REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA OFFICIAL TRANSLATION REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON LAND 26 April 1994 No. I-446 (As last amended on 28 June 2007 – X-1242) Vilnius CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. Purpose of the Law 1. This Law shall regulate the relations of ownership, management and use of land as well as land use planning and administration in the Republic of Lithuania. 2. Implementing the land use planning and administration policy, land relations shall be regulated in such manner as to create the conditions for satisfying the needs of the society, natural and legal persons to rationally use the land and engage in economic activities maintaining and improving the natural environment, natural and cultural heritage, and to protect the rights of ownership, management and use of land. Article 2. Definitions 1. Principal specific purpose of land use shall mean the principal direction of land use determined by natural characteristics of the territory, traditional human activities and the need for socio-economic development stipulated in the territorial planning document and determining the conditions of planning such territory and land use. 2. Rational agricultural landholding shall mean the landholding the territorial forms and the internal structure whereof create favourable conditions for economically efficient and sustainable agricultural activity. 3. Landmark shall mean a mark establishing the boundaries of a land parcel in the area and complying with a standard set by an institution authorised by the Government and legally protected in accordance with the procedure laid down in legal acts. 4. Special land use conditions shall mean restrictions on economic and/or any other activities established by laws or Resolutions of the Government that depend on geographical position, adjacencies, the principal specific purpose of land use, the method and nature of the use of a land parcel and the needs of the structures located on the land parcel as well as the environmental needs.    5. Farm holding shall mean an agricultural entity registered in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law on a Farm Holding of a Farmer or established accordance with the procedure laid down in other legal acts and engaged in agricultural activities.   6. Land shall mean a part of the crust of the earth (lithosphere) covering areas of dry land and internal and territorial waters located on the surface of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania and defined by natural and economic characteristics.  7. Land administration shall mean the activities of state and municipal institutions during which the requirements for land use planning and the use of land as well as those for the creation and maintenance of land information system stipulated in legal acts are implemented. 8. Land information system shall mean a system for collection, processing, storage and distribution of information about land (land resources). 9. Land consolidation shall mean a constituent part of land use planning process during which a complex reparcelling of land parcels is performed - their boundaries are changed in accordance with the developed land consolidation plan with a view to increasing the size of land parcels, forming rational agricultural landholdings and improving their structure, creating the required rural infrastructure and attaining other objectives and tasks of agricultural and rural development and environmental policy. 10. Land use shall mean areas of land differing from other areas of land by their characteristic natural properties or peculiarities of economic use. 11. Land user shall mean the owner of the land or any other natural or legal person who uses the land on the basis stipulated in laws, administrative acts, court decisions, contracts or other legislative basis. 12. Taking the land for public needs shall mean buying out of land (upon adequate compensation) from the owners of land where the county governor takes a decision that the land is required for public needs. 13. Land easement shall mean the right to a land parcel, or a part thereof, belonging to someone else that is granted to use this land parcel, or a part thereof, (the servient object) or a restriction of the land owner’s right to use the land parcel to ensure proper utilisation of the object in favour of which the easement is established (the dominant object). 14. Land parcel shall mean a part of a territory having fixed boundaries, cadastral data and registered with the Immovable Property Register. 15. Method of the use of a land parcel shall mean activity stipulated in the territorial planning documents and permitted on the land of principal specific purpose of land use. 16. Nature of the use of a land parcel – specific features of activity permitted to be carried on a certain land parcel in accordance with the procedure laid down in legal acts.   17. Boundary of a land parcel shall mean the boundary between the adjacent land parcels marked by landmarks or coinciding with stable elements of the landscape and graphically marked on the plan of a land parcel. 18. Amalgamation of land parcels shall mean a change of the common boundary of land parcels where a part of the land parcel is partitioned and attached to another land parcel without forming separate land parcels. 19. Partition of land parcels shall mean a way of forming and reparcelling of land parcels where, at the request of one or several co-owners of a land parcel owned by the right of common ownership, the parts of the land parcel that belong to these co-owners are partitioned and separate land parcels are formed. 20. Formation and reparcelling of land parcels shall mean the entirety of land use planning actions covering the design of land parcels, marking of the boundaries of these land parcels in the area, collection of cadastral data and their entry in the Immovable Property Cadastre. 21. Division of land parcels shall mean a way of forming and reparcelling of land parcels where one land parcel is divided into two or more land parcels. 22. Merging of land parcels shall mean a way of forming and reparcelling of land parcels where one land parcel is formed out of two or more land parcels of the same principal specific purpose of land use with a common boundary. 23. Land use planning shall mean the establishment and changing of the boundaries of land parcels, the composition of land uses, the location of the appurtenances of land parcels, the principal specific purpose of land use as well as the method and nature of the use of a land parcel combining economic, environmental and any other private and public interests and regulated by legal acts. 24. Agricultural land shall mean the land use (arable land, orchards, meadows, pastures) used or suitable for growing agricultural products. 25. Land manager shall mean the owner of private land or any other natural or legal person who has acquired the right to manage private land on the basis set in laws, other legal acts, court decisions, contracts or other legislative basis as well as an entity that exercises the right of ownership of the state or municipality where state-owned or municipal land has been transferred to such entity on the basis of the right of trust in accordance with the procedure laid down in legal acts. 26. Land use planning project shall mean a special territorial planning document wherein the framework of the use of land in rural areas and their protection as well as specific land use planning measures are established. 