The National Land Agency has implemented Systematic Land Registration in order to increase the levels of land registration in Jamaica. The mandate of the Adjudication Services Division of the Agency is to assist landowners who have been in open, undisturbed and undisputed possession of their land for twelve years or more, to claim ownership of such land via the Systematic Land Registration Process.
Systematic Land Registration is the methodical and orderly registration of parcels of land in a designated area known as the Systematic Adjudication Area.
Did you know that approximately 40% of land in Jamaica remains unregistered? Due to this, the National Land Agency has implemented a Systematic Land Registration programme to increase the number of registered land titles. Discover all the details of this programme and learn how you can benefit from it!
The Government will advance the entire cost for the legal and surveying fees. Persons will, however, be required to repay the costs after the Certificate of Title is issued. A Registrar’s caveat will be lodged against the Certificate of Title to protect the Government’s interest in the aforementioned fees.
Service “brought to land owners’ doorsteps”.
The registration of a substantial amount of land in a short period.
Any person who has acquired land by:
House to house visits by the legal team from the Adjudication Services Division (ASD) in order to interview landowners calming an interest in land.
Interviewing neighbours and community members.
Surveying of land parcels by Surveyors from Geoland Title Limited in order to prepare a map of all parcels in the Systematic Adjudication Areas (Cadastral Map).
Processing of Applications by the ASD Team.
Display of an Adjudication Record (a document listing the names of all the persons claiming an interest in parcels of land within the Systematic Adjudication Areas).
Issuance of Adjudication Certificates (proof of ownership from Adjudication process).
Lodgement at the Titles Office.
A Certificate of Title will be issued in the name of the landowner.
Once an area has been declared a Systematic Adjudication Area, it will be published in the Gleaner and Observer newspapers, in newspapers circulating across the diaspora, in the Gazette and posted on the National Land Agency’s (NLA) website: www.nla.gov.jm.
Persons can also email their queries to asknla@nla.gov.jm, speak to a Customer Service Officer via Web Chat on the aforementioned website or call 876-750-LAND (5263), 876-946-LAND (5263) or 876-922-8535-7.
The cost is dependent on the unimproved value of the land on the Property Tax Roll (See ‘The Registration of Titles Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) (Fees) (Amendment) Order, 2019’.) Applications in the Systematic Adjudication Areas will be issued an invoice with a breakdown of the fees payable.
No, the Government will advance the entire cost for the legal and survey fees. Persons will however, be required to repay the costs after the Ceriticate of Title is issued. A Registrar’s Caveat will be lodged against the Certificate of Title to protect the Government’s interest in the aforementioned fees.
Yes, a child can be included in the Application; however, the date of birth of the child will be required. This will facilitate the Registrar lodging a Caveat to protect the child’s interest in the land.
The process may take up to six (6) months from the time the area is declared.
Yes, there is no limit to the size of the parcel.
No, there is no limit.
Yes, if the landowner does not have documentary proof of ownership then twelve (12) years open, undisturbed and undisputed possession of the land will suffice. Two (2) neighbours or community members will also have to confirm that the landowner has been in possession for the stipulated period.
Yes, anyone who owns in a Systematic Adjudication Area can participate in the process.
Persons will be informed via notices in newspapers locally across the diaspora. Declared Systematic Adjudication Areas may also be viewed on our website at www.nla.gov.jm or you can contact us at 876-750-5263 or 876-946-5263, or by WhatsApp at 876-418-5089 or via email asknla@nla.gov.jm.
The landowner may continue his or her Application with LAMD, Geoland Title Limited or an Attorney-at-Law.
The survey diagram will be accepted as a supporting document to your application and be placed on your file.
An Adjudication Record will be prepared with the names and particulars of all persons claiming and interest in the land Cadastral Map of the Systematic Adjudication Area. These records will be displaced in the Systematic Adjudication Area for thirty (30) days for persons to review. The Adjudication Record will also be posted on our website at www.nla.gov.jm.
The survey is the responsibility of the NLA in partnership with Geoland Title Limited, who will assign a Commissioned Land Surveyor for each Systematic Adjudication Area.
When an area is to be surveyed, notices will be sent to landowners approximately then (10) days before the proposed day of surveying. In addition, the NLA will engage town criers to make public announcements in the area.
The land will be surveyed based on the instructions of the landowner as to where their boundaries are located and legal considerations related to land ownership.
No. A Cadastral map will be prepared and a diagram of the land will be attached to each title.
The Cadastral map will be posted by NLA in each community for the landowners to comment, approve or make an objection.
The officers of the NLA will visit with each landowner to continue land tilting work.
Yes. No changed will be made to your file.
An Adjudication Committee is comprised of persons with specialized skills and knowledge who deliberate on the rights and interest of any person in relation to land within an area declared under The Registration of Titles, Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as the SPA). Members of the Committee are appointed by the Minister responsible for land.
By virtue of Section 2 of The Registration of Titles, Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) (Adjudication Committees) Regulations, an Adjudication Committee shall consist of not less than four and not more than five members as follows:
By virtue of Section 4(1) of the aforementioned Regulations, the appointment of every Committee is to be evidenced in writing and must state the period of appointment of each member and cannot exceed three years. By virtue of Section 4(2) of the aforementioned Regulations, every member of the Committee is eligible for reappointment, however, a member cannot be appointed for more than two consecutive terms.
Adjudication Committees are currently established in every parish and the majority of Adjudication Committees are formed along established Electoral Office of Jamaica boundary lines. There are no legal impediments preventing any Committee from hearing a matter that falls outside of its boundary jurisdiction.
