Abstract

The transitional land law consultation process of 2009 implemented by the Timor-Leste government, with funding and technical support from USAID and the World Bank Justice for the Poor unit, is often hailed as one of the most consultative public policy processes in the short history of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. This Discussion Paper argues that in reality the process was deeply flawed and ultimately that it has not led to the protection of land rights. While the length of the process gave civil society and other groups time to access the proposed legislation and lobby key individuals, the consultation meetings at the subnational level did not seek the ideas and input of the public at large and in some instances perpetuated misinformation. Consultation meetings were characterised by complex Portuguese legal jargon, and patronising language and behaviour from state officials. Meetings were undocumented and it is unclear to what extent the recommendations of the public were considered in new versions of the draft law. This Discussion Paper documents the consultation process of the 2009 Timor-Leste Transitional Land Law and in the absence of a genuine consultation process examines the methods that civil society and community groups used to shape and influence the land law. As such it seeks to contribute to both debates around the role of citizen participation in complex policy design processes and scholarship on the roles and patterns of civil society interventions in land policy in Timor-Leste.