Lahore University of Management Sciences

LAW 224 – Property Law

Spring 2017

Instructor Angbeen Atif Mirza

Course Basics
Credit Hours 4
Lecture(s) Nbr of Lectures per week 2 Duration 110 m
Recitation/Lab (per Nbr of Lectures per week None Duration N/A
week)
Tutorial (per week) Nbr of Lectures per week None Duration N/A

Course Distribution
Core BA/LLB
Elective No
Open for Student BA/LLB
Category

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Close for Student Non-law students: Closed to All
Category

Course Description
This course aims to introduce law students to basic concepts of property, ownership, possession and the legal regime that governs these relations in
Pakistan. It will begin with an introduction to the meaning of property, and various ways in which it has been understood. This will include a study
of the history of property and property relations in pre-partition India. The course will then progress to focus primarily on Pakistan, beginning with
the protection of property enshrined in the Constitution and proceeding to study the numerous laws that govern, inter alia, property, its ownership
and its transfer.

Course Prerequisite(s)
None

Course Objectives
While it may not be possible for a law student to fully grasp the methodology of preparing for a case, the aim of this course is to equip law students
– at a basic level – to be able to prepare for litigation relating to property; to introduce them to the multiple and sometimes overlapping jurisdictions
prevalent in the law and to guide them through a study of case law on the subject.

Learning Outcomes
! Understanding of the various laws that govern matters relating to property in Pakistan.
! A knowledge of some of the intricacies in the practical application of those laws.
! Appreciation of the challenges prevalent in the field of property law as it stands today.

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Grading Breakup and Policy
Attendance/Class 10%
Participation:
Assignments/Quizzes: 20%
Midterm Examination: 30%
Final Examination: 40%

Examination Detail
Midterm Exam Yes/No: Yes
Combine/Separate: TBD
Duration: TBD
Preferred Date: As per the LUMS Exam Schedule
Exam Specifications: TBD
Final Exam Yes/No: Yes
Combine/Separate: TBD
Duration: TBD
Preferred Date: As per the LUMS Exam Schedule
Exam Specifications: TBD

Course Overview
Lecture Topics Recommended Readings Objectives/Application
1 & 2. Introduction o Property Law – Commentary and Materials A broad introduction to the idea of property and how it
(Alison Clarke and Paul Kohler, 2005) is understood in different cultures.
§ Chapter 1: Property Law: The Issues §
Chapter 2: What we mean by property
(recommended reading)
o Property Law in the Arab World, Farhat J.
Ziadeh, chapter I;

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 o UN-Habitat Islam, Land & Property Research
Series, papers I through VII;

3. Theories of property o Bourgeois Property and Capitalist Students will study some more ways of understanding
Accumulation (Karl Marx) property, and the ways in which it can be applied.
o Property Law – Commentary and Materials
(Alison Clarke and Paul Kohler, 2005)
§ Chapter 3 – Justification for property
rights
o Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254 (1970)

4 & 5. History of o Punjab Under Colonialism: Order and The course will now turn towards the subcontinent and
land/ownership in pre- Transformation in British India (Ian A Talbot) explore the history of land relations between people.
partition India o Law, State and Agrarian Society in Colonial These sessions aim to understand how the stage was set
India (D. A. Washbrook) for land relations in the area that is Pakistan today.
o Agrarian System in Moslem India, W.H.
Moreland, introduction and chapter 1;
o Douie’s Settlement Manual, 6th edition,
chapters I, II, IV, VIII (sections 98-147);
6. Property rights in the o Article 15, 1956 Constitution Students will now look at the formulation of the right to
Constitution & o Articles 13 and 14, 1962 Constitution property in the various Constitutions that governed
Preemption o Articles 3, 23, 24 and 253 – 1973 Constitution Pakistan.
- Preemption The first topic they will study as part of Pakistani
o Mulla Chapter XIII – Preemption property law is preemption including the seminal
o Said Kamal Shah case: PLD 1986 SC 360 judgment on point.
7 & 8. Waqfs vs. Trusts o Principles of Mahomedan Law, D.F. Mulla, The Islamic concept of waqf is often equated with trusts
chapters XII; as understood in English Law. While there are some
o Excerpts from Penner on Trusts aspects which are similar, these sessions will focus on
o Qazilbash Waqf case – PLD 1990 SC 99 understanding both and how both are applicable in

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 o PLD 1967 Dacca 1; Pakistan.
o PLD 1987 Kar 38;
o PLD 1958 Lah 824;
9 & 10. Land Acquisition and o Land Acquisition, Landlessness and the The right of compulsory acquisition of land by the
Eminent Domain Building of New Dehli government in the public interest is a right exercised by
o Land Acquisition Act, Ss 1 – 17 many governments, ostensibly in the ‘public interest’.
o Hakim Ali v. Member Power, WAPDA PLD This will be explored in greater detail with examples
2002 Lahore 28 from across the world.
o Mohd. Akbar v. Commissioner, Rawalpindi,
PLD 1976 Lah 747;
o How Eminent Domain Ran Amok, Carla T.
Main, Policy Review No. 133;
o Kelo v. Cty of New London 54 U.S. (2005);
o A History of American Law, Lawrence M.
Friedman, part II (chapter V), part III (chapter
IV).
11. Private Property and o Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Chapters I &
the Rule Against II o Chapter 10: Title
Perpetuities o The Boundaries of Private Property, Michael
Heller
o The Modern Rule Against Perpetuities, Walter
Anderson
12. Transfer of Private o Transfer of Property Act,1882: Ss. 38 – 53-A An overview of the various provisions which deal with
Property Ss. 54 - 57 transfer of property.
o Specific Relief Act, 1877: Section 27-A
o Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984: Article 17
o Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances)
Ordinance, 2001: Section 18
o Registration Act, 1908: Parts III + IV, X, XII

