The Council of State recently ruled in its decisions numbered 805-808/2016 on appeals against actions and omissions by the ministers of Environment and Rural Development, as well as the Hellenic Cadastre and Mapping Agency (HKMA, abolished in 2013), and the anonymous company named National Cadastre and Mapping (EKXAM). These appeals were filed by the Thessaloniki Bar Association, the Technical Chamber of Greece, and the Panhellenic Movement of Foresters.

This is because, as the aforementioned entities argue, at the beginning of the second and third generations of land registration (in 2007 and 2010), the preparation of forest maps in these areas should have been initiated simultaneously. Opting for a Solomon-like solution, the Council of State granted a time period of six months for the posting of the forest maps, to avoid the annulment of the second and third generations of land registration (2007 and 2010). And indeed, the posting of forest maps began at a rapid pace and the first problems emerged.

As part of familiarizing the legal, technical, and forestry communities with the above issues, two seminars have already been organized (on 27.1.2017 in Polygmyros, Halkidiki, and on 17.2.2017 in Thessaloniki) by the Interdepartmental Master's Program "Cadastre: legal, technical and environmental dimensions." The useful presentations from these events are collected in the present volume.

Specifically included are: The succession of the Turkish Public to the Greek and the forests, The concept of forest and forested areas in the field of Greek legislation and jurisprudence, Forest legislation and notarial practice, The acquisition of real rights in forests/forested areas and the presumption of public ownership, The forest and forested areas in the field of interest of criminal law, Forestry cadastre and uses of forest land, Settlements, urban plans, and residential densification in the drafted forest maps, Conceptual approach and distinctions of forests and forested areas in the preparation of forest maps, Forestry cadastre and the Church, The forest ownership of the ecclesiastical legal entities of the Greek territory, in light of the National Cadastre, Process of recognition of forest ownership, Committees, councils, and legal remedies from the posting of the forest map to the final recognition of the forest character.