Slovak Agricultural Law Scholars at the XVII World Congress of Agricultural Law in Italy
From 6 to 9 October 2026, the XVII World Congress of Agricultural Law took place in Verona and Chies d’Alpago, Italy. Organised by the World Union of University Agrarian Lawyers (UMAU) in cooperation with the University of Verona, the Congress focused on the theme “Property and Agricultural Land Use: Mountains, Environment and Landscape”. The event addressed current issues in agricultural law, land ownership and use, environmental protection and rural development.
The Congress brought together scholars and experts from several European, Latin American and African countries. Particular attention was paid to the social function of property rights, land reforms, access to agricultural land, the protection of family farms, and the concentration of land ownership and use. Discussions highlighted different legal approaches to balancing property rights, agricultural production and the public interest.
A separate thematic section addressed agriculture and climate change, particularly carbon farming, carbon removal certification, carbon credit trading, and the legal position of landowners and land users. A substantial part of the programme also focused on mountain agricultural law, landscape protection, the restoration of abandoned land, landowners’ associations and sustainable farming in mountain regions.
Slovakia was represented at the Congress by two members of the Association of Agricultural and Environmental Lawyers (AAEP): its President, Professor Anna Bandlerová, from the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, and association member Dr Maroš Pavlovič, from the Faculty of Law of Comenius University Bratislava.
Professor Bandlerová presented the findings of joint research conducted with Lucia Palšová, Ágoston Korom and Monika Kvitkovská, published in the scientific paper “Land Concentration and the Risk of Land Grabbing in Slovakia: Legal and Economic Perspectives”. The authors examine the concentration of agricultural land in Slovakia and assess whether current developments display characteristics of so-called soft land grabbing. Their analysis highlights the contrast between highly fragmented land ownership and concentrated agricultural land use, the prevalence of tenancy arrangements, economic inequalities between agricultural operators, and the influence of public policies on access to land.
Following Professor Bandlerová’s presentation, Dr Pavlovič informed the participants about Slovakia’s new register of agricultural land use rights and the prospects for its implementation. The introduction of this register represents an important step towards greater transparency in land use relations and the verification of legal titles to agricultural land use.
The joint scientific paper by Lucia Palšová, Anna Bandlerová, Ágoston Korom and Monika Kvitkovská was also published in the Congress proceedings issued by UMAU.
It represents an important scholarly contribution to the international debate on land concentration, equitable access to agricultural land and the sustainability of agriculture.
The participation of Slovak scholars in the Congress contributed to the exchange of scientific knowledge and the development of international academic cooperation. Issues concerning land consolidation, ownership fragmentation, agricultural land protection and adaptation to climate change are of particular relevance to the further development of agricultural and environmental law in Slovakia.
