CHAPTER 2: ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS A. RIGHT TO PROPERTY 1. Legislation 155. Article 14 of the African Charter states that “The right to property shall be guaranteed. It may only be encroached upon in the interest of public need or in the general interest of the community and in accordance with the provisions of appropriate laws”. 156. Protection of property is guaranteed by the fundamental text, i.e. the Constitution, and by specific texts, including:  Acts Nos. 23, 24 and 25 of 22 July 1967 on land tenure;  the Criminal Code (Articles 143, 154, 155);  the 1958 Civil Code, Article 544; 2. Procedure for expropriation in the public interest 157. Article 41 of the Constitution in Chad stipulates that “private property is inviolable and sacred. No person can be denied his or her property unless for purposes of public interest and in return for fair and prior compensation”. 158. Expropriation can only be foreseen in the case of an immovable property. In the event where the authorities want to enter into possession of the property, they should first and foremost establish proof of public interest justifying that action and proceed with the payment of a fair and prior compensation to the owner of the property being expropriated. 159. In this regard, the State has taken appropriate measures to ensure that forced eviction is used as a last resort. It notifies the expropriated persons in advance of the decisions and proposes a new site for relocation or adequate compensation. For example, as part of the construction of road infrastructures in the city of N'Djaména, the owners of the buildings that were affected by the road network were compensated. 160. In addition, under Article 154 of the Chadian Criminal Code, “Any administrative or law enforcement official, any officer or police officer, any commander or officer of the police force, who, acting in his or her official capacity, enters the premises of a citizen against his or her will, except in the cases provided for by law, and in violation of the procedures prescribed by law, shall be punished by an imprisonment term of six days to one year and a fine of 5,000 to 500,000 francs, without prejudice to the application of Article 143 paragraph 2. Article 155 of the Criminal Code states that “Any individual, who enters the premises of a citizen by using threats or violence, shall be punishable Page 39 sur 87