AbstractIt has been said that any discussion of the relative merits of one particular system of land registration over another can be faithfully relied upon to provoke a near riot at any conference of Commonwealth surveyors. The ownership of land and the rights appertaining thereto are emotional topics in all corners of the Earth and not surprisingly perhaps this emotion extends to those responsible for describing the parcels of land into which the Earth is divided. The reasons why the surveyor develops such feelings on these matters may lie deep in the subconscious but at a superficial level they are undoubtedly influenced by a general ignorance of the alternative methods for describing and recording parcels of land and the reasons why and how any other systems tick. Each system has evolved in its own setting over a period of time and has been adapted to meet local requirements. This is not to say that it has necessarily evolved in the most appropriate way or that radical changes might not be beneficial....