Λειτουργία και εξέλιξη κτηματολογικών συστημάτων. Σχεδιασμός και εφαρμογή μοντέλου διαχείρισης της κρατικής ιδιοκτησίας στην Κύπρο

Abstract

Cyprus has a reliable cadastral system supporting the administration of land and other immovable property related activities. The authority responsible for the operation of the cadastre is the Department of Lands and Surveys (DLS). The Department established, in 1999, a Land Information System (CLIS) to support its survey and mapping, registration of rights, responsibilities, and restrictions (legal security), valuation, and management functions, with the upper objective of developing/upgrading it into a National Land Information System (NLIS).

The current CLIS, as deployed within the Department of Lands and Surveys (DLS), supports the operation of the Cyprus cadastre and the land administration system. However, DLS now recognizes that the current solution and its underlying architecture is at the end of its life cycle and is no longer a suitable programming framework or a suitable technology foundation for meeting the developing needs of the Department. A main concern of CLIS, is the future support for its Operating System and Database Software. The current system uses Solaris 8 as Operating System, Oracle Forms 6i, and Workstation ArcInfo 8.3, which are at the end of their technological life. The system is at a point where it is difficult to migrate to newer technologies, as it is one or two generations behind on the technology curve. Furthermore, it cannot meet the requirements for the implementation of a National Land Information System, especially the “interoperability” requirement, where diverse geographic systems, in various organizations, can work together.

There is a need to start planning for the future and chart a course for redefining the data model of CLIS and replacing components of the system. A new data model could facilitate the provision of data to internal and external users/customers in timelier manner and in a format more flexible to the community’s needs. There is a need to reengineer business processes to simplify procedures and number of steps to complete a transaction-process. The data model could be normalized to reduce data duplication and to improve data integrity.

The need of introducing a new data model for the CLIS coincides with the development of the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM). The LADM is under development within the Technical Committee 211 (TC211) of the International Organization for Standardization and identified as ISO 19152. Standardization has become a well-known process in the work of land administrations and land registries. In both paper-based systems and computerized systems, standards are required to identify objects, transactions, relationships between objects (e.g. parcels, more generally spatial units) and persons (e.g. citizens, or subjects legally speaking, and more generally speaking parties), classification of land use, land value, map representations of objects, and so on. Computerized systems require further standardization, when topology and the identification of single boundaries are introduced. In existing land administrations and land registries, standardization is generally limited to the region, or jurisdiction, where the land administration (including cadastre and/or land registry) is in operation. Open markets, globalization, and effective and efficient development and maintenance of flexible (generic) systems, require further standardization

LADM provides a reference model which will serve two goals: (1) to provide an extensible basis for the development and refinement of efficient and effective land administration systems, based on Model Driven Architecture (MDA), and (2) to enable involved parties, both within one country and between different countries, to communicate, based on the shared vocabulary (that is, an ontology) implied by the model. The second goal is relevant for creating standardized information services in an international context, where the land administration domain semantics have to be shared between regions, or countries, in order to enable necessary translations. The model provides an abstract, conceptual schema with three basic packages related to (i) parties (such as people and organizations), (ii) rights, responsibilities, and restrictions (property rights - RRR) (iii) spatial units (such as parcels, buildings and networks), with the latter having one subpackage: surveying and spatial representation. The concept of LADM, its content and the proposed packages, seem, from an initial look, to suit the needs for the enhancement of CLIS.

An enhancement of the existing CLIS model to comply with the LADM, requires the “migration” of CLIS entities to LADM classes. A detail examination of these entities/classes indicated that there is a direct relation between them. A comparison of CLIS entities with LADM classes showed that there is compatibility between the two and that LADM can be used as the reference model for the enhancement of CLIS. The core entities of CLIS should be transferred to LADM classes. The adoption of LADM is a great opportunity for the Cyprus Department of Lands and Surveys to introduce an ISO standard model, improving and expanding the services provided by CLIS and the broader Land Administration System to the Cyprus community.

