Land Consolidation in Slovakia

Abstract Land consolidation in the Slovak Republic is an important legal institute for fragmented agricultural land, which makes it difficult not only for the agricultural land market but also for the rational and efficient use of agricultural land. The necessity of land consolidation was already realized by the peasants in Slovakia at the beginning of the 20th century, when they voluntarily began to exchange the land. The law maker in Slovakia, however, did not realize the need for the arrangement of land relations until the year 1989, when the Law No. 229/1991 Coll. on the regulation of ownership relations to land and other agricultural property and Law No. 330/1991 Coll. on land arrangements, settlement of land ownership rights, district land offices, the Land Fund and land associations as amended were adopted. Moreover, land consolidation also addresses the development of the countryside and, last but not least, increases rural attractiveness for the inhabitants themselves. Rural development also belongs to the priorities of the EU. Thus, the implementation of the land consolidation projects is not only a wish of the owners or private investors, but also one of the ways to realize the goals of Slovakia and even of the European Union.