27. Land use planning scheme shall mean a special territorial planning document wherein the priorities of the land use and land use planning in rural areas are established at the state, regional or district levels. 28. Landholding shall mean a land parcel managed by the right of ownership or several land parcels related by common economic activity.   29. Landholding projects (plans) shall mean special territorial planning documents establishing the formation of land parcels, their reparcelling, taking and consolidation as well as the terms and conditions of use (specific purpose, restrictions, easements, etc.). Article 3. Stock of Land of the Republic of Lithuania 1. All private, state-owned and municipal land within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania shall make up the Stock of Land of the Republic of Lithuania.   2. According to the principal specific purpose of land use, the Stock of Land of the Republic of Lithuania shall be divided into: 1) land for agricultural purposes; 2) land for forestry purposes; 3) land for aquaculture purposes; 4) land for conservation purposes; and 5) land for other purposes. 3. State-owned land that has not been transferred for use or leased shall be attributed to the stock of unoccupied state-owned land. Article 4. Private Land 1. Private land shall consist of land returned to natural or legal persons or otherwise acquired by them (except for the state and municipalities) into their ownership. 2. The Civil Code, this Law and other laws shall regulate management, use and disposal of private land. Chapter II STATE-OWNED land Article 5. Land Belonging to the State of Lithuania by the Right of Ownership 1. The following types of land shall belong to the state of Lithuania by the right of ownership: 1) land belonging to the State of Lithuania by the right of exclusive ownership and specified in Article 6 of this Law; 2) land inherited by the state; 3) land acquired into the ownership of the state under contracts; 4) land that previously belonged to a municipality by the right of ownership and has been transferred into the ownership of the state without compensation in cases and in accordance with the procedure laid down in laws; 5) land that has been taken for public needs in accordance with the procedure laid down in laws; 6) land, which has been transferred, as an ownerless property, into the ownership of the state by court decision; 7) land seized for violation of laws in accordance with the procedure laid down in laws; 8) other land that has not been acquired into private ownership or the ownership of municipalities on the grounds stipulated in laws. 2. State-owned land can be disposed of by conveying it into the ownership without compensation, by selling, leasing or transferring it for gratuitous use and concluding contracts concerning easement in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Civil Code, this Law and other laws.  No other contracts concerning state-owned land may be concluded unless other laws provide otherwise. Article 6. Land Belonging to the State of Lithuania by the Right of Exclusive Ownership 1. The State of Lithuania shall own by the right of exclusive ownership the land that has been assigned, according to the procedure established by laws and the Government, to: 1) roads of national significance and public railways; 2) the coastal zone (including the territory of the Curonian Spit National Park) except for land parcels acquired into the private ownership before coming into force of the Law on the Coastal Zone; 3) strict state reserves and small strict reserves; 4) forests and parks of national significance; 5) historical, archaeological and cultural objects of national significance; 6) inland waters of national significance; 7) territorial waters; 8) territory of the national seaports of the Republic of Lithuania; 9) the border strip (land and waters along which the border strip goes). 2. The land owned by the State of Lithuania by the right of exclusive ownership may not be acquired into the ownership of municipalities or into private ownership. Article 7. Management, Use and Disposal of State-owned Land by the Right of Trust 1. Subjects of the right of trust of state-owned land (trustees) shall be county governors, privatisation institutions of state-owned property, the organiser of renovation of immovable state-owned property specified in the Law on Management, Use and Disposal of State-owned and Municipal Property, other subjects specified in laws as well as subjects referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article. A county governor shall be a trustee of state-owned land located in the territory of the county except for the land that has been transferred by the right of trust to other subjects specified in laws and by resolutions of the Government – the trustees referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article as well as state-owned land assigned to structures and facilities under privatisation managed, used and disposed of by the right of trust by privatisation institutions of state-owned property. 2. Land parcels of state-owned land shall be transferred to municipalities by the right of trust by resolutions of the Government and in accordance with the procedure established by it for the following purposes: 1) public recreation and leisure; 2) public leisure facilities; 3) streets and local roads; 4) building up and/or operating public engineering networks; 5) construction and/or operation of dwelling houses; 6) commercial and economic activities. 3. By resolutions of the Government, state-owned forest land parcels can be transferred by the right of trust to the subjects specified in the Forestry Law for the performance of the functions of the state. By resolutions of the Government, state-owned land parcels can be transferred by the right of trust to other subjects specified in the Law on Management, Use and Disposal of State-owned and Municipal Property where the laws delegate the functions of the state to them.   An institution authorised by the Government shall supervise that the resolution of the Government to transfer a land parcel by the right of trust would be properly implemented. Where these subjects no longer perform the functions for the performance whereof state-owned forest land parcels or any other state-owned land parcels were transferred to them by the right of trust, the Government shall adopt a resolution on cessation of the subjects’ right of trust and, as of the moment of coming into force of this resolution of the Government, the county governor shall be considered to be the trustee of the state-owned forest land parcels or any other state-owned land parcels. 4. The trustees specified in paragraph 3 of this Article may not sell or otherwise transfer, lease, transfer on the basis of a loan for use or transfer for use in any other manner the state-owned forest land parcels or any other state-owned land parcels transferred to them as well as pledge them or in any other way restrict the rights in rem to them, use them as a guarantee, surety or in any other way use them to secure the discharge of obligations assumed by them or by other persons.     Any other restrictions concerning the management and use of the transferred forest land parcels or any other land parcels may be stipulated in the resolution of the Government. 