Each jurisdiction has a different ‘land tenure system’, reflecting the social relationships regarding rights, restrictions and responsibilities (RRR) as regards land in that area. The variety of rights is quite large within most jurisdictions, and the exact meaning of similar rights may differ considerably between jurisdictions. In the existing Cyprus cadastral system, a big number of RRRs is registered or recorded, creating a multi-purpose cadastre. The recording of RRR’s however is, in some cases, “unstructured”. A major advantage in adopting LADM is the classification and structuring of RRRs. The introduction of LADM will result to a more rigid structure and efficient administration of all rights, restrictions, and responsibilities (RRRs) in CLIS. Furthermore the “administrative source” class of LADM will solve the problem of handling the legal paper documents, required for the operation of the Cyprus land administration system.

The rights are classified to: (i) Rights related to ownership, which include the right of ownership, disputed ownership, Illegal possession and adverse possession. (ii) Easements and other rights attached to parcels units. They are real rights, meaning that the rights remain valid even when the ownership of the unit is transferred from one party to another and include the passage right, the channel access, the storey erect and the exclusive use right. (iii) Easements and other rights attached to parties. Personal easements are rights which as long as they are valid, the consent of the beneficiary party is required for the transferring of the ownership right and for other property related transactions. These rights include usufruct, residence right, income, use, channel access for party. The custody is also a rights attached to a party. Finally (iv) the lease right, which, according to the purpose the lease is conducted, can be agriculture, industrial, farming, touristy, mining, forest, sports, communal, utility, or special agreement lease.

The restrictions are classified to: (i) Restrictions attached to parcel units, as encumbrances. An encumbrance is a direct restriction (charge) upon an immovable property. It may be a voluntary charge (e.g. mortgage, contract of sale) or a result of court order (e.g. registration of judgment, writ of sale (contract)). (ii) Restrictions attached to parties (prohibitions) which constitute an indirect restriction (charge) upon immovable property, resulting to the forbidding, prevention or interdiction of any person (party) from transferring or mortgaging all or any of his/her immovable property under the provisions of any law in force for the time being. The basic restrictions attached to parties, in the Cyprus land administration system, include the interim order, the court administration appointment and the bankrupt. In the Cyprus land administration system there are various responsibilities of parties related to spatial units. These responsibilities (obligations to do something) are enforced by different legislations, by the government, local authorities or other organizations. Examples of responsibilities enforced by DLS include the responsibility of property owners to pay the annual immovable property tax and in the cases of leases of state land the tenant has a responsibility to pay the annual rent.

The proposed model handles in a clear way all RRRs and puts in an equal manner the “parties” and the “land objects”. Thus, the Cadastre 2014, which proposes a land-objects system (object-oriented), is extended covering the deeds system which has in the center the parties (party-oriented). The presentation of the RRRs could efficiently done, either from the point of view of the land object, or of the party.

The proposed model was developed aiming to cover the core entities of the Cyprus land administration system. At the same time its capabilities tested on the management of state land and the rights and restrictions over it. The management of state land was examined in a research undertaken in cooperation with the FIG’s Commission 7. For this purpose, a detailed questionnaire was circulated amongst members and friends of the Commission, who were invited to report on a number of aspects of the management of state land in their country. The questionnaire covers various aspects including the institutional framework for state land management, policies, the institutions for managing state land, registration, cadastral and other records, accounting policies, and outsourcing. It looks at the relationship between the state and others with an interest in the land, including letting policies, the state as a tenant of private land, public private partnerships, customary and communal rights over state land, compulsory purchase, and restitution.

