The Expropriation Bill 2015 and section 25 of the constitution
Abstract
The land issue in the Republic of South Africa has been a contentious area of focus in both legal as well as political circles. Since the remnants of democracy becoming visible, the land issue has been the subject of much scrutiny by all stakeholders involved. However, since the birth of constitutional democracy there has not been a framework for expropriation that follows the letter of the Constitution. South Africa has inherited a framework of expropriation that was enacted during one of the most trying times the nation has gone through, an era of segregation and ownership of land based on racial bounds. The negotiation process birthed the Constitutional property clause, a clause somewhat sui generis since it both protects existing rights to property as well as mandates the state to take effective means to address the dispossession of land during apartheid. A framework for expropriation that has at its heart this tension between protection and reformation is needed. This framework for expropriation comes in the form of the Expropriation Bill B4 - 2015. The Expropriation Bill B4 - 2015 should be able to carry the burdens placed by the Constitution in the form of both protection and reformation. This Bill should be able to address the plight of the majority of South Africans to provide redistribution of land, and also the plight of those that were dispossessed of land post the enactment of the Natives Land Act 1913. This Bill should be able to undo the legacy of inequality that plagues South Africa today by using the Constitutions guiding principles under the provisions of section 25 to heal the divisions of the past and create a future generation that is united. This dissertation investigates the provisions of the Expropriation Bill B4 - 2015 and tests them for compliance against the provisions of the Constitutional property clause. Cognisance should be taken of the fact that the current framework for expropriation is highly deficient when tested for compliance against the property clause hence the need for a new framework for expropriation.
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