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Keidi Kõiv and Villy Lopman write about ARIB’s controversial interpretation of area-related aid
Keidi Kõiv and Villy Lopman write about ARIB’s controversial interpretation of area-related aid
In the April
issue of the agricultural magazine Põllumehe Teataja, RASK attorney-at-law
Villy Lopman and support measures specialist Keidi Kõiv published a reply to
the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board’s (ARIB) position
regarding the formal right of use of land leased by farmers and the
requirements for area-related aid.
According to
ARIB, establishing the right of use of land is problematic when verifying
area-related aid and payment applications. All area-related aid is subject to
the requirement that land use must have a legal basis in order for the
applicant to be eligible. ARIB has also explained that if the applicant has no
lawful basis to use state land, such land is not eligible. According to RASK
attorneys, however, this position cannot be accepted, as it relies on an
oversimplified legal understanding of the issue.
The legal order is designed to ensure legal peace. Not every error voids a legal relationship. This only happens in exceptional cases.