The Land Court Bill ( LCB ) was gazetted on 23 April , 2021 and is currently before Parliament . It was designed to accelerate the country ’ s land reform programme and resolve backlogs and disputes around land claims . The new bill seeks to give effect to recommendations of the 2019 Report by the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture .
Aims The official aims of the Bill are to :
• Provide for the establishment of a Land Court and a Land Court of Appeal
• Make provision for the administration of the courts and the judicial functions of the courts
• Make provision for administrative and budgetary matters relating to the courts
• Provide the courts with exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate disputes arising from certain Acts of Parliament
• Provide for referral by Court for mediation or arbitration in respect of certain matters
• Amend certain laws relating to the adjudication of land matters by courts
• Provide for matters connected therewith
Rationale Behind the Bill “ The Bill seeks to address the systemic hurdles that make it difficult for land claimants to obtain land restitution ,” said Justice and Correctional Services minister Ronald Lamola in an explanatory statement . “ It creates a policy framework to ensure that land reform is guided by sound legal and economic principles and contributes to the country ’ s investment objectives and job creation initiatives ,” he said . “ This Bill gives effect to the mandate of the sixth administration , namely , to ensure our approach to land reform is based on three elements — increased security of tenure , land restitution and land redistribution .
Legislative Powers Evidence The Bill acknowledges cultural traditions of oral and family records . According to Lamola , “ The Bill allows for hearsay evidence for most families , who have to rely on oral history and the existence of elders with knowledge of description , location , and extent of land which their descendants previously occupied .” The Bill also allows for expert evidence regarding historical and anthropological facts relevant to any particular land claim .
Alternative Dispute Resolution An important innovation is the Bill ’ s emphasis on alternative dispute resolution . For instance , one clause will empower the Judge President to elect to resolve a case via mediation or arbitration and not in open court . Judges will also be empowered to suspend a hearing at any time and refer a case to mediation or arbitration if it is deemed appropriate . This will facilitate a speedier and most costeffective alternative for case resolution , avoiding the usual court process , which tends to be costly and adversarial .
However , the Judge President can decide that a case should come before the court if the outcome of the case could contribute to the development of the law .
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine MARCH 2022 61