Preemption Right Applies to Transfers Resulting from Partition

A property owner who sought to enforce a preemption right regarding a parcel of land, which had been transferred to a third party through a sale that followed a partition, was rejected by the lower court on the ground that the preemption right did not apply to transfers resulting from a partition. The High Court quashed the decision, reasoning that a partition, even if it transfers ownership of a specific asset to one co-heir, constitutes an alienation within the meaning of the relevant preemption article, as the transfer acts to consolidate ownership of the specific asset to an individual heir, thereby constituting a transfer similar to a sale for the purposes of the right.