Johnathan Paoli
THE Presidency announced on Wednesday that President Cyril Ramaphosa has recently assented to the Land Court Act which aims to accelerate the country’s land reform programme as well as resolve backlogs and disputes around land claims.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya was briefing the media on the outcomes of the President’s recent and ongoing engagement on international platforms, as well as assenting to legislation among other topics.
The Land Court bill will allow for the establishment of a specialist and permanent Land Court as well as a Land Court of Appeal, replacing the previous temporary Land Claims Court, Magwenya said.
In addition, the bill makes provision for the administration and judicial function of the Land Court and Land Court of Appeal and further provides for budgetary matters, exclusive jurisdiction, mediation and arbitration procedures, and amends certain laws relating to the adjudication of land matters by other courts.
The Land Court will have exclusive jurisdiction and power in respect of a number of aspects which have a bearing on land more specifically on restitution claims arising from the Restitution Act.
The Presidency said the court will deal with matters arising from the application of the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act and shares jurisdiction with magistrates’ courts in respect of matters arising from the application of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA), resolving the challenges that were experienced under these acts such as backlogs in land claims and dispute resolution mechanisms.
In addition, the Act makes provision for the administration and judicial functions of the Land Court and for mediation procedures.
Cabinet had approved the Bill for tabling in parliament back in February 2021, with the National Assembly passing the bill and sending it to the NCOP for concurrence in September 2022.
Earlier this year in May, NCOP amended the bill and returned it to the National Assembly for concurrence.
Magwenya said that this act is fundamental in bringing the country one step closer to resolving land and land rights issues and will contribute immensely to the implementation of the Land Reform Programme.
The presidential assent follows a contentious journey with the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture endorsing a proposed policy shift towards using the provisions of the Constitution to implement land expropriation without compensation back in 2019.
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