The importance of the management of state land is because the way this land is managed can enhance the welfare and well-being of the population but is also capable of undermining it. This could be because state land is managed inefficiently, so that resources that could be used to enhance living standards are wasted, or because the population suffers from the consequences of poor decision-making. In other cases this may be because the resources of the state have been appropriated by individuals or groups for their own ends rather than being used in the interests of society as a whole. Where individuals or groups are able to capture and harness the powers of the state for their own ends, this opens the potential for these to be used to abuse human rights. State land does not exist in isolation. There may be neighbouring owners or users of land. Others may have rights over state land or the state may have rights over their land. Such situations can give rise to conflict as well as the potential for encroachment on state land or for the state to try to extend its powers over land controlled by other groups. This may be particularly significant where property rights are poorly defined or where there are customary rights over land that is vested in the state. The state often needs to take possession over land that is used or owned by private interests in the public interest, for example, for the construction of infrastructure. How this is done can be a source of conflict. State land ought to be a means through which the welfare of the population is enhanced. However, it is a source of potential conflict and, as such, can also be a means by which well-being is diminished and human rights abused.

State and public sector land includes that is owned by the state but also land that the state rents, manages or is the custodian for. Sometimes the management of state land is outsourced. State land is not exclusive space just occupied by the state. Commonly it is space that is shared with others because it is rented from the private sector or is occupied by private bodies and households. Sometimes it is land over which others have customary rights. How the state behaves towards the others with which it shares space, plays a critical part in determining their security of tenure and the welfare of society. Poor governance, corruption or state capture are likely to have severe adverse consequences as they impact on the relationship between the state and the others with which it shares space. Only a small number of countries have formal policies about the state and public sector ownership of land covering the whole state sector rather than individual state organizations. Most of the countries have legislation which determined the powers and activities of state and public sector bodies, but they are characterized by an absence of formal state land management policies embracing the whole of the public sector.

The letting out of state land is used for various purposes, including the raise of revenue to support the budget, site assembly for urban regeneration, providing access to land for the landless, to provide social housing for rent by those who would otherwise be homeless, and to help agriculture and other private sector’s activities become more viable. In a number of countries the government rents land for its own offices and for other social/ecological reasons. Land is acquired by the state in a variety of ways, including purchase, expropriation, donation, and confiscation. It is generally recognized, even in countries in which there is a private land market, that there are occasions when the state needs to exercise rights of pre-emptive purchase of land in the public interest. Under these circumstances, the state or a public sector body has the right to compulsorily purchase land for public benefit. The disposal of surplus assets is a way in which the state can generate revenue. Governments also dispose land for social purposes. Disposals are not confined to countries in which private ownership of land is not possible.

In many countries, state/public bodies have the requirement for annual balance sheet of their assets. Among those countries, only a few ones have adopted accruals accounting in government, in which expenditure is matched against the revenue earned in a period rather than income and expenditure being recorded when paid.

Public Private Partnerships, where a private body raises the finance, constructs the facility and leases it to the public sector, sometimes operating on behalf of the public body as well, are increasing in many countries. Whilst a few of the countries, have had little use of such arrangement, many of the other countries have made use of public private partnerships, for the provision of infrastructure such as roads, airports, railways, water supply, as well as for schools, hospitals, prisons, social housing, the housing of military personnel, and university halls of residence.

As s result of this work, a framework of principles which the nations (including Cyprus) could follow to facilitate the management of their state land was defined. The proposed principles include the following:

The state land should be: • registered or recorded in a system that handles information about the ownership, the value, the extent, the geographical position and other related rights and restrictions, • classified in various categories related to its custodian and usage level, • used for various purposes, • leased, let, granted, exchanged and used, based on laws and regulations which are followed and respected.

The state land should be managed: • with transparent procedures controlled by an independent auditor and based on economic principles, • purporting the maximum state and social benefit, in the content of substantial development, • with respect to social and environmental factors, • with respect to the citizens and their ownerships, • with respect to other related governmental policies, • in a way the authorizations and responsibilities are clearly defined, • in a way its users are facilitated.