The role of the Adjudication Committee is to adjudicate land tenure issues arising from Ad Hoc registration and the Systematic Land Registration process and issue an Adjudication Certificate as conclusive proof of ownership where ownership is determined.
The matters referred under Ad Hoc Registration are the Land Administration and Management Division (LAMD) Applications or Applications certified by the LAMD in which Applicants are unable to satisfy the strict requirements of the Registration of Titles Act (RTA), particularly as regards the requirement for the submission of deeds, documents or other evidence that the Applicant relies in support of his claim to ownership of the land.
The matters referred under Systematic Land Registration are objections to the Adjudication Record arising from the adjudication of rights and interests in declared Systematic Adjudication Areas.
Any person dissatisfied with the decision of the Adjudication Committee may proceed to Court.
All Applicants, supporting declarants or other persons with interest in specified land under the operation of The Registration of Titles Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) Act, 2005, who have been contacted by the Adjudication Services Division of the National Land Agency are required to appear at the mentioned place and time to give an explanation and produce any document concerning such land.
Effective February 21, 2022, all Adjudication Committee Hearings have been cancelled until further notice.
National Land Agency
Office:
58a Half Way Tree Road, Kingston 10
Jamaica, W.I
Tel:
1 (876) 926-3590-4
1 (876) 926-3740-6
Email: Send us your query
INTRODUCTION
Initial Officer Training Programme (IOTP) provides basic military officer training to Officer Cadets (OCdts) and their equivalents from law enforcement and uniformed services. The programme falls within the tactical level of the Professional Military Education (PME) framework of armed forces and is modelled from the Royal Military Academy Sandhursts’ (RMAS) Commissioning Course. It was designed with the direct support and guidance of RMAS Instructing and Support Staff.
Rationale
Traditionally, the Jamaica Defence Force’s (JDF) longstanding partnerships with militaries across the world has seen its OCdts being trained in academies in the following countries: United States, England, Canada, China and India. Upon the return of OCdts to the JDF, there is a requirement for doctrine and operating procedure standardization due to the varying concepts and differing contents of the training they had undergone. This is normally done at the Unit level and later, through a Young Officers’ Course. The advent of COVID-19 added a new level of complexity to travel, thus negatively affecting the process of sending OCdts overseas. Additionally, the ongoing expansion and restructuring of the Force to cauterize the ballooning threats to national security has caused an increased demand for newly commissioned Second Lieutenants.
Due to the carefully adapted military and academic curricula, IOTP serves as the course to treat with the aforementioned considerations. The methodology used addresses each issue directly and the course, through the delivery of a bespoke training syllabus, is fit for the JDF and is also relevant to the militaries and organizations within the Caribbean region and in other parts of the world.
Concept
Having the RMAS approach to training at its core, IOTP is designed with a syllabus that sees male and female integration throughout training. The course focusses on developing military skills and command with a leadership ‘golden thread’. The course structure allows the Instructing Staff to educate, build, develop and scrutinize an OCdt’s ability to decide and communicate accurately and ethically while under pressure and or stress. The expectation is that on commissioning, an OCdt will be fully cognizant of the responsibilities and personal conditions that being an Officer imposes upon them. The product of the IOTP will be an ethical and robust Officer who has the knowledge, skills, attitudes and intellectual agility to adapt their decision-making process and approach to any environment.
Location
The home of IOTP is the Caribbean Military Academy (CMA) Newcastle, which is located at the Newcastle Hill Station, St Andrew, Jamaica.
Nestled in the cool hills of upper St Andrew and amidst beautiful trees, ferns, ground orchids, delicate wild flowers and a profusion of ginger lilies, is the Newcastle
Training Depot founded in 1841 by Major General Sir William Maynard Gomm (later Field Marshall). Gomm, a veteran of the wars against revolutionary France and Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica from 1840 to 1841, relentlessly badgered the War Office in London to establish a mountain station for British soldiers in Jamaica soon after taking up his post.
The idea of the hill station was first raised by Gomm in a letter dated April 7, 1840 to Governor Sir Charles Metcalfe. Gomm pointed out that while Up Park Camp was an ideal location for a barracks, it was subject to the ravages of yellow fever. In Jamaica the
British garrison was stationed on the plain at Up Park Camp, Stony Hill, Fort Augusta and Port Royal. Here, on the average, 1 soldier died every 2½ days. According to Russell, the year 1838 was considered a ‘good’ year: only 91 men died. In 1839, 110 men perished and in the following year 121. Initially, the British government was conservative in approving a hill station for the troops in Jamaica. They were concerned about the expense of the venture.
In May 1841, London finally sanctioned Gomm’s efforts to build what is thought to be the first permanent mountain station in the British West Indies at Newcastle. The site selected was a coffee plantation protruding from the southern face of the grand ridge of the Blue Mountains. The British government paid £4,230 for the Newcastle site.
At the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), life at Newcastle changed a little. The British regiment was replaced by Canadian regiments which remained at Newcastle for the duration of the war. With hostilities over in 1945, the Canadians left and once again a British battalion was stationed there.
In 1958, the West Indies Federation was founded and the infantry regiments of the various Caribbean islands were disbanded and reorganized into the West India Regiment. Newcastle became a training depot, training recruits from all over the West Indies as part of the
newly formed West Indies Federation. In 1962 when Federation was disbanded, the West India Regiment was also disbanded. Jamaica simultaneously sought her independence, which was achieved on August 6, 1962. With independence, Newcastle was given to the Jamaican government as part of a general settlement of all military lands in Jamaica.