On 9 June 2026 at 14:00 Triinu Rennu will defend her doctoral thesis "Land Consolidation Law as an Instrument of State Land Policy in the Regulation of Land Relations and the Modernisation of Land Use in the Republic of Estonia (1918–1940)“
Supervisor:
Professor Marju Luts-Sootak, University of Tartu
Opponent:
PhD Paris Pin Yu Chen, University of Birmingham
Dr. iur. Priidu Pärna
Summary
Land consolidation law played a central role in the transformation and modernisation of land ownership and land use during the first period of independence of the Republic of Estonia (1918–1940). This thesis examines the development and functioning of land consolidation law, focusing on how the state employed it as an instrument to achieve political, social, and economic objectives.
Historically, fragmented land use in Estonia significantly reduced the efficiency of agriculture. In order to enhance the viability of farms, agricultural land was consolidated into more compact plots located near farmsteads through land consolidation measures. At the same time, land consolidation was also applied to achieve broader objectives. It served to compensate for losses of land ownership resulting from changes in state borders, to establish a uniform system of property relations across the Republic of Estonia, and to create conditions for the establishment of new farmsteads on land released through the enhancement of land use efficiency.
The thesis analyses the normative and institutional framework of land consolidation law, its distinction from transactional property law, and the interaction between public and private law in the transformation of land ownership relations. The main findings demonstrate that land consolidation law evolved into an autonomous public-law procedure through which the state reshaped existing property relations in order to achieve more efficient land use.
Changes brought about by re-parcelling were not based on agreements between individual landowners but were carried out through a public-law procedure that altered the boundaries, shape, and location of land units and enabled the reorganisation of entire regions at once. Land consolidation law also addressed significant legal challenges. Due to deficiencies in the land register, it was often unclear who the legal owner or lawful user of land was. Through land consolidation proceedings, these issues were clarified, and legal certainty as well as the protection of property rights were ensured through entries in the land register. In this way, both the substantive reorganisation of land use and its legal formalisation were achieved within a single procedure.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://ut-ee.zoom.us/j/99840109606?pwd=DJbI8v028fw4caxb9gXcq0mxfbWumN.1
Meeting ID: 998 4010 9606, Passcode: 816412
