DDP 735. Brian Trackman, William Fisher, and Luis Salas. "The Reform of Property Registration Systems in Honduras: A Status Report." October 1999. 31 pp. Central America Project Series
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Honduras is in the midst of a substantial reformation of its real-property registration system. The purpose of this paper is to provide the foundation for an analysis of how that reform process might be accelerated and improved. To that end, the paper describes the current condition of the Honduran registry and the changes that have been instituted to date. The introduction sketches the history of property registration in Honduras. Sections A and B describe the authority, jurisdiction, and structure of the present Registry the RPIM. Section C outlines the way in which the RPIM is currently financed. Section D sets forth the functions of the RPIM principally inscription and certification. Sections E and F catalogue the respects in which the Registry is currently being reformed. Among the dimensions of change are: titling initiatives associated with the Rural Lands Administration Project, the National Agrarian Institute, and the National Agrarian Registry; automation and structural reform associated with the Real Property System Modernization Project; the improvement of the National Cadastre; efforts to protect and register the lands of Indigenous Peoples; and improvements in the judicial system associated with the Program for the Modernization of the Judiciary. Section G considers the relationship between registry reform and the Honduran system of supplementary title. Finally, Section H outlines the ways in which disputes that arise out of the registry process currently are being resolved.
Key words: Central America; Honduras; property; registry
JEL Codes: K11; O13; O54
Brian Trackman is a graduate of Amherst College, and a student at the Harvard Law School.
William Fisher is currently Professor of Law, Director of the Harvard Program on Legal History, and Co-Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
Luis Salas is an expert on Latin American justice systems. He is now a full professor in the College of Urban and Public Affairs at Florida International University (FIU).