5. A person authorised by the Government shall sign a transfer and acceptance act of the state-owned land parcel that is transferred by the right of trust to the subjects specified in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article. Where a trustee of the state-owned land fails to register the right of trust with the Immovable Property Register within 3 months from signing the transfer and acceptance act, the Government shall adopt a resolution on cessation of the trustee’s right of trust and, as of the moment of coming into force of this resolution of the Government, the county governor shall be considered to be the trustee of the land parcel. 6. The trustees of the state-owned land shall manage, use and dispose of the land transferred to them by the right of trust for public benefit in accordance with the procedure and conditions laid down in this Law and other laws. Article 8. Transfer of the State-owned Land for Gratuitous Use (Loan for Use) 1. When concluding contracts of loan for use of the state-owned land, the state-owned land may be transferred for temporary gratuitous use to state institutions, municipalities, forest enterprises, directorates of strict state reserves or state parks, other establishments financed from the state or municipal budgets, traditional religious communities and associations, public establishments operating in accordance with the Law on Public Establishments when at least one of the stakeholders is a state or municipal institution, and public establishments that have authorisations (licences) for teaching issued by the Ministry of Education and Science. The state-owned land parcels required for operating the structures or facilities may be transferred for temporary gratuitous use to other subjects specified in Article 13 of the Law on Management, Use and Disposal of the State-owned and Municipal Property to whom the state-owned property (structures or facilities) were transferred for gratuitous use on the basis of a loan for use.  Where a land parcel transferred on the basis of a loan for use is required for operating the structures or facilities transferred on the basis of a loan for use, the period of validity of the contract of loan for use for land shall not be longer than the term of validity of the contract of loan for use for structures or facilities.   The state-owned land shall be transferred for gratuitous use in accordance with the procedure established by the Government. 2. The laws and resolutions of the Government shall establish the procedure for transferring for gratuitous use of the state-owned land required for operating the objects established by the Ministries of National Defence and the Interior. 3. Decisions on the transfer for gratuitous use of the state-owned land shall be taken by: 1) the municipal council  where the state-owned land parcels were transferred to municipalities by the right of trust by resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; 2) trustees of the state-owned land specified in other laws in cases stipulated in these laws where the state-owned land parcels were transferred to them by the right of trust; 3) the county governor – in all other cases. 4. Where the state-owned land is transferred for gratuitous use by a decision of the county governor, a contract of loan for use shall be concluded by the county governor or an employee of the county governor’s administration appointed by him. 5. It shall be provided for in a contract of loan for use of the state-owned land that this contract shall be registered, at the expense of the recipient of the loan for use, with the Immovable Property Register within 3 months after the date of its conclusion in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law on the Immovable Property Register. Where the recipient of the loan for use fails to fulfil this condition, the lender of the loan for use shall require the remedy of the breach of the terms and conditions of the contract or terminate the contract of loan for use before it expires. 6. The state-owned land shall be transferred for gratuitous use to subjects specified in paragraph 1 of this Article (except for traditional religious communities and associations) only for the performance of the functions of the state and municipalities. Where the land parcel transferred for use is use is used not in compliance with the conditions specified in the contract of loan for use, or where the recipient of the loan for use no longer performs the functions for the performance whereof the state-owned land parcel was transferred to him, it shall be considered that the land parcel that has been transferred for gratuitous use is used not according to its purpose and the lender of the loan for use shall terminate the contract of loan for use before it expires. 7. Persons, to whom the state-owned land parcels were transferred for gratuitous use, may not transfer them for use to other persons. 8. Where the state-owned land that has been transferred for gratuitous use is taken for public needs and the contract of loan for use of the state-owned land is terminated before it expires, the value of the structures and plantations located on the land parcel and the losses incurred by the land users shall be reimbursed in accordance with Article 47 of this Law. The contract of loan for use of the state-owned land shall be terminated only after the settlement with a land user in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 47 of this Law. Article 9. Lease of the State-owned Land 1. Decisions to lease the state-owned land that has been transferred to municipalities by the right of trust by resolutions of the Government shall be taken by the municipal council, and those concerning other state-owned land – by the county governor. The motivation for setting the validity period of the lease contract of the state-owned land shall be provided in the decision.  Where the county governor leases the state-owned land, the lease contract of the state-owned land shall be concluded by the county governor or an employee of the county governor’s administration appointed by him. 2. It shall be provided for in a lease contract of the state-owned land that this contract shall be registered, at the expense of the lessee of the land parcel, with the Immovable Property Register within 3 months after the date of its conclusion in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law on the Immovable Property Register. Where the lessee fails to fulfil this condition, the lessor shall require the remedy of the breach of the terms and conditions of the contract or terminate the lease contract of the state-owned land before it expires. 3. The term of lease of land shall be determined by agreement between the lessor and the lessee and it shall be for a period not exceeding 99 years. Where land for agricultural purposes is to be leased, the term of lease of land shall not exceed 25 years. Land parcels for constructing and operating temporary structures shall be leased for a term specified in the Law on Construction. In other cases, the term of lease of land parcels leased for operating or constructing and operating the structures or facilities shall be determined taking into consideration the economically substantiated duration of use of the structure or facility. 4. The term of lease of land set in the lease contract of the state-owned land may be extended in cases stipulated by the Government. 