Courts, land and rights
Land tenure in Mauritania: ordinance 83-127, concessions and land registration
Short answer
- Main text
- Ordonnance n° 83-127 du 5 juin 1983 portant réorganisation foncière et domaniale 1
- Repealed law
- Law 60-139 of 2 August 1960 1
- Traditional tenure
- Abolished by article 3 1
- Registration
- Optional, compulsory for some listed transfers 1
- Challenge to state ownership
- Within one month of the formal notice to vacate 1
- Court for state land disputes
- Chambres mixtes (mixed chambers) of the regional courts 1
The 1983 ordinance
Ordinance 83-127 opens by stating that land belongs to the nation and that every Mauritanian may, in line with the law, become an owner of part of it 1. The state recognises and guarantees private land ownership, which must contribute to economic and social development in line with the Chariâa (Islamic law) 1. Article 3 abolishes the traditional system of land tenure 1. Article 27 leaves matters the ordinance does not settle to the Chariâa 1. Article 28 repeals law 60-139 of 2 August 1960 and provides for implementing decrees 1.
The ordinance is published on the site of the Direction Générale de l'Administration Territoriale (DGAT, general directorate of territorial administration) of the Ministry of the Interior 1. The DGAT site lists a Direction des Frontières et des Affaires Foncières (directorate of borders and land affairs) among its units 2.
State land and concessions
- Terres mortes (dead land), never developed or with no clear trace of development, belong to the state (article 9) 1
- Vacant land without an owner passes to the state under the conditions of the Chariâa (article 11) 1
- Access to state land requires a prior concession, which becomes final and transfers ownership only after development under the specifications (article 12) 1
- Development without a concession gives no ownership. The state may take the land back or regularise the occupation (article 13) 1
- Large concessions need a significant economic and social impact and must protect small owners (article 20) 1
- Wells and boreholes outside private property are of public use (article 22) 1
Registration of land rights
Under article 24, individual rights over land of any kind are optionally subject to immatriculation (title registration) 1. Registration becomes compulsory for certain transfers of ownership listed in the land regulations 1. Rights that do not come from a final concession must go through an administrative verification procedure before they are entered (article 25) 1. Article 5 states that land registrations taken in the names of chiefs and notables are deemed granted to the traditional community concerned 1.
Extinction of ownership by indirass, as the ordinance calls it, does not apply to registered property (article 9) 1. The implementing decrees and the land regulations listing compulsory registrations could not be opened from an official Mauritanian source for this page.
Disputes and deadlines
| Rule | Article | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Challenge to a claim that land is state land 1 | 14 1 | Filed within one month of notice to vacate, on pain of forfeiture 1 |
| Time to file evidence 1 | 14 1 | Two months, not extendable 1 |
| Appeal 1 | 14 1 | No appeal. Cassation does not suspend the decision 1 |
| State as party 1 | 15 1 | The state must be joined in any case seeking recognition of private land rights 1 |
| Claims over state land 1 | 16 1 | Courts must decline jurisdiction 1 |
| Collective land claims 1 | 7 1 | Not admissible in court 1 |
| Competent court 1 | 26 1 | Mixed chambers of the regional courts 1 |
Expropriation and public projects
Article 21 states that ownership cannot block a project of national or regional interest or the growth of a town 1. No one may be forced to give up rights except for public use and with compensation 1. When the state takes back land developed without a concession, compensation covers only materials that can be recovered, and the civil court fixes it if there is no agreement 1.
Where to read the texts
Mauritanian laws and ordinances appear in the Journal Officiel, listed on the site of the ministry in charge of the government's general secretariat 3. As reported by Samira Njoya of Ecofin Agency, its digital portal holds all editions since 1959 4. The Commercial Code treats brokerage in the purchase and sale of buildings as a commercial act, so such brokers fall under trade register rules 5.
Common questions
Who owns undeveloped land in Mauritania?
The state. Article 9 makes never-developed land state property 1.
Is land registration compulsory in Mauritania?
Optional in principle, compulsory for certain listed transfers 1.
How long do I have to challenge a state land claim in Mauritania?
One month from the notice to vacate, then two months to file evidence 1.
Which court hears state land disputes in Mauritania?
The mixed chambers of the regional courts 1.
Does developing state land give ownership in Mauritania?
Only with a prior concession that has become final 1.
Rules and fees change. Check the official source linked on this page before you act on it. Spotted an error? Email hello@maghrebregisters.com.
Sources
- Direction Générale de l'Administration Territoriale, Ministère de l'Intérieur, Mauritanie: Ordonnance n° 83.127 du 5 juin 1983 portant réorganisation foncière et domaniale (Ordinance 83-127 on land and state property reorganisation)
- Direction Générale de l'Administration Territoriale, Mauritanie: Accueil (Home page)
- Ministère chargé du Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement, Mauritanie: Accueil (Home page)
- Ecofin Agency: Mauritania Launches Digital Portal for Official Gazette Covering Editions Back to 1959, by Samira Njoya (28 November 2025)
- WIPO Lex: Loi n° 2000-05 du 18 janvier 2000 portant Code de commerce, modifiée par la loi n° 2015-32 du 10 septembre 2015 (Law 2000-05 on the Commercial Code, as amended by law 2015-32), Mauritania
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