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Land And Property [2023] ZALCC 42

Mabuza obo Mabuza Family Descendants v Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development and Others (LCC125/2020)

Mabuza obo Mabuza Family Descendants v Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development and Others (LCC125/2020) [2023] ZALCC 42 (13 December 2023)

Court
Land Claims Court
Case number
LCC125/2020
Judges
Meer, Kgoele, A Andrews

The court found that the claimants, specifically Alpheus Mabuza and Simon Nutsi Sycho Mabuza as direct descendants of Samuel and Masotsha Mabuza, were entitled to restitution of rights in land under section 2(1)(c) of the Restitution of Land Rights Act. The evidence established that dispossession occurred after 1913 due to a broader racial framework and racially discriminatory practices, including forced evictions and the transformation of the land into commercial plantations. However, restoration of the claimed land was not feasible due to its current use, high value, and the risk of substan…

Source excerpt

  • Restitution Of Land Rights Act
  • Labour Tenancy
  • Equitable Redress
  • Feasibility Of Restoration
  • Racially Discriminatory Laws
  • Financial Compensation
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Land And Property [2021] ZASCA 177

Herbert N.O. and Others v Senqu Municipality and Others (742/2020)

Herbert N.O. and Others v Senqu Municipality and Others (742/2020) [2021] ZASCA 177 (17 December 2021)

Court
Supreme Court of Appeal
Case number
742/2020
Judges
Zondi, Van der Merwe, Mokgohloa, Meyer, Weiner

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that section 3(1) of the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act must be interpreted purposively, in light of its legislative history and constitutional context. The Act was enacted to provide restitution to those disadvantaged by apartheid-era laws, particularly Black families whose land rights were reduced to tenuous tenure. The TEBA Property Trust and its predecessors were not disadvantaged by such laws; rather, they benefited from the Native Trust and Land Act and were not precluded from acquiring full title. The Trust's argument based solely on the statutory…

Source excerpt

  • Upgrading Of Land Tenure Rights Act
  • Permission To Occupy
  • Racially Discriminatory Laws
  • Constitutional Property Rights
  • Statutory Interpretation
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Land And Property [2009] ZALCC 11

Desai v Registrar of Deeds, Pietermaritzburg and Others (LCC19/09)

Desai v Registrar of Deeds, Pietermaritzburg and Others (LCC19/09) [2009] ZALCC 11 (19 September 2009)

Court
Land Claims Court
Case number
LCC19/09
Judge
Ncube AJ

The Land Claims Court dismissed an urgent interdict application seeking to stop transfer and development of claimed land pending a restitution claim.

  • Restitution Of Land Rights Act
  • Interim Interdict
  • Forced Sale
  • Just And Equitable Compensation
  • Racially Discriminatory Laws
  • Land-restitution
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Land And Property [2007] ZACC 12

Department of Land Affairs and Others v Goedgelegen Tropical Fruits (Pty) Ltd (CCT69/06)

Department of Land Affairs and Others v Goedgelegen Tropical Fruits (Pty) Ltd (CCT69/06) [2007] ZACC 12; 2007 (10) BCLR 1027 (CC) ; 2007 (6) SA 199 (CC) (6 June 2007)

Court
Constitutional Court
Case number
CCT69/06
Judges
Moseneke, Madala, Mokgoro, Navsa, Ngcobo, Nkabinde, O'Regan, Sachs, Skweyiya, Van der Westhuizen

The Constitutional Court held that the individual applicants were dispossessed of rights in land after 19 June 1913 as a result of a grid of racially discriminatory laws and practices, including the Natives Land Act of 1913, the Native Trust and Land Act of 1936, and the Bantu Laws Amendment Act of 1964. These laws systematically stripped black people of land rights and enabled white farmers to terminate labour tenancies without compensation. The Court found that the causal connection required by the Restitution Act is satisfied if the dispossession was permitted, aided, or encouraged by such…

Source excerpt

  • Restitution Of Land Rights Act
  • Racially Discriminatory Laws
  • Labour Tenancy
  • Constitutional Interpretation
  • Community Land Rights
  • Causation In Restitution
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Constitutional Law [2003] ZACC 18

Alexkor Ltd and Another v Richtersveld Community and Others (CCT19/03)

Alexkor Ltd and Another v Richtersveld Community and Others (CCT19/03) [2003] ZACC 18; 2004 (5) SA 460 (CC); 2003 (12) BCLR 1301 (CC) (14 October 2003)

Court
Constitutional Court
Case number
CCT 19/03
Judges
Chaskalson, Langa, Ackermann, Goldstone, Madala, Mokgoro, Ngcobo, O'Regan, Sachs, Yacoob

The Constitutional Court held that the Richtersveld Community possessed indigenous law ownership of the subject land, including minerals and precious stones, prior to annexation and that such rights survived annexation by the British Crown. The Court found that the Community was dispossessed of its rights after 19 June 1913 as a result of racially discriminatory laws and practices, specifically the Precious Stones Act and related proclamations, which failed to recognise indigenous law ownership and treated the land as state property. The differential treatment between registered owners and in…

Source excerpt

  • Restitution Of Land Rights Act
  • Indigenous Law Land Rights
  • Racially Discriminatory Laws
  • Customary Law Interest
  • Annexation And Sovereignty
  • Mineral Rights
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Land And Property [2001] ZALCC 34

Richtersveld and Others v Alexkor Ltd and Another (LCC151/98)

Richtersveld and Others v Alexkor Ltd and Another (LCC151/98) [2001] ZALCC 34; [2001] 4 All SA 563 (LCC) (6 August 2001)

Court
Land Claims Court
Case number
LCC 151/98
Judges
A Gildenhuys, M Wiechers

Land Claims Court refused a direct-appeal certificate and SCA leave in a Richtersveld restitution matter, finding no reasonable prospect of reversal.

  • Restitution Of Land Rights Act
  • Section 25 Constitution
  • Racially Discriminatory Laws
  • Indigenous Title
  • Development Of Common Law
  • Land-restitution
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Land And Property [1999] ZALCC 6

Minister of Land Affairs of the Republic of South Africa and Another v Slamdien and Others (LCC107/98)

Minister of Land Affairs of the Republic of South Africa and Another v Slamdien and Others (LCC107/98) [1999] ZALCC 6 (10 February 1999)

Court
Land Claims Court
Case number
LCC107/98
Judges
Dodson, Meer

The court held that the sale of the property was not a dispossession caused by a racially discriminatory law or practice, so restitution was barred.

  • Restitution Of Land Rights Act
  • Group Areas Act
  • Causation In Statutory Interpretation
  • Racially Discriminatory Laws
  • Purposive Interpretation
  • Constitutional Property Rights
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About this LexChat collection

South Africa decisions are organised by court, judge, legal area and indexed issue so a practitioner can move from a proposition to a citable authority with the surrounding context intact.

Source links and collection timestamps are retained alongside the indexed records.