1. INTRODUCTION 
The changes in Bulgaria at the end of 1989 strongly 
influence the economy of the country. The economic 
structures are changing, the participation of the 
government in the economy is decreasing considerably, 
the relations between it and the private physical and legal 
entities are changing, the private incentives in the trade, 
commerce and banking are stimulated. 
The economic changes are accomplished in three 
directions: 
(i) Restitution of ownership of urban property and 
industrial enterprises, 
(ii) Privatization of state-owned industrial enterprises, 
(iii) Restitution of private ownership of agricultural lands. 
(iv) The restitution of private ownership of forests. 
The territory of Bulgaria is 111 thousand sq. km, 6096 of 
which are farming lands and 4096 are arable lands. The 
settlements are above 5 thousand and occupy 4.596 of 
the territory. The population of Bulgaria is 8.5 million. 
2. LAND REFORM AND CADASTRE 
2.1. Land Reform 
The Law of Property and Use of Agricultural Lands was 
adopted by the Bulgarian Parliament in February 1991 
and was updated several times. On the basis of this Law 
the Bulgarian Government issued Rules for its application 
in April 1991. In June 1992 the Main Department of 
Lands and Land Property at the Ministry of Agriculture 
and Food Industry issued Methodical Guidelines and 
Technical Standards for application of the Law on 
Property and Use of Agricultural Lands on the basis of 
elaboration of the Main Department of Cadastre and 
Geodesy at the Ministry of Regional Development and 
Construction. 
The Law initiates the land reform in Bulgaria, and other 
acts indicate the ways for the accomplishment of the 
reform in technical and legal aspect. 
According to the Law, the Rules for its application and 
the Methodical Guidelines: 
(i) The property rights of the owners or their heirs on the 
agricultural lands, owned before the formation of the 
cooperatives and state owned farms are restored. 
(ii) The landless and poor citizens are given lands from 
the state and communal land funds. 
(ii) The land reform is financed entirely by the state 
budget. 
(iv)The restitution of ownership of agricultural lands is 
done within the limits of the territories belonging to 
one village by qualified companies or individuals. 
The Law of Property and Use of Agricultural Lands 
liquidated about 2300 large agricultural farms, each 
managing formally 20-60 sq. km of land. The rights on 
them for managing and mastering will be restituted to the 
former owners of the land before its co-operation 40 
years ago. These owners number over about one million. 
80 
Together with their heirs the total number of persons 
whose ownership of land will be restituted may reach 
three million. 
The land reform affects the interests of many people and 
its accomplishment depends on different state 
institutions. The activities on restitution of ownership of 
agricultural lands are run and controlled mainly by the 
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and the Ministry 
of Regional Development and Construction not 
underestimating, however, the role of the Ministry of 
Justice and the Ministry of Finance. 
Some 273 Municipal Land Commissions to the Main 
Department of Lands and Land Property, which was 
formed within the Ministry of Agriculture and Food 
Industry especially for the restitution of ownership of 
agricultural lands, are established on the territory of the 
country. Their task is the accomplishment of the land 
reform on 4700 lands. For this purpose contracts were 
signed with 600 companies most of which have surveying 
as the main subject of activity. The portion of the 
technical activities on the land reform which are done by 
the state companies is 75% and by the private 
companies — 25%. The work force engaged this task 
numbers 1800 state administrative officials and 3000 
specialists. 
The statistical data show that the applications for 
restitution of ownership of agricultural lands, are 2.4 
million for about 8 million real estates with a total land 
area of 57 thousand sq. km, the applications of private 
persons being for 51 thousand sq. km of it, and those of 
legal entities for the rest 6 thousand sq. km. lt is 
expected that until the end of 1996 about 89% of the 
lands is to be returned to the owners. 
The restitution of ownership of agricultural lands is a 
great challenge for the Bulgarian surveyors. There has 
never been and will probably never be another case for 
the state to invest in a short time considerable funds in 
an activity which is in fact surveying. Bulgaria cannot 
allow the use of the measurements and the resulting 
information, connected with the land reform, to be limited 
only to the restitution of ownership of land. The data 
collected will be used for the development of up-to-date 
cadastre and for the creation of Land Information System 
(LIS) with the purpose of its development into a 
Geographic Information System (GIS), as well as for 
solution of ecological problems. The cadastre and the 
information system for the land are necessary for the 
future land market. 
2.2. Cadastre 
The first Cadastre Low in Bulgaria is from 1908 and the 
second one is from 1941. The third Law for Uniform 
Cadastre from 1979 is active now together with the Rules 
for its application from 1983. For obvious reasons the 
operative Law cannot satisfy the present requirements 
and a draft for a fourth cadastre law is in process of 
active preparation to be put forward in Parliament. 
According to the operating Law and Rules for the 
application: 
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