5. The state-owned land shall be leased by way of an auction to the person who offers the highest rent, except for the cases specified in paragraphs 6-9 of this Article. The Government shall establish the procedure for leasing the state-owned land at an auction and without an auction. 6. The state-owned land shall be leased without an auction if: 1) structures or facilities owned by the right of ownership, or leased, by natural and legal persons are located on it (except for temporary structures, engineering networks and structures without a clear functional dependence or of unspecified use or nature of economic activities and which serve the main structure or facility or its appurtenance). Land parcels whereon structures or facilities leased by natural or legal persons are located shall be leased only for a term of lease of these structures or facilities. The leased land parcels shall be of the size stipulated in the territorial planning documents and required for operating the structures or facilities pursuant to their primary purpose indicated in the Immovable Property Cadastre; 2) an authorisation to exploit the underground resources and cavities is obtained in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Underground Law; 3) it is required for the implementation of economic or cultural projects of state significance whose state significance is recognised by the Seimas or the Government by its decision; 4) land parcels that do not exceed the size set by the Government are located in between the leased state-owned land parcels – to the lessees of such state-owned land parcels; 5) it is required for the implementation of a concession project – in cases stipulated in the Law on Concessions. 7. During the land reform, the state-owned land parcels for agricultural purposes in rural areas that are formed in compliance with the land use planning projects of the land reform shall be leased without an auction in accordance with the procedure established by the Government.  The following persons shall have the pre-emption right to lease such land: 1) natural persons who have registered a farm holding in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law on a Farm Holding of a Farmer or persons qualified to engage in farming pursuant to an institution authorised by the Government; 2) legal persons - producers of agricultural products whose annual earnings from the sale of commercial agricultural output makes up more than 50 per cent of all his income. 8. Where several persons who have the same pre-emption right request to lease the same state-owned land parcel for agricultural purposes, the land parcel shall be leased to a person who’s state-owned land parcel for agricultural purposes that belongs to him by the right of ownership or is leased by him from the state borders with the land parcel for agricultural purposes that is requested to be leased.  If there are no such persons or there are several of them, the land parcel for agricultural purposes shall be leased to the person who has submitted the application to lease the state-owned land parcel for agricultural purposes earlier than the rest. In cases when there are several persons not specified in subparagraphs 1 and 2 or paragraph 7 of this Article who wish to lease the same state-owned land parcel for agricultural purposes, this land parcel shall be leased to them at an auction. 9. Lease contracts of the state-owned land with the users of land parcels allocated to them for establishing a household farm, farmer’s holding, land parcels allocated to enterprises, institutions or organisations or gardening in accordance with the procedure laid down in legal acts shall be concluded without an auction in accordance with the procedure established by the Government. 10. The state-owned forest land can be leased only for the activities stipulated in the Forestry Law. 11. Land not built on and subject to restitution according to laws regulating the restoration of the rights of ownership of citizens to the existing real property may be leased, until its restitution to private ownership, without an auction to citizens to whom the rights of ownership to this land have to be restored, and, in case of their refusal, to other persons in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Civil Code and this Law.    Where such condition is not stipulated in the lease contract of the state-owned land, upon taking a decision by the county governor to restore the rights of ownership, the lease contract of the state-owned land shall be terminated before it expires at the request of the lessor. 12. The Government shall establish the amount of the rent for the state-owned land leased without an auction and its payment procedure. The right of the lessor to re-calculate the value of the land parcel, on the basis whereof the amount of the rent for land is calculated, every 3 years in accordance with the procedure established by the Government or an institution authorised by it shall be stipulated in the lease contract of the state-owned land parcel leased without an auction. 13. The lessees of the state-owned land shall have the right to use the leased state-owned land parcel for their activities in compliance with the established principal specific purpose of land use, the method and nature of its use, special land use conditions, other restrictions on activities or the established easement, as well as to use the valuable properties of the underground, groundwater and surface water and mineral resources (except for amber, oil, natural gas and quartz sand) of their land parcel for the needs of their farm holding (not for sale) pursuant to the exploitation and conservation requirements set in laws, or dispose of the produce grown on their land parcel and the income received from the land parcel. The Government shall determine other terms and conditions that have to be stipulated in the lease contract of the state-owned land.    14. The lease contract of the state-owned land may be terminated before it expires at the request of the lessor, if the lessee uses the land not in compliance with the principal specific purpose of land use, the method and nature of its use stipulated in the contract or when the principal specific purpose of land use, the method and nature of its use are changed, except for the cases when a possibility of changing the principal specific purpose of land use, the method and nature of its use is stipulated, in cases and according to the procedure established by the Government, in the lease contract of the state-owned land or in its amendment. 