LAND DISPUTES: CONTRACTUAL FORM OF SETTLEMENT AND ITS LEGAL ASPECTS

The relevance of the stated research topic is due to the peculiarities of land disputes, the main problem in resolving which is the lack of effective mechanisms for their settlement. It is believed that contractual forms of land dispute resolution, in particular, mediation, facilitation and settlement agreement, are more effective mechanisms for protecting land rights than judicial procedures (long, costly, complex, non-confidential). In this regard, the study of the contractual form of land dispute resolution is of great theoretical and practical importance, expanding the understanding of the mechanisms of conflict resolution in the field of land relations. The article makes a comparative analysis of conciliation procedures and settlement agreements and, based on the established correlation, concludes that a settlement agreement is the result which conciliation procedures are aimed at achieving, and also a means of legal formalisation and consolidation of the termination of a dispute achieved in the course of such procedures. The author analyses and identifies the advantages of such types of contractual form of land dispute resolution as mediation, facilitation and settlement agreement. The author identifies and characterises a number of advantages for the contractual form of land dispute resolution in general: speed, flexibility, cost, and preservation of good relations. Contractual relations in the mediation, facilitation or settlement agreement procedure relate to the reservation of a peaceful resolution of a dispute which may arise, the choice of the procedure and mediator, and the acceptance of the terms of conflict exhaustion and dispute resolution.