Land Registration and Title Security in the Digital Age New Horizons for Torrens

This book examines the current state of, and emerging issues in relation to, the Torrens and other systems of land registration, and the process of automation of land registration systems in jurisdictions where this is occurring worldwide. It analyses the impacts of advances in digital technology in this area and includes contributions from of a number of experts and leaders in this subject from a number of jurisdictions. While it has an Australasian bias, there are important chapters outlining current challenges and developments in Scotland, England and Wales, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The book will be relevant to those engaged in land registration and conveyancing processes, including, but not limited to, property law practitioners and conveyancers, academics in this field, government and public policy experts, law and property students, and IT and IP experts, especially those working on developing automated land registration systems.

List of Contributors Table of Cases Table of Legislation Foreword Introduction PART I: Land Title Security: Recent Developments and Current Issues 1. Title Guarantee or Title Indefeasibility? 2. Fraud and Torrens 3. In Personam Claims: Developments and Thoughts 4. Indefeasibility of Title: Law Reform in Scotland and New Zealand 5. Recent Developments in the Torrens System in Australia 6. Reform of the New Zealand Land Transfer Act 2017 7. The New Fraud Test and Manifest Injustice 8. Knocking at the Compensation Door: What Might a Deprived Owner Expect Under the Land Transfer Act 2017? 9. The Registrar’s Powers in the Digital Age 10. Making Personal Obligations Binding: Covenants in Gross and Encumbrances Under New Zealand’s New Land Transfer Act PART II: Automation of Land Registration Systems 11. Automation, the Land Registration Act (England and Wales) and the Future 12. Automation of a Torrens Register: An Australian Perspective 13. The Development and Current Position of Electronic Conveyancing in Ireland 14. Automation of the New Zealand Torrens Register: Practitioner Abuse, Risk and Liability PART III: Cross-cutting Issues and Emerging Challenges 15. Are Land Registers Becoming Online Intermediary Platforms of Land Data? 16. Privatisation, the Consensus Algorithms of Blockchains, and Land Titling in Australia: Where Are We Now, and Where Are We Going? 17. Judicial Interpretation of Torrens Registered Documents 18. Indigenous Land Rights and Land Registration Systems: Māori and the Land Transfer Act 2017 19. Managing Property Law Risk: The Role of Private Insurance 20. Land Registration in England & Wales: Problems, Solutions and Missed Opportunities

Professor David Grinlinton practiced as a lawyer, working mainly in the property law, commercial leasing, and energy areas, before joining the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in 1990. His research and teaching interests include all aspects of real property law, commercial and residential leasing, and planning and resource management law. He is a Barrister and Solicitor if the High Court of New Zealand. ORCID: 0000-0002-9387-1766

Associate Professor Rod Thomas