b. Private property rights, however, shall not extend to any mineral resources on
or beneath any land or to any lands under the seas and waterways of the Republic.
All mineral resources in and under the seas and other waterways shall belong to the
Republic and be used by and for the entire Republic.
c. Non-citizen missionary, educational and other benevolent institutions shall
have the right to own property, as long as that property is used for the purposes for
which acquired; property no longer so used shall escheat to the Republic.
d. The Republic may, on the basis of reciprocity, convey to a foreign government
property to be used perpetually for its diplomatic activities. This land shall not be
transferred or otherwise conveyed to any other party or used for any other
purpose, except upon the expressed permission of the Government of Liberia. All
property so conveyed may escheat to the Republic in the event of a cessation of
diplomatic relations.
Article 23
a. The property which a person possesses at the time of marriage or which may
afterwards be acquired as a result of one’s own labors shall not be held for or
otherwise applied to the liquidation of the debts or other obligations of the spouse,
whether contracted before or after marriage; nor shall the property which by law is
to be secured to a man or a woman be alienated or be controlled by that person’s
spouse save by free and voluntary consent.
b. The Legislature shall enact laws to govern the devolution of estates and
establish rights of inheritance and descent for spouses of both statutory and
customary marriages so as to give adequate protection to surviving spouses and
children of such marriages.
Article 24
a. While the inviolability of private property shall be guaranteed by the Republic,
expropriation may be authorized for the security of the nation in the event of
armed conflict or where the public health and safety are endangered or for any
other public purposes, provided:
(i) that reasons for such expropriation are given;
(ii) that there is prompt payment of just compensation;
(iii)
that such expropriation or the compensation offered may be
challenged freely by the owner of the property in a court of law with no penalty for
having brought such action; and