Award of CR/2021/18: Evidence Review on Public Interest Tests for Land Acquistions

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Background & Context 5. The Scottish Government has committed to bringing forward a new Land Reform Bill in the current session to continue challenging unequitable distribution of land. As such, there is a need to establish a robust evidence base in relation to land reform issues. This includes addressing the concentrated pattern of land ownership in Scotland, and the lack of restrictions that currently exist on owning land. In addition, it will ensure that the public interest is considered. 6. In 2018, the Scottish Land Commission (SLC) produced a report on the restrictions on land ownership that exist in other parts of the world. The SLC report also focussed on the use of public interest tests, demonstrating that of the 22 countries involved in the report, 18 had a form of approval process in relation to who can own land. Oftentimes, these approval processes existed to check the public interest impacts related to foreign acquisition of land, amongst other regulations. The SLC report concluded with the suggestion that public interest tests could be employed in a Scottish context to more accurately assess and protect what is in the public interest, in terms of who can own land. 7. This commissioned work would therefore supplement the research undertaken by the SLC, and help support the policy development of evidence-based proposals. It would build upon the previous research by undertaking further in-depth analysis on the regulations which exist in countries that fall within the auspices of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Case studies outside of the ECHR will also be accepted where appropriate. The work should also centre on the legal ramifications of Article 1 Protocol 1 of the ECHR, and how jurisdictions justify interference to property rights.