4. Where an official representation as hereinafter mentioned is made to the local authority that within a certain area in the district of such authority either

or

(a) any houses, courts, or alleys are unfit for human habitation,

(b) the narrowness, closeness, and bad arrangement, or the bad condition of the streets and houses or groups of houses within such area, or the want of light, air, ventilation, or proper conveniences, or any other sanitary defects, or one or more of such causes, are dangerous or injurious to the health of the inhabitants either of the buildings in the said area or of the neighboring buildings; and that the most satisfactory method of dealing with the evils connected with such houses, courts or alleys, and the sanitary defects in such area is an improvement scheme for the rearrangement and reconstruction of the streets and houses within such area, or of some of such streets or houses, the local authority shall take such representation into their consideration, and if satisfied of the truth thereof, and of the sufficiency of their resources, shall pass a resolution to the effect that such area is an unhealthy area and that an improvement scheme ought to be made in respect of such area, and after passing such resolution they shall forthwith proceed to make a scheme for the improvement of such area.

Provided always, that any number of such areas may be included in one improvement scheme.

5. (1) An official representation for the purposes of this part of this Act shall mean a representation made to the local authority by the medical officer of health of that authority, and in London made either by such officer or by any medical officer of health in London.

(2) A medical officer of health shall make such representation whenever he sees cause to make the same; and if any justice of the peace acting within the district for which he acts as medical officer of health, or six or more persons liable to be rated to the local rate complain to him of the unhealthiness of any area within such district, it shall be the duty of the medical officer of health forthwith to inspect such area, and to make an official representation stating the facts of the case, and whether in his opinion the said area or any part thereof is an unhealthy area or is not an unhealthy area.

Requisites

6. (1) The improvement scheme of a local authority shall be

of improve accompanied by map, particulars, and estimates and

ment

scheme of local authority.

(a) may exclude any part of the area in respect of which an official representation is made, or include any neighboring lands, if the local authority are of the opinion that such exclusion is expedient or inclusion is necessary for making their scheme efficient and (b) may provide for widening any existing approaches to the unhealthy area or otherwise for opening out the same for the purposes of ventilation or health; and

(c) shall provide such dwelling accommodation, if any, for the working classes displaced by the scheme as is required to comply with this Act; and

(d) shall provide for proper sanitary arrangements; and

(e) may provide for any other matter (including the closing and diversion of highways), for which it seems expedient to make provision with a view to the improvement of an area or the general efficiency of the scheme.

(2) The scheme shall distinguish the lands proposed to be taken compulsorily.

(3) The scheme may also provide for the scheme or any part thereof being carried out and effected by any person having such interest in any land comprised in an improvement scheme as may be sufficient to enable him to carry out and effect the same, or with the concurrence of such person, under the superintendence and control of the local authority, and upon such terms and conditions to be embodied in the scheme as may be agreed upon between the local authority and such person.

*(The act goes on to provide for :-the confirmation of the scheme, provisionally, by the Local Government Board (or in the County or City of London, by a Secretary of State) and finally, by act of Parliament; an inquiry by the confirming authority on the neglect or refusal of the local authority to act; and an order, when necessary or proper, by the confirming authority to the local authority to prepare and execute a scheme; the provision on or near the same area for the housing of as many persons of the working classes as were displaced but this provision may be wholly or partly waived; the execution of the scheme by purchasers, trustees, lessees, etc., subject to proper conditions as to size and design of houses, etc.; an inquiry as to the unhealthy areas on petition of rate payers, upon default of the medical officer; the revocation by the Local Government Board of unreasonable local bye-laws; etc.

* Summarized.

78

No. 2. THE FRENCH EXPROPRIATION LAW of 1841 AS AMENDED BY THE EXCESS CONDEMNATION LAW OF 1918

TITLE I. PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

ART. 1. Expropriation for public use shall be by authority of justice.

[ART. 2.] The courts shall grant expropriation only when its utility has been established and declared in the forms prescribed by the present law.

These forms consist,

Ist. In the law or [royal ordinance] decree authorizing the [execution of the work] transaction for which the expropriation is claimed;

2nd. In the act of the prefect designating the places or tracts of land where the [work] transaction shall be prosecuted, when such designation does not result from the law or the [royal ordinance] decree.

3rd. In the subsequent administrative decree by which the prefect fixes the limits of the particular pieces of land to which expropriation shall apply.

This application shall not be made to any particular piece of property until the parties interested have been given an opportunity to be heard, in accordance with the provisions contained in title II."

ART. 2. The expropriation not only of the area included within the limits of the proposed public works, but also of all those areas which are found to be necessary to secure to these works their full value, present or future, may be declared a public utility.