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 o Stamp Act, 1899: Chapters, II, IV, VII
o AIR 1939 PC 185
o AIR 1957 AP 960;
o AIR 1916 PC 139
13 & 14. Leases - I o Transfer of Property Act, 1882: Chapter V The different statutes dealing with tenancy will be
o Easements Act, 1882:: Chapter VI (Ss. 52 – studied in this session, with a comparison of the old and
64) new tenancy laws in Punjab.
o Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Ordinance,
1959 + Punjab Rented Premises Ordinance,
2009
o Chapter 7: Possession
o Chapter 17: Leases and Bailment
o Case law to be announced

15. Leases – II o Transfer of Property Act, 1882: Chapter V This class will cover the rights and obligations of the
o Haji Yaqoob Khan v. Murree Cantonment landlord and tenant. Students will also learn the concept
Board, 1987 CLC 108 of holding over tenancies and statutory tenancies.
o Mastakim Ali v. Shafique Uddin Chaudhry,
PLD 1971 SC 170
o Qazi Muhammad Hayat v. Dad Muhammad,
PLD 2003 SC 231

16. Mid-term examination

17. Guest Lecture TBD The topics to be covered are the practical realities of
property transfers in Pakistan.

15. Gift and Succession o Transfer of Property Act, 1882: Chapters VI This session will focus on the difference between gift
& VII and succession, with particular regard to the provisions

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 o Lucy Carrol, Life Interests and Inter- incorporated in pakistani law from Islamic law.
Generational Transfer of Property –
Avoiding the Law of Succession, 8 ISLAMIC
LAW AND SOCIETY 245 (2001).
19. Stamp and o Ahmad Rafay Alam, Land Locked: An Stamp and Registration are age-old formalities which
Registration examination of some of the inefficiencies may be seen as hindrances to the free transfer of
affecting transactions involving immovable property. However, these are important procedural
property. aspects for any practicing lawyer in the country. This
o Abdul Karim v. Bilal Atiq, 2015 CLC 451 session will cover how these procedures work and also
o In re: M Aslam Motiwala, 1998 MLD 1254 identify the problems they raise.
o Muhammad Tahir v. Province of Punjab,
PLD 2015 Lahore 345
o Nasreen Yousuf v. Aijaz Safdar Kiyani, 2014
YLR 1201
20. Adverse Possession o Michael Goodman, The Morality of Adverse Although proscribed in Pakistan, adverse possession
Possession of Land, 31 THE MODERN LAW remains an important concept for lawyers to understand.
REV. 82 (1968)
o Michael Goodman, Adverse Possession of
Land. Morality and Motive, 33 THE MODERN
LAW REV. 281 (1970)
o The Limitation Act, 1908: Section 28
o Maqbool Ahmad v. Hakoomat-e-Pakistan,
1991 SCMR 2063
o Muhammad Afsar v. Rub Nawaz, 2015
SCMR 301
21. Mortgages – I o The Transfer of Property Act, 1882: Chapter Mortgages are an important aspect of property law in
IV Pakistan. Very often, mortgages form an integral part of
o Property Law – Commentary and Materials any loan agreement. This session will cover the theory
(Alison Clarke and Paul Kohler, 2005) of mortgage with some case law from Pakistan.

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 § Chapter 18: pages 657-666; 673 – 677;
684 – 688.
o National Bank of Pakistan v. Paradise
Trading Company, 2015 SCMR 319
o Ali Ahmed v. Aisha Warsi, PL D 2012 Sindh
381
22. Mortgages – II o Wesley Sturges & Samuel O Clark, Legal
Theory and Real Property Mortgages, 37
THE YALE LAW JOURNAL, 691 (1928)
o Abdul Haq v. Ali Akbar, 1998 CLC 129
23. Enforcement o Abdul Ghani v. Muhammad Shafi, 2007 Students will study case law where different methods of
SCMR 1186 enforcement of rights under property law were adopted
o Mst. Amina Bibi v. Mudassir Aziz, PLD by the Courts.
2003 SC 430
o Mst. Rasheeda Begum v. Muhammad
Yousuf, 2002 SCMR 1089
o Bashir Ahmad v. Muhammad, PLD 1956
Lahore 934
o N.Q. Industries v. Mrs Bapai Khakhusro,
PLD 1968 Karachi 589
24. Documentary TBD
25. Katchi Abadis o Scott Leckie, The UN Committee on The debate surrounding katchi abadis has taken on some
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and importance in light of recent events in the capital city of
the Right to Adequate Housing: Towards an Islamabad. As students of property law, they should
Appropriate Approach, 11 HUMAN RIGHTS study and be aware of the legal bases for this debate.
QUARTERLY 522 (1989)
o Further readings to be decided depending on
the status of the katchi abadi case before the
SC

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E 26. Land Reform o Akmal Hussain, Land Reform, THE OXFORD Land Reform is a question that has arisen time and
COMPANION TO PAKISTANI HISTORY (2012) again and will continue to do so in Pakistan. This
o Shahrukh Rafi Khan and others, The Case session aims to help the students understand the
for Land and Agrarian Reforms in Pakistan, constitutional basis for that argument, and the obstacles
POLICY BRIEF SERIES, SDPI (2001) faced by proponents of land reform in Pakistan.
27. Title Registration o Shahid Kardar, “Establishing Property
Rights Through a Secure System of Land
Title Management,” Pakistan Institute of
Development Economics Policy Viewpoint
No. 3, 2007
o Other readings to be finalized
28. Review

Textbook(s)/Supplementary Readings

! Property Law – Commentary and Materials (Alison Clarke and Paul Kohler, 2005)