15. Where the leased state-owned land is taken for public needs and the lease contract of the state-owned land is terminated before it expires, the value of the structures and plantations located on the land parcel and the losses incurred by the lessees shall be reimbursed in accordance with Article 47 of this Law. The lease contract of the state-owned land shall be terminated only after the settlement with lessees in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 47 of this Law. 16. The procedure and conditions for leasing the state-owned land parcels to diplomatic missions and consular posts of foreign states shall be established in the Law on the Procedure and Conditions for Conveyance and Lease of Land Parcels to Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts of Foreign States. Article 10. Conveyance of the State-owned Land 1. The state owned-land, except for land parcels assigned to structures and facilities under privatisation according to the territorial planning documents and treated as immovable state-owned property that is included in the Government approved list of immovable state-owned property to be renovated that is transferred by the right of trust to the organiser of renovation of the immovable state-owned property specified in the Law on Management, Use and Disposal of the State-owned and Municipal Property, and land parcels for non-agricultural purposes gratuitously transferred into the ownership of municipalities  shall be sold or otherwise conveyed into private ownership by the county governors in accordance with the procedure established by the Civil Code, other laws and the Government. The terms and procedure for selling or otherwise conveying the state owned-land parcels assigned to structures and facilities under privatisation and treated as immovable state-owned property that is included in the Government approved list of immovable state-owned property to be renovated that is transferred by the right of trust to the organiser of renovation of the immovable state-owned property specified in the Law on Management, Use and Disposal of the State-owned and Municipal Property shall be established by laws and resolutions of the Government. 2. It shall be provided for in a purchase and sale contract or in any other contract of conveyance that the right of ownership to a land parcel shall be registered, at the expense of the buyer or any other acquirer, with the Immovable Property Register within 3 months after the date of conveyance of the land parcel.  Where the buyer avoids to register the fact of the transfer of ownership right, the county governor shall apply to the court with a request concerning the registration of the purchase and sale contract of the state-owned land and concerning the reimbursement of the losses incurred due to the failure to register the contract.   3. The state-owned land parcels that were formed pursuant to the Law on Land Reform shall be sold in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law on Land Reform. 4. The state-owned land parcels shall be sold at an auction to the person who offers the highest price for the land parcel, except for the cases specified in paragraph 5 of this Article. 5. The state-owned land parcels shall be sold without an auction in the following cases: 1) if structures or facilities owned by the right of ownership by natural and legal persons are located on it, except for land parcels with temporary structures, only with engineering networks and/or with structures without a clear functional dependence or of unspecified use or nature of economic activities and which serve the main structure or facility or its appurtenance. The state-owned land parcels shall be sold of the size required for operating the structures or facilities pursuant to their primary purpose indicated in the Immovable Property Cadastre; 2) if they were granted to gardeners’ societies and members of such societies in accordance with the procedure laid down in legal acts as well as other land parcels located within the territory of an amateur garden  – to their users; 3) if they were granted for the construction of individual dwelling houses in rural and urban areas in accordance with the procedure laid down in legal acts, and payments in cash were made or lump sum state benefits were paid for these land parcels in accordance with the established procedure; 4) if they are the private land parcels are located in between the private land parcels and do not exceed the size set by the Government – to the owners of such land parcels; 5) in other cases specified by laws. 6. The size of the state-owned land parcels offered for sale shall be established according to territorial planning documents. The maximum size of the state-owned land parcels offered for sale shall be established by the Law on Land Reform and other laws. 7. The Government shall establish the procedure for selling the state-owned land parcels at an auction and without an auction. 8. The county governor or an employee of the county governor's administration authorised by him shall conclude the purchase and sale contracts of the state-owned land parcels or any other contracts of conveyance of the state-owned land provided for by laws, and sign the transfer and acceptance act of the conveyed land parcels. When selling or otherwise conveying into private ownership the state owned-land parcels treated as a privatisation object and immovable state-owned property that is included, in accordance with the procedure established by legal acts, in the Government approved list of immovable state-owned property to be renovated that is transferred by the right of trust to the organiser of renovation of the immovable state-owned property specified in the Law on Management, Use and Disposal of the State-owned and Municipal Property, the contract shall be concluded by the trustee of this land -  a privatisation institution of the state-owned property or to the organiser of renovation of the immovable state-owned property specified in the Law on Management, Use and Disposal of the State-owned and Municipal Property. 9. Other laws may determine the specific features of conveyance of the land for agricultural or forestry purposes as well as of the land located within the territories of objects of natural and cultural heritage and other protected areas. 10. Water bodies may be conveyed into private ownership of natural and legal persons in accordance with the procedure and conditions laid down in this Law and the Law on Land Reform, except for surface water bodies of national significance. 11. The procedure and conditions for conveying the state-owned land parcels to diplomatic missions and consular posts of foreign states shall be established in the Law on the Procedure and Conditions for Conveyance and Lease of Land Parcels to Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts of Foreign States. Article 11. Repealed as of 1 January 2007. Article 12. Joint Partial Ownership of the State and other Natural or Legal Persons to Land Joint partial ownership of the state and municipalities or natural or legal persons to land shall arise after acquiring a part of the land of households, the land parcel with a structure or facility on it or a water body from the state or by the state from municipalities or natural or legal persons in accordance with the procedure established in legal acts. In such cases, the county governor shall act on behalf of the state and exercise the co-owner’s right to the land parcel, and where the land parcel has been transferred to a municipality by the right of trust by a resolution of the Government – the municipal council. Article 13. Management of the Stock of Unoccupied State-owned Land 1. The stock of unoccupied state-owned land shall be managed by the county governor and the municipal council in accordance with the procedure established by this Law and the Government or, in cases provided for in the laws, by the executive body of a municipality, if the state-owned land has been transferred to municipalities by the right of trust by resolutions of the Government. 