This may, more particularly, be done in the case of urban highways, with regard to the areas outside the alignment which are an obstacle to the proper lot subdivision or are not suitable for the sites

"Passed May 3, 1841; to be found in the Bulletin des lois for that year, No. 9285, p. 601. It is here given as amended by the laws of April 21, 1914 (Bull. des lois, No. 2926, p. 1103), November 6, 1918 (Bull. des lois, No. 13222, p. 2501, and July 17, 1921 (Bull. des lois, No. 19639, p. 3097. The text is that of the law of 1841, with repealed matter enclosed in brackets [ ], and matter added by the later laws in italics. The amendments indicated are those made by the law of 1918 unless otherwise stated; in the occasional portions of the law which are given in summary, however, it has not in all cases been possible to distinguish between the original acts and amendments, or, when this is shown, to state by what law the amendments were made.

"The only substantial changes in this article made by the law of 1918 are the substitution of the word "transaction" for "work" wherever it occurs; the old word not being descriptive of condemnation to obtain the increase in value in the neighborhood of the work, etc., which the law of 1918 introduces.

of structures which are in accordance with the general plan of the works.

Art. 2 bis. The expropriation of land which because of its proximity to a proposed public work will thereby be raised in value more than 15%, may also be declared to be a public utility.

ART. 3. All great public works, [royal] national highways, canals, railways, canalization of rivers, harbors and docks, the construction of which is undertaken by the State [departments, communes], or by private companies, with or without tolls, with or without subsidy from the Treasury, with or without the alienation of public domain, shall be authorized only by a law [which shall be passed only after an administrative inquest.

80

A royal ordinance shall suffice as authorization for the construction of departmental highways, canals, and branch railways of less than twenty thousand metres in length, of bridges and of all other works of minor importance.

This ordinance shall also be preceded by an inquest.

These inquests shall be in form as determined by a rule of public administration].

The construction of canals and branch railways of less than twenty thousand metres in length, of missing links in or the relocation of the lines of national highways, of bridges and all other enterprises of minor importance may be authorized by decree in Council of State. The construction of departmental and communal works may be authorized by simple decree.

An administrative inquest shall always be held before the passage of the decree or law.81

Art. 3 bis. When, under art. 2 or 2 bis, there is occasion to extend the expropriation to realty situoted outside the line of the proposed work, the authorization can be given only by a law or a decree in Council of State.

This law or decree shall fix the zone in which it shall apply, in accordance with the reason for the extension of the expropriation to it. The law or decree shall also determine the mode of utilization of the lots not included in the public work, and, in due course, the restrictions to which on resale these lots shall be subject.

Under article 2 bis an expert examination shall be made as a part of the administrative inquest, with a view to the determination of the amount of the increase in value.

The form of this expert examination shall be governed by a rule of public administration.

80 Public hearing.

81

The only change made in this article of the law of 1841 by the law of 1918 is in consolidating it with the senate decree of December 25, 1852, article 44 of the law of July 27, 1870, and the laws of August 11, 1871, and July 27, 1880, modifying it.

TITLE II.

ADMINISTRATIVE ACTS WITH RELATION TO EXPROPRIATION

ART. 4. The engineers or other technicians entrusted with the execution of the work, shall make a plan for that portion of the work situated in each commune, with lot boundaries of the lands or buildings the taking of which appears to them to be necessary.

ART. 5. The plan of each of said properties showing the names of each proprietor as of record, shall remain for eight days on deposit at the office of the mayor of the commune in which the properties are situated, in order that each proprietor may have the opportunity of acquainting himself with it.

ART. 6. The time fixed in the preceding article shall begin to run at the date of notice, which shall be given to all the parties interested, to take note of the plan deposited at the office of the mayor.'

81a

This notice shall be published in the commune at the sound of the trumpet or drum and posted either at the principal [doorway of the church of the locality or at that of the communal house] office of the mayor or at some other spot conspicuous and much frequented by the public, which shall be designated by an administrative decree of the municipality."

It shall also be inserted in one of the papers published in the arrondissement, or, if there is no such paper, in one of the papers of the department.

ART. 7. The mayor shall certify to these publications and postings of notices; he shall state, in an official report which he shall make for that purpose and that the parties who appear are required to sign, the allegations and claims which have been made to him verbally, and annex those which have been sent to him in writing.

ART. 8. At the expiration of the period of eight days prescribed by article 5, a commission shall meet at the principal seat of the subprefecture.

This commission, presided over by the sub-prefect of the arrondissement, shall be composed of four members of the general council of the department or of the council of the arrondissement, chosen by the prefect, of the mayor of the commune where the properties are situated and of one of the engineers charged with the execution of the work.

No session of the commission shall be held unless at least five of its members are present.

When there are six members present, and a tie occurs, the vote of the presiding officer shall decide.

1 This paragraph was stricken out by the law of 1918 and restored by the law of 1921.

Since the passage of the law of April 20, 1910, the church has been classified as a historical monument, upon which it is illegal to post bills,

etc.