ABSTRACT This dissertation as evidenced from the title “An Appraisal of the Need to Settle Land Disputes in Specialized Land Courts: A Case Study of Kwimba District. The objective of the research was to assess the effectiveness of the specialized land courts as the institutions which deal with land disputes in Tanzania. Since the enactment of the Land Act, 2003: Village Land Act, and the Land Disputes Court Act which were enacted to introduce the new system of the land disputes settlement for more than ten years now since 2002 when the Land Courts were established still there is backlog of cases. The land Courts in question are the VLC, WT, the DLHT, HC and finally the Court of Appeal of Tanzania. The Land Courts replaced the Ordinary Courts which deal with land disputes as civil suit so as to enhance effectiveness. However, the researcher found the backlog of land disputes in specialized land courts and that some members nominated to solve the problems of land disputes in VLC and WT are not lawyers, this leads to ineffectiveness of such courts. Similarly, some problems in administrative structure of Land Courts are differences in ministries governing the land courts leading to contradictions and difficulties in administration of the Land Courts. To conclude, there has been no sound progress in the effectiveness of the specialized land courts as the institutions which deal with land disputes in Tanzania that even citizens are not willing to send land cases to the specialized Land Courts. To recommend, for land Courts to be effective such as the Land disputes to be back to the ordinary Courts, there is a need to establish DLHT in each District, introduce enough lawyers and social warfare officers, and that assessors should be removed. Hence, all land courts should be under one administrator, the Chief Justice of Judiciary.