The proposed model was successfully applied by importing data from the Cyprus existing LIS. The application has been developed in Oracle 11g, and ArcGIS 9.3.1 was used for the presentation of geographical information. The advantages of implementing the model include the clarification of the immovable property entity, which also covers the water and sea, and the clarification/classification of RRRs that should be registered in the cadastre. The State is successfully manipulated, as one of the other parties of the system having similar rights, restrictions and responsibilities over land. The model supports interoperability and the operation of e-cadastre. The paper maps and other paper documents are reduced. In Cyprus, the implementation of the proposed model could lead from a multipurpose cadastre to a broader immovable property administration system.

Η Κύπρος διαθέτει ένα αξιόπιστο πολυδιάστατο κτηματολογικό σύστημα, στο επίκεντρο της λειτουργίας του οποίου βρίσκεται το Τμήμα Κτηματολογίου και Χωρομετρίας. Για τον εκσυγχρονισμό του εφαρμόστηκε σταδιακά, από το 1999, ένα Σύστημα Πληροφοριών Γης (ΚΣΠΓ). Παρά το γεγονός ότι το κτηματολογικό αυτό σύστημα μπορεί να χαρακτηρισθεί ως επιτυχημένο, χρειάζεται να ανασχεδιασθεί και να αναπροσαρμοστεί, προκειμένου να ανταποκριθεί στις προκλήσεις του μέλλοντος, να εξυπηρετεί καλύτερα τους πολίτες και τις επιχειρήσεις, να διευρύνει τις λειτουργίες του, να επιταχύνει τις μεθόδους ενημέρωσής του και να ικανοποιεί διεθνείς προδιαγραφές και πρότυπα ποιότητας.

Η ανάγκη για την αναβάθμιση του ΚΣΠΓ προκύπτει τη χρονική περίοδο ανάπτυξης του Land Administration Domain Model (LADM). Τo LADM αποτελεί τη μεγαλύτερη, μέχρι σήμερα, προσπάθεια τυποποίησης και μοντελοποίησης των κτηματολογικών συστημάτων. Καθορίζεται ως διεθνές πρότυπο από το Διεθνή Οργανισμό Προτύπων (ISO) και την Τεχνική Επιτροπή 287, υπεύθυνη για τις γεωγραφικές πληροφορίες της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής Τυποποίησης και αναμένεται να αποτελέσει διεθνές πρότυπο το 2012. Το LADM παρέχει ένα μοντέλο αναφοράς με σκοπό τη δημιουργία μιας επεκτάσιμης βάσης για την ανάπτυξη αποτελεσματικών συστημάτων διαχείρισης γης βασισμένων σε δομή MDA (Model Driven Architecture). Επιτρέπει σε εμπλεκόμενα μέρη, τόσο στην ίδια τη χώρα, όσο και μεταξύ χωρών, να επικοινωνούν στην ίδια γλώσσα των οντοτήτων που υιοθετεί το μοντέλο. Σχεδιάστηκε για να καλύψει τις κοινές διεθνείς αντιλήψεις σχετικά με τη διαχείριση γης και στηρίχθηκε στις αρχές του Κτηματολογίου 2014 και σε διεθνή πρότυπα ISO, ενώ παράλληλα διατηρήθηκε όσο πιο απλό γίνεται για να είναι πρακτικά χρήσιμο.

