Some 32 officials who work in the settlement of rural land disputes took part in a workshop to discuss how best to resolve this issue organized by the Rule of Law Division of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire on Thursday, 30 May 2013 in Daloa, 382 km from Abidjan.



Discussion during the workshop focused on legal judgements on the settling of land disputes, interpretation of the land law of 1998 and the position of judges.



Magistrates working in the west of Côte d'Ivoire as well as representatives of local government and the Ministry of Agriculture gathered together to try to harmonise the views of magistrates who sit in the Daloa Court of Appeal on the application of the land laws.



At the end of the session, participants, particularly magistrates, made a commitment to seek the opinion of local government officials when dealing with land disputes. In return, the local government officials also agreed to regularly consult each other on legal decision on land disputes.



The deputy prefect of Daloa, Ouasselou Gnepka, who presided over the opening ceremony, stressed "the importance of this session in an effort to find lasting solution to the issue of land disputes, especially in the west of Côte d'Ivoire. Land disputes make up a large part of the cases dealt with by the court in Daloa," he said.