As the ecological transition accelerates, green grabbing is expected to intensify. Our systematic review of 80 empirical cases offers an overview of how soft and hard legal frameworks can both enable and prevent green land acquisitions. While current international development policies legitimise, and national laws operationalise green grabs, accelerating the shift from communal to private property regimes, some cases highlight the transformative potential of “law from below.” These bottom-up legal reforms, driven by grassroots initiatives, may offer meaningful resistance to mitigate the impacts of green grabbing.