nestablish land rights in a court of law .<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remedy for fraud victims, Government\npromises to pay compensation <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The public in the meantime   look in horror at the development of land law\nin this manner without publicity , where rights acquired under forged deeds\ncould be justified under Bim Saviya subject to section 59 of Act 21 of 1998<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 60 of the Act 21 of 1998 provides the    remedy available to land owners who are   affected by fraud.  That   is  to\nobtain compensation from the Government for the  loss of \nrights. The Government has set up a fund to compensate owners called the\nAssurance Fund . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Has this important\nmatter   ever been discussed in\nparliament ? Has the Government considered whether it has funds to reimburse a\nsum equivalent to the value of land to owners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The much hyped Globalisation\nagenda , tales of   <\/em>liberal free markets and  logic of mercenary economists  <\/em>make us believe the  falsestory\n   that  poverty will end  with  the\nintroduction of   western laws, technology\nwith western design .  It is  proved beyond doubt that this argument is  fake , as the foreign law Bim Saviya was\nintroduced 20 years ago and , has  made\nus indeed more indebted with increase in levels of poverty not only\neconomically but in  in terms of<\/strong> resources\nand services.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also worthwhile to note the lamentation of  Government officials who are vexed by the\noperation of Bim Saviya  The  Title\nCommissioner the officer in charge of Bim Saviya  in his 2017 report states as follows –   \u2018only 1.1 millions of land parcels of 12 million\n land parcels in Sri Lanka have been\nsurveyed even after  19 years to operate\nBim Saviya.  How  pragmatic is it  to supervise 9.5 million blocks of land  and manage an island wide office system for\nBim Saviya I believe this is time to probe into the performance of Bim Saviya the\ncurrent Act  21 of 1998 \u2018.https:\/\/www.parliament.lk\/uploads\/documents\/paperspresented\/performance-report-land-title-settlement-department-2018.pdf<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

E\nregister and Bim Saviya to be administered with legal immunity according to the\nMCC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Despite  the 20 year period of   failure and opposition to Bim Saviya  by the people and the Bar Association,\nsuccessive Governments\u2019 have been lulled \ninto extending the law to the e register which will be funded by the\nMCC. The Government\u2019s intention is clearly  stated in the MCC,  they will follow designs by the World Bank ,\nUSAID, US Embassy and US Actors .What about the local designs <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the MCC   the E\nregistry project and Bim Saviya  is  to be handed over to a  private company called the  \u2018Agent of the Government\u2019  named \nMCC Private Limited for a period of 5 years .   The\ncompany and the   US officials engaged  in the land project in 10 land registries   will be  granted \nlegal  immunity   and will not be responsible for  any crimes of omissions , crimes of commissions\nor any crimes  committed by them   [please see section 6.8 of the MCC on the\ninternet .] <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public ask many questions as their basic\nrights to access court is no more ?  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n