Expropriation Essay

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2.2.2. Principle of Compensation for Expropriation
Payment of compensation is the second, but equally important, limitation on the government’s power of expropriation. This is a fact generally found in all legal systems of the world, whether or not private property is respected. This means, even in countries where the private ownership of land is not yet allowed, like China and Ethiopia, payment of compensation for the holder of rights on the property is recognized by law (Daniel, 2009).
The process, however, brings tension for people who are threatened with dispossession. The compulsory acquisition of land for development purpose may ultimately bring benefits to society but it is disruptive to people whose property is acquired. In countries
Compensation is to repay the affected people for the losses they suffered, and should be based on principles of equity and equivalence. The principle of equivalence is crucial to determining compensation: affected owners and occupants shall be neither enriched nor impoverished as a result of the compulsory acquisition. Financial compensation on the basis of equivalence of only the loss of land rarely achieves the aim of putting those affected in the same position as they were before the acquisition; the money paid cannot fully replace what is lost i.e. in some circumstances monetary compensation is either inadequate or inappropriate(Crawford,
For example, in Romanian law33/ 94 provides for compensation to be payable for the value of the property taken and any other losses caused to the owner or any other party with an interest in the property. According to Article 14(3) of the German Basic law, the compensation is intended to offer a full balance for the loss that was imposed upon them by the expropriation interference. Other property losses due to the expropriation (consequential damages) are also compensated, too (Crawford, 2007).
According to Keith (2007), in developing countries where there is the financial resource limitation, less emphasis should be put on monetary compensation where resettlement or reinstatement are often the best means of putting the claimant back in the same position as if his/her land had not been taken from him /her.
In practice, given that the aim of the acquisition is to support development, there are strong arguments for compensation to improve the position of those affected wherever possible (Keith, 2007).
When the term compensation is used in the context of deprivation of landholding it means recompense the sum of money which the owner would have got had he sold the property on the open market plus other losses which result from the resumption (Plimmer,

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