---
title: Ga. Const. Art. I, Sec. III, Para. III. Tidewater titles confirmed.
collection: code
id: ga-const:art-i-sec-iii-para-iii
cite_as: Ga. Const. Art. I, Sec. III, Para. III
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date: 2016
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---

# Ga. Const. Art. I, Sec. III, Para. III. Tidewater titles confirmed.

A constitution provision shown as in force is in force as printed in the volume. A court decision can make a printed provision unenforceable without changing the volume, and the volume does not record that.

The Act of the General Assembly approved December 16, 1902, which extends the title of ownership of lands abutting on tidal water to low water mark, is hereby ratified and confirmed.

## Cross References

Rights of owners of land adjacent to or covered by navigable tidewaters, § 44-8-7.

## Law Reviews

For article, ‘‘Public Rights in Georgia’s Tidelands,’’ see 9 Ga. L. Rev. 79 (1974). For article discussing State v. Ashmore, 236 Ga. 401, 224 S.E.2d 334, cert. denied, 429 U.S. 830, 97 S. Ct. 90, 50 L. Ed. 2d 93 (1976), appearing below, see 12 Ga. St. B.J. 201 (1976).

For note, ‘‘Regulation and Ownership of the Marshlands: The Georgia Marshlands Act’’ (Part 4, Art. 4, Ch. 5, T. 12), see 5 Ga. L. Rev. 563 (1971).

For comment on State v. Ashmore, 236 Ga. 401, 224 S.E.2d 334, cert. denied, 429 U.S. 830, 97 S. Ct. 90, 50 L. Ed. 2d 93 (1976), see 10 Ga. L. Rev. 1051 (1976); 27 Mercer L. Rev. 1229 (1976).

## 1976 Constitution.

Art. I, Sec. III, Para. II.

## Ratification of Act Effective.

The constitutional ratification in 1945 of former Code 1933, §§ 85-1307, 85-1308, and 85-1309 (see now O.C.G.A. §§ 44-8-6 and 44-8-7), which had been in effect since their enactment and which had not been held to be unconstitutional, was effective and immunized these sections from a later attack. State v. Ashmore, 236 Ga. 401, 224 S.E.2d 334, cert. denied, 429 U.S. 830, 97 S. Ct. 90, 50 L. Ed. 2d 93 (1976), commented on in 12 Ga. St. B.J. 201 (1976) and 27 Mercer L. Rev. 1229 (1976).

## Paragraph Does Not Extend Titles.

Any argument that this paragraph by its own terms extended the titles of landowners adjacent to tidewaters to the low water mark is completely contrary to the intention of the constitutional commission and is untenable. State v. Ashmore, 236 Ga. 401, 224 S.E.2d 334, cert. denied, 429 U.S. 830, 97 S. Ct. 90, 50 L. Ed. 2d 93 (1976), commented on in 12 Ga. St. B.J. 201 (1976) and 27 Mercer L. Rev. 1229 (1976).

## Effect of Opening Phrase.

The phrase: ‘‘The Act of the General Assembly approved December 16, 1902, which extends the title ...’’ is not self-executing and is neither mandatory nor directory, but is merely for the purpose of identification of the Act being approved. State v. Ashmore, 236 Ga. 401, 224 S.E.2d 334, cert. denied, 429 U.S. 830, 97 S. Ct. 90, 50 L. Ed. 2d 93 (1976), commented on in 12 Ga. St. B.J. 201 (1976) and 27 Mercer L. Rev. 1229 (1976).

Whatever rights individual parties may have in the foreshore must be determined under former Code 1933, §§ 85-1307, 85-1308, and 85-1309 (see

## Now O.c.g.a. §§ 44-8-6 and 44-8-7).

State v. Ashmore, 236 Ga. 401, 224 S.E.2d 334, cert. denied, 429 U.S. 830, 97 S. Ct. 90, 50 L. Ed. 2d 93 (1976), commented on in 12 Ga. St. B.J. 201 (1976) and 27 Mercer L. Rev. 1229 (1976).

Land registration judgment invalid

## If State Not Served.

State is an adjoining landowner in tidelands and must be so named in a petition and served other than by advertisement ‘‘To Whom It May Concern,’’ and a land registration judgment, if granted, would not be binding upon an adjoining landowner who was not named and served. State v. Bruce, 231 Ga. 783, 204 S.E.2d 106 (1974).

Cited in Caldwell v. Hill, 179 Ga. 417, 176 S.E. 381 (1934); Fulton Bag & Cotton Mills v. Williams, 212 Ga. 783, 95 S.E.2d 848 (1956); Baranan v. State Bd. of Nursing Home Adm’rs, 143 Ga. App. 605, 239 S.E.2d 533 (1977).

## Extent of State’s Ownership.

If the state is classed with all of the other owners of tidewater land, the boundaries of its property clearly extend to the low-water mark or encompass generally the entire tidewater bed; but when the state’s unique position as local political sovereign is taken into consideration, its rights of ownership extend far beyond this point for an additional three miles out to sea. 1965-66 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 66-49.

Boundaries of tidewater lands owned by state extend to low-water mark in contrast to either point of

## High Water or Mean Water.

See 1965-66 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 66-49.

Owner of marshland not to impede

## Public Right of Enjoyment.

In the unlikely event that one should establish a title to marshland, such person could not use the property in such a way as to impede the public right of enjoyment thereof unless the grant to the marshland expresses a full relinquishment of all public rights. Position Paper, 3-23-70, 1970 Op. Att’y Gen. p. 279.