2. The land from the stock of unoccupied state-owned land shall be conveyed into ownership, transferred for use or leased after completing the required territorial planning and land use planning works, establishing the principal specific purpose of land use of the land parcels, the method and nature of their use, the special land use conditions and registering the formed land parcels with the Immovable property Register in accordance with the procedure established by the Civil Code, this Law and other laws.     3. In the conveyed or leased state-owned land parcels, land parcel formation and land use planning works required for the use of such land parcels according to their principal specific purpose of land use stipulated in the territorial planning documents (construction of roads, reconstruction of the land reclamation system and etc.) shall be carried out at the expense of their trustees and users. Chapter III MUNICIPAL land Article 14. Land Belonging to Municipalities by the Right of Ownership 1. The following shall belong to municipalities by the right of ownership: 1) land that has been gratuitously transferred into the ownership of municipalities according to the Law on Acquisition and Conveyance of Land Parcels Required for the Performance of Municipal Functions, and this Law;  2) land acquired under contracts into the ownership of municipalities; 3) land inherited by a municipality under a will; 4) land, which, as an ownerless property, has been transferred into the ownership of the a municipality by court decision. 2. The municipal council shall exercise the owner’s right to the land belonging to the municipality by the right of ownership. 3. The municipal land can be disposed of by transferring it into the ownership of the state without compensation, by transferring it for management by the right of trust, by selling, exchanging, leasing or transferring it for gratuitous use and concluding contracts concerning easement in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Civil Code, this Law and other laws.  No other contracts concerning municipal land may be concluded. Article 15. Gratuitous Transfer of the State-owned Land into the Ownership of Municipalities 1. The following state-owned land parcels shall be gratuitously transferred into the ownership of municipalities: 1) those with structures and facilities that have been acquired (being acquired) by municipalities into the ownership in accordance with the Law on Transfer of the State-owned Property into the Ownership of Municipalities and the Law on Assignment and Transfer of Part of the State-owned Property into the Ownership of Municipalities; 2) which, under territorial planning documents, are designated for the construction and operation of structures and facilities required for the performance of  the functions of municipalities; 3) if structures or facilities located on those land parcels have been transferred to municipalities for the performance of newly assigned functions. 2. The state-owned land parcels shall be gratuitously transferred into the ownership of municipalities by resolutions of the Government in accordance with the procedure established by the Government.  The county governor or an employee of the county governor’s administration appointed by him shall sign the transfer and acceptance act of the conveyed land parcel on behalf of the state. 3. A municipality shall reimburse the state for setting up (management) of the land parcels to be conveyed.   Article 16. Management, Use and Disposal of Municipal Land by the Right of Trust 1. By decision of the municipal council, the land parcels that belong to municipalities by the right of ownership shall be transferred to municipal enterprises and agencies by the right of trust for the performance of the functions of municipalities.    2. The municipal council or an executive body authorised by it shall supervise that the decision to transfer a land parcel by the right of trust would be properly implemented. Jeigu subjektas, kuriam patikėjimo teise perduotas žemės sklypas, nebeatlieka funkcijų, kurioms įgyvendinti buvo perduotas savivaldybės žemės sklypas, savivaldybės taryba priima sprendimą dėl šio subjekto patikėjimo teisės pasibaigimo. 3. A trustee of municipal land parcels transferred to him by the right of trust may not sell or otherwise convey, lease, transfer on the basis of a loan for use or transfer for use in any other manner as well as pledge them or in any other way restrict the rights in rem to them, use them as a guarantee, surety or in any other way use them to secure the discharge of obligations assumed by him or by other persons.     Any other restrictions concerning the management and use of the transferred land parcels may be stipulated in the decision of the municipal council. 4. The right of trust to the transferred municipal land parcel shall arise as of transferring the land parcel to the subject of the right of trust and signing the transfer and acceptance act of the land parcel. The transfer and acceptance act of the land parcel shall be signed in accordance with the procedure established by the municipal council. 5. The trustees of municipal land shall manage, use and dispose of the land transferred to them by the right of trust in compliance with laws and in accordance with the procedure and conditions established by municipal councils.   Article 17. Transfer of Municipal Land for Gratuitous Use (Loan for Use) 1. Municipal land may be transferred to subjects specified in paragraph 1 of Article 8 of this Law for temporary gratuitous use on the basis of a loan for use. The land parcels required for operating the structures or facilities may be transferred for temporary gratuitous use on the basis of a loan for use to other subjects specified in Article 13 of the Law on Management, Use and Disposal of the State-owned and Municipal Property to whom municipal property (structures or facilities) were transferred for gratuitous use on the basis of a loan for use. 2. The municipal council shall take a decision on the transfer for gratuitous use of a land parcel that belongs to the municipality by the right of ownership.  The municipal council shall establish the procedure for taking the decision and signing the contract of loan for use. The period of validity of the contract of loan for use for land and other conditions of the loan for use shall be specified in the decision. These conditions shall be included in the contract of loan for use for land. Where a land parcel transferred on the basis of a loan for use is required for operating the structures or facilities transferred on the basis of a loan for use, the period of validity of the contract of loan for use for land shall not be longer than the term of validity of the contract of loan for use for structures or facilities.  3. Municipal land shall be transferred for gratuitous use to subjects specified in paragraph 1 of Article 8 of this Law (except for traditional religious communities and associations) only for the performance of the functions of the state and municipalities. Where the land parcel transferred for use is used not in compliance with the conditions specified in the contract of loan for use, or where the recipient of the loan for use no longer pursues activities for the pursuance whereof the municipal land parcel was transferred to him, it shall be considered that the land parcel that has been transferred for gratuitous use is used not according to its purpose and the lender of the loan for use shall terminate the contract of loan for use before it expires. 