Department of Public Law

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Browsing Department of Public Law by Author "Barden, Charissa"

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    Underutilisation of expropriation in the land redistribution context : current and potential obstacles
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Barden, Charissa; Boggenpoel, Zsa-Zsa; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Law. Dept. of Public Law.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Expropriation in the context of land reform generally, and redistribution more specifically, is a highly contentious topic in South Africa today. The effects of colonisation and apartheid have left an impact on current land distribution, social identity and economic goals, particularly to the detriment of the poor. These lasting effects signify the need for an effective land redistribution policy in the constitutional era and is a multidimensional issue. A notable mechanism of achieving the redistribution of land is through the utilisation of land expropriation. However, since the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, has come into effect, the land redistribution policy has been slow in reaching its goals, with limited results. Furthermore, the mechanism of expropriation has not been greatly utilised as a means of reaching redistribution goals. The gap between expropriation and land redistribution is fraught with uncertainty in how to use expropriation as a mechanism to achieve land redistribution, which is impacted by a multitude of factors. This uncertainty is aggravated by the changing policies and unclear goals of the redistribution programme, which has potentially resulted in the underutilisation of expropriation. In light of this gap and the limited number of expropriations which have taken place for redistribution purposes, this thesis investigates potential hurdles and hindrances contributing to the underutilisation of expropriation. The thesis examines potential obstacles arising from the contextual understanding of expropriation in the redistribution framework, the administrative law considerations applicable to expropriation in redistribution, and the compensation requirement as it applies to expropriations currently. This investigation makes use of an integrated timeline of expropriation and redistribution developments, the legitimate justification of expropriation and a comparison between market-led land acquisition and compensation for expropriation. Thus, this thesis concludes by highlighting many, though not all, of the potential issues that hinder the utilisation of expropriation in redistribution.