Nghe An: Woman sues for 21 years over land issues

21 years of litigation

21In a petition sent to Nghe An Newspaper at the end of January 2018, Ms. Ngo Thi Huong informed about her 21-year ordeal. Accordingly, due to family circumstances, in 1989, Ms. Huong's mother, Ms. Le Thi Than, had to leave her home to live on her own. Also in 1989, Ms. Le Thi Than was considered by the People's Committee of Hoi Son Commune (Anh Son) and granted residential land in Hamlet 10 with an area of ​​306m2 (now Hamlet 10, Hoa Son Commune). In 1990, Ms. Than built a house on the land area that the Hoi Son Commune government considered granting.

In 1997, Anh Son district implemented the issuance of land use right certificates to the people. During this period, Ms. Le Thi Than suffered a stroke and had to return to her son's house for treatment. In 1997, Ms. Ngo Thi Huong replaced her mother to do land procedures. And she was extremely surprised when the commune land officer informed that the land with her mother's house had been "assigned" by the People's Committee of Anh Son district to the family of Mr. Nguyen Ngo Hong and Ms. Ngo Thi Lu.

The land is in dispute between Ms. Le Thi Than and Ms. Ngo Thi Lu.

However, in 2003, Ms. Ngo Thi Lu's family filed a complaint against the People's Committee of Hoi Son Commune to the People's Committee of Anh Son District. Although the People's Committee of Anh Son District continued to recognize the land rights of Ms. Le Thi Than and rejected Ms. Ngo Thi Lu's complaint (in Decision 524/QD.UB dated July 31, 2003), the People's Committee of Hoi Son Commune did not resolve the matter according to the instructions of the superiors, and even handed over the land use right certificate to Ms. Ngo Thi Lu's family, and then in September 2003, Ms. Lu's family demolished Ms. Le Thi Than's house.

The land dispute has since been transferred to courts at all levels for resolution, even reaching the Civil Court - Supreme People's Court. In 2011, the Civil Court - Supreme People's Court pointed out the unreasonableness at the first instance and appeal courts; including the appraisal and issuance of land use right certificates by the Anh Son district government.

However, the land dispute between Ms. Le Thi Than and Ms. Ngo Thi Lu's family continues to drag on and has not been resolved. The competent authorities all recognize that Ms. Le Thi Than is right, however, the land use rights have not been given to Ms. Le Thi Than; the land use rights certificate that the People's Committee of Anh Son district granted to Ms. Ngo Thi Lu has not yet been revoked or canceled.

The petition has basis

Researching the records related to this case shows that the content of Ms. Ngo Thi Huong's petition is well-founded. Of which, the most notable is the Final Appeal Decision No. 894/2011/DS-GDT dated November 24, 2011 of the Civil Court - Supreme People's Court and Official Dispatch No. 6425/STNMT-QLDD dated December 1, 2017 of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment on consulting opinions on handling difficulties in dispute resolution in Anh Son district.

In Decision No. 894, the Civil Court - Supreme People's Court annulled the civil appeal judgment of the People's Court of Nghe An province on the land and housing dispute case between Ms. Le Thi Than and Ms. Ngo Thi Lu because: "The Court of First Instance's order forcing Mr. Nguyen Ngo Hong to return 306 square meters of land to Ms. Than was well-founded.

The Court of Appeal only based on the fact that Ms. Than's paperwork was incomplete and not legalized to reject her application for land use rights, which is not enough basis..."; in addition, it also pointed out: "The procedure for granting the land use rights certificate to Ms. Ngo Thi Lu was incorrect and not in accordance with the provisions of law".

Ms. Ngo Thi Huong and documents related to her mother's land dispute.

In addition, by examining the relevant documents and records, the contents of the Civil Court - Supreme People's Court's judgment, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment determined that the issuance of the land use right certificate by the People's Committee of Anh Son district to Ms. Ngo Thi Lu's family, including the land and house of Ms. Le Thi Than, was not in accordance with regulations.

To handle this matter, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the People's Committee of Anh Son district needs to establish an inspection team to clarify the issuance of a land use right certificate to Ms. Ngo Thi Lu in 1998.

It is known that on July 2, 2014, the Standing Committee of Anh Son District Party Committee also clarified the violations of Mr. Dang Minh Chau - Party Secretary, Chairman of Hoa Son Commune People's Council, because he lacked responsibility in resolving the land dispute between Ms. Le Thi Than and Ms. Ngo Thi Lu's family; lacked responsibility in state management of land, and delivered the land use right certificate to Ms. Ngo Thi Lu's family when the land was in dispute.

Need to resolve once and for all

Speaking to Nghe An Newspaper reporters, Anh Son district officials involved in handling the land dispute between Ms. Le Thi Than and Ms. Ngo Thi Lu's family said that "based on the records, Ms. Le Thi Than is right." However, according to these officials, resolving the matter is difficult and complicated. Because even if Ms. Le Thi Than is determined to be right, there is not enough basis to hand over the land.

The reason is that on the current status of the disputed land plot, all traces of Ms. Than's house have been lost; in addition, in Ms. Than's land records, the area is shown, but there is no map or drawing describing the land plot...

Question: For many years, competent authorities have pointed out that the People's Committee of Anh Son district's issuance of land use right certificates to Ms. Ngo Thi Lu's family was not in accordance with the law, but why has the People's Committee of Anh Son district not yet inspected to correct the mistake?

According to Mr. Hoang Xuan Cuong - Vice Chairman of Anh Son District People's Committee, this is a problem that has been lingering for decades. Part of the reason is that there were many shortcomings in previous land management. Some individuals involved have passed away, causing difficulties in the district's handling process. Therefore, Anh Son District needs to continue consulting with the authorities to handle the case in accordance with the law...

However, in Official Dispatch No. 6425/STNMT-QLDD, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment requested the People's Committee of Anh Son district to establish an inspection team to clarify whether the issuance of the land use right certificate to Ms. Ngo Thi Lu in 1998 was in accordance with current regulations or not? In case the inspection team concludes that the issuance of the land use right certificate to Ms. Ngo Thi Lu is not in accordance with the law, the People's Committee of Anh Son district will consider revoking the issued certificate.

After revoking the land use right certificate, proceed to handle it according to the provisions of Clauses 2, 3, 4, Article 203 of the 2013 Land Law. When asked why the People's Committee of Anh Son district did not follow the advice of the specialized department, Mr. Hoang Xuan Cuong said: "Anh Son district also determined that it is necessary to resolve the case completely. Therefore, in the near future, we will invite the Provincial Inspectorate, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to participate in a meeting with the functional departments, the People's Court, and the People's Procuracy of the district to consult on resolving the case completely...".