4. Persons, to whom the municipal land parcels were transferred for gratuitous use, may not transfer them for use to other persons. Article 18. Lease of Municipal Land 1. The land parcels that belong to municipalities by the right of ownership shall be leased in accordance with the procedure established by the municipal council.  The municipal council shall take a decision on leasing municipal land parcel. 2. The validity period of the lease contract of municipal land and the motivation for setting it shall be provided in the decision. Article 19. Conveyance of Municipal Land 1. Decisions to convey the land parcels that belong to municipalities by the right of ownership to other municipalities, and natural and legal entities shall be taken by municipal councils in compliance with the requirements set in this Law and other laws. Municipal councils shall establish the procedure for concluding contracts of conveyance of municipal land parcels and signing the transfer and acceptance act of a land parcel. 2. The land parcels that belong to municipalities by the right of ownership shall be conveyed by way of purchase and sale (except for the cases of conveyance to the state) when the structures or facilities located on that land parcel are privatised or being privatised, when these land parcels are required for operating these structures or facilities and, in cases provided for in paragraph 5 of this Article, by concluding the contract of exchange. Land parcels without structures or facilities shall be sold at an auction in accordance with the procedure established by the Government. 3. The following land parcels that belong to municipalities by the right of ownership shall be gratuitously transferred into the ownership of the state: 1) if the functions of a municipality are delegated to the state pursuant to laws and the structures or facilities located on the land parcel that belongs to the municipality that are required for the performance of these functions are transferred; 2) if the municipal council takes a decision to transfer, and the county governor – to accept into the ownership of the state a municipal land parcel without structures or facilities that belong to the municipality that is required for the performance of the functions of the state. 4. The state shall reimburse a municipality for setting up (management) in accordance with the procedure established by the Government or, with the consent of the municipality, the land parcels shall be transferred into the ownership of the state without covering the costs related to setting up of a land parcel.   The county governor or an employee of the county governor’s administration appointed by him shall sign the transfer and acceptance act of the transferred to the state land parcel on behalf of the state. 5. A land parcel that belongs to a municipality by the right of ownership may, by decision of the municipal council, be exchanged into a land parcel, which belongs to the state, other municipalities and natural or legal persons by the right of ownership, of equal value or, where there is no such possibility, into a land parcel whose difference in value does not exceed 5%, or any other immovable object, if consolidation of land parcels is carried out in accordance with the drafted land consolidation plan. 6. A municipal land parcel that is going be exchanged and a land parcel of another party to the contract of exchange or any other immovable object shall be valued by applying the methods of determination of value stipulated in the Law on Basics of Property and Business Valuation.  The property of both parties shall be valued by applying the same method. The difference in value of the exchanged land parcels or a municipal land parcel and any other immovable object shall be reimbursed in cash in accordance with the procedure laid down in the contract of exchange. Article 20. Joint Partial Ownership of Municipalities and other Natural or Legal Persons to Land Joint partial ownership of municipalities and the state or natural or legal persons to land shall arise after acquiring a part of the land of a land parcel with a structure or facility on it or a water body from the municipality or by the municipality from the state or natural or legal persons in accordance with the procedure established in legal acts. In such cases, the municipal council shall act on behalf of the municipality and exercise the co-owner’s right to the land parcel. Chapter IV CONDITIONS OF THE LAND USE Article 21. Duties of Land Owners and other Land Users The land owners and other users shall: 1) use land according to the principal specific purpose of land use, as well as in compliance with the method and nature of its use; 2) comply with the special land use conditions established in respect of a land parcel and satisfy the requirements set in the territorial planning documents; 3) use the land, forests and waters rationally and preserve them as well as mineral resources the exploitation whereof has been permitted, and other natural and recreational resources; 4) implement measures provided for by legal acts for the protection of land, forests and waters from pollution, the  protection of the soil from erosion and degradation, and environmental protection measures aimed at preventing the deterioration of ecological situation; 5) comply with maintenance and operation requirements for land reclamation facilities and roads set by legal acts; 6) in the course of construction works and when exploiting mineral resources, comply with the requirements set by legal acts with a view to ensuring the preservation of the fertile layer of the soil and re-cultivating damaged lands; 7) while pursuing economic and other activities on the land parcels used by them, refrain from violating the legitimate rights and interests of the owners or users of the adjacent land parcels and the residents; 8) permit exploration and measurement of the land, the underground and the surface waters subject to the agreement between the parties on the duration of the explorations, on the boundaries of the area under investigation, the time period for the completion of works and reimbursement for the losses, refrain from destroying and damaging the conserved bore-holes and the facilities used for scientific purposes; 9) permit the erection of geodesic and geophysical marks on structures and land, and protect them; 10) permit other persons to get access to the surfaces water bodies along the set shore protection strips, to visit  territorial complexes and objects of natural and cultural heritage and public recreational objects (territories); 11) construct structures and facilities only after receiving the required authorisations in accordance with the procedure laid down in legal acts; 12) comply with other requirements provided for by other laws. Article 22. Special Land Use Conditions 1. The special land use conditions shall be established by this Law, other laws and resolutions of the Government. 2. This Law shall establish the following special land use conditions in respect of land parcels for agricultural purposes: 1) arable land whose soil productivity is higher than the national average as well as land where land reclamation systems are operating shall be used in such manner as to prevent the reduction of its area, except for the ecologically impoverished nature frame territories, and deterioration of the soil properties; 2) agricultural lands whose soil is affected by wind and water erosion shall be used by applying a set of anticorrosion measures; 3) areas of land use comprising the forests and bushed plantings that have a protective value for the soil and water and that are ecologically valuable, also the swamps, stone places, natural meadows and pastures marked in the territorial planning documents, must be used taking into account the requirements on landscape formation and environment protection. 