Στην παρούσα εργασία ανασχεδιάστηκε το μοντέλο του ΚΣΠΓ, έχοντας ως βάση το LADM. Προς το σκοπό αυτό επαναπροσδιορίστηκαν και αναδομήθηκαν τα δικαιώματα, οι περιορισμοί και οι υποχρεώσεις (δ/π/υ) που συνδέουν τα πρόσωπα και τις ακίνητες ιδιοκτησίες. Το προτεινόμενο μοντέλο αποδίδει με σαφή και ευκρινή τρόπο αυτά τα δ/π/υ και πρωτοτυπεί στην ισοβαρή και ισομερή τοποθέτηση των “προσώπων” και της “ακίνητης ιδιοκτησίας”. Με τον τρόπο αυτό επεκτείνεται το Κτηματολόγιο 2014 το οποίο υποστηρίζει ένα κτηματο-κεντρικό σύστημα, καλύπτοντας και το ανθρωπο-κεντρικό σύστημα των συμβολαίων. Η παρουσίαση δ/π/υ μπορεί τώρα να γίνει με σημείο αναφοράς είτε την ακίνητη ιδιοκτησία, είτε το πρόσωπο.

Το μοντέλο αναπτύχθηκε με σκοπό να καλύψει το σύνολο των οντοτήτων του κυπριακού κτηματολογίου. Παράλληλα, εξετάσθηκε η δυνατότητα εφαρμογής του στη διαχείριση των δικαιωμάτων και περιορισμών που αφορούν την κρατική γη. Η διαχείριση της κρατικής γης μελετήθηκε σε διεθνές επίπεδο, στο πλαίσιο της παρούσας εργασίας και σε συνεργασία με τη Διεθνή Ομοσπονδία Τοπογράφων FIG. Η μελέτη κατέδειξε τις διαφορές και τις ομοιότητες στα προβλήματα που αντιμετωπίζονται και στις πρακτικές που εφαρμόζονται σε διάφορες χώρες. Η εξέταση παραδειγμάτων καλής πρακτικής βοήθησαν στη διαμόρφωση και διατύπωση μιας πρότασης για τη διαχείριση της κρατικής γης και κατέδειξαν την αναγκαιότητα αναθεώρησης του θεσμικού και οργανωτικού πλαισίου διαχείρισης της κρατικής ιδιοκτησίας στην Κύπρο. Διαπιστώθηκε η ανάγκη για ανασύνταξη και επανακαθορισμό της πολιτικής που σχετίζεται με την κρατική ιδιοκτησία και της εφαρμογής ενός σύγχρονου και πρωτοποριακού μοντέλου διαχείρισής της. Ο σχεδιασμός και η εφαρμογή ενός νέου μοντέλου διαχείρισης της κρατικής ιδιοκτησίας, με τη χρήση σύγχρονων τεχνολογιών, στηριγμένο σε νέες κατευθύνσεις, θα οδηγήσει στην αναβάθμιση του επιπέδου αξιοποίησης και διαχείρισης της κρατικής ιδιοκτησίας, προς όφελος του συνόλου των πολιτών.

Το προτεινόμενο μοντέλο εφαρμόστηκε επιτυχώς με την εισαγωγή δεδομένων του κυπριακού κτηματολογίου. Η εφαρμογή αναπτύχθηκε στην Oracle 11g και για την παρουσίαση των γεωγραφικών δεδομένων χρησιμοποιήθηκε το ArcGIS 9.3.1. Τα πλεονεκτήματα από την εφαρμογή του μοντέλου είναι πολλά. Διασαφηνίζεται η έννοια της ακίνητης ιδιοκτησίας και εντάσσεται σε αυτή και ο θαλάσσιος χώρος, διασαφηνίζονται τα δ/π/υ που εγγράφονται στο κτηματολόγιο, προσδιορίζεται το κράτος ως ένα από τα υπόλοιπα πρόσωπα του συστήματος, υποστηρίζεται η διαλειτουργικότητα και η εφαρμογή του ηλεκτρονικού κτηματολογίου και περιορίζεται η διακίνηση εγγράφων σε έντυπη μορφή. Ειδικότερα για την Κύπρο, η εφαρμογή του προτεινόμενου μοντέλου ανοίγει το δρόμο για τη μετάβαση από ένα πολυδιάστατο κτηματολογικό σύστημα σε ένα ευρύτερο σύστημα διαχείρισης ακίνητης ιδιοκτησίας.