[Soutenance de thèse] 04/02/2026 – Kervens Valcin : « Le contentieux de la propriété foncière en Haïti à partir de 1804 » (UPR JPEG)

Mr Kervens VALCIN will publicly defend his thesis entitled: «Le contentieux de la propriété foncière en Haïti à partir de 1804» (Land ownership litigation in Haiti from 1804), directed by Mr Eric WENZEL, on Wednesday 4 February 2026 at 2.00 pm.

Laboratory

UPR 3788 -JPEG - Legal, Political, Economic and Management Sciences Laboratory

Composition of the jury

Mr Eric WENZEL	Senior lecturer	Avignon University	Thesis supervisor
Ms Florence RENUCCI	Research Director	CNRS	Rapporteur
Mr Christophe JUHEL	University Professor	University of Perpignan	Rapporteur
Mr Eric DE MARI	Professor Emeritus	University of Montpellier	Examiner
Mr Samuel PRISO-ESSAWÉ	University Professor	Avignon University	Examiner

Summary

The issue of land ownership in Haiti has long been a highly complex one, requiring the establishment of a judicial system capable of making sound decisions in the settlement of land disputes. Indeed, the Haitian Revolution of 1804 did not put an end to the discriminatory practices that were rife in the colony with regard to land distribution. After independence on 1ᵉʳ January 1804, Haiti reproduced the same model of the colonial system based on the unequal distribution of land. This led to conflict between the two social classes, the Anciens libres and the Nouveaux libres, who had previously been united in their fight against the colonists. On the one hand, the Anciens libres (freedmen and mulattos) seized all the land left by the colonists on the pretext that it belonged to their parents, and on the other, the Nouveaux libres (blacks) also wanted access to land ownership and expressed their hostility to the reconstitution of the model of large-scale colonial property and forced labour. So, throughout Haiti's history, the poor were always landless and the practice of gaining access to land ownership remained spoliation, the invasion of large estates. As a result, Haiti has experienced recurrent land disputes. Despite this situation, the public authorities have been unable to shoulder their responsibilities towards the most economically and socially vulnerable sections of society. On the one hand, Haitian legislation remains limited as far as land is concerned. On the other hand, the judicial system finds it difficult to settle land disputes quickly and effectively, and the institutions for securing land tenure are almost dysfunctional.

Keywords : Colonial law, Property law, History of law