3. The Government shall establish the procedure for applying the special land use conditions. 4. When developing the territorial planning documents or plans for construction or other activity, the established special land use conditions must be complied with. 5. Special land use conditions for a specific land parcel shall be recorded in the Immovable Property Cadastre and in the Immovable Property Register when newly formed land parcels (in the areas where, before the approval of the territorial planning documents, the land parcels were not formed) are registered on the basis of the territorial planning documents.  When, after the approval of the territorial planning document or its amendment, additional special land use conditions must be applied for a land parcel (or a part thereof) registered with the Immovable Property Register, or when those previously applied are revoked, the organiser of the territorial planning document or its amendment shall, within 10 days after the approval of the territorial planning document or its amendment, inform in writing the owner of a land parcel or the user of the state or municipal land  by indicating the specific special land use conditions that must be applied or revoked; and shall communicate the information about the change of the cadastral and register data on the land parcel to the manager of the Immovable Property Cadastre and the Immovable Property Register in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Laws on Immovable Property Cadastre and on Immovable Property Register.   6. A decision of the institution on approval of the territorial planning document or its amendment, according to which the special land use conditions must be applied for a land parcel or those previously applied are revoked, may be appealed against in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Administrative Proceedings. 7. The established special land use conditions for a specific land parcel shall apply after their recording in the Immovable Property Register. 8. Land owners and users who fail to comply with the established special land use conditions shall be held liable under laws and shall compensate for the damage incurred by other persons, municipalities or the state.  In such cases, the county governor shall represent the state, unless other laws provide otherwise. 9. The land owner or another user shall have the right to apply to the organiser of the territorial planning document or its amendment regarding the losses incurred due to the establishment of additional special land use conditions registered in the Immovable Property Register or directly to the court regarding the reimbursement of the losses in the court procedure. The land owner or another user shall have the right to apply to the organiser of the territorial planning document or its amendment regarding the reimbursement of the losses not later than within one year after receiving the notification of the establishment of additional special land use conditions in respect of the land parcel. The amount of the losses incurred by the land owner or another user and the time limit for reimbursement thereof shall be settled by agreement between the organiser of the territorial planning document or its amendment and the land owner or another user. Where the parties fail to reach an agreement, the disputes regarding the reimbursement of the losses shall be resolved by the court in accordance with the procedure established by the Code of Civil Procedure. 10. Compensation for the actual reduction in the profit to be received or prohibition of previously performed activity as a result of applying the special land use conditions specified in the Law on Protected Areas shall be paid in accordance with the procedure established by the Government. Article 23. Land Easements 1. Land easement shall be established on the basis prescribed by the Civil Code. Cases and procedure for the establishment of easements by administrative act shall be specified in this article. 2. The county governor shall, by his decision – an administrative act and in accordance with the procedure established by the Government and the solutions of the territorial planning documents shall establish easements for: 1) the state-owned land parcels, which, on the basis of the territorial planning documents, are planned to be restored, transferred or gratuitously transferred into the ownership, sold or transferred in any other way; 2) the state-owned land parcels, which, on the basis of the territorial planning documents, are planned to be leased or transferred for gratuitous use; 3) for leased state-owned land parcels or those transferred for gratuitous use as well as municipal and private land parcels, where, under the territorial planning documents, the road easement grating the right for various transport means to have access or use it as a pedestrian path to reach cemeteries, recreational and other public territories and complexes and objects of natural and cultural heritage is established; 4) for leased state-owned land parcels or those transferred for gratuitous use as well as municipal and private land parcels, where, under the territorial planning documents, the easement grating the right to build centralised (of public use) engineering infrastructure networks (underground and surface communications), roads and paths, to use and maintain them. 3. The county governor may not take a decision on the establishment of the easement, if, before the approval of territorial planning document, the owner of the object that will become the dominant one has not expressed his will about the necessity of the easement. The owner of the object that will become the dominant one shall express his will by submitting a request to the county governor regarding the establishment of the proposed easement on the basis of the drafted territorial planning document. When it is proposed to establish an easement for leased state-owned land parcels or those transferred for gratuitous use as well as municipal and private land parcels to have a possibility of access to cemeteries, recreational and other public territories and complexes and objects of natural and cultural heritage, also for centralised (of public use) engineering infrastructure networks (underground and surface communications), for building roads and paths, to use and maintain them, a request regarding the establishment of an easement proposed in the territorial planning document shall be submitted by the owners or subjects of the right of trust of the existing structures which need an access way; or, in cases when the recreational and other public territories and complexes and objects of natural and cultural heritage do not contain such structures, the request shall be submitted by the owners of land parcels located within these territories or by the trustees of the state-owned land; and, in cases when it is planned to build centralised (of public use) engineering infrastructure networks (underground and surface communications), roads and paths on the la …