ATC220920: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on the Land Court Bill [B 11 - 2021] (National Assembly – section 75), dated 20 September 2022

Justice and Correctional Services

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on the Land Court Bill [B 11 - 2021] (National Assembly – section 75), dated 20 September 2022

 

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, having considered the Land Court Bill [B 11 - 2021] (National Assembly – section 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) as a section 75 Bill, reports the Bill with amendments [B11A-2021]:

 

The Committee reports further:

 

1. The Land Court Bill [B11 – 2021] was introduced on 20 May 2021 and was referred to the Committee for consideration and report.
    
2. Section 22(1) of the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994 (“the Restitution Act”), establishes a Land Claims Court with exclusive jurisdiction in respect of restitution claims arising from the Act. It also has exclusive jurisdiction to deal with matters arising from the application of the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act 3 of 1996 and it shares jurisdiction with the magistrates’ courts in respect of matters arising from the application of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997.
    
3. However, the Restitution Act never envisaged a permanent court with permanent judges. Instead the Land Claims Court was established as a dedicated court with a limited lifespan to deal with claims for restitution of land. However, the restitution process became protracted and is still not completed. A lack of permanency of judges presiding over matters before the Court and the absence of a permanent seat has contributed to the slow processing of and backlogs in land restitution claims to the dissatisfaction of land claimants.
    
4. Briefly, the Bill proposes to establish a specialist Land Court with its judgement appealable to the full bench of that Court to deal with all land-related matters as regulated by legislation. This will facilitate the speedy disposal of cases and contribute towards the development of appropriate jurisprudence in relation to land matters.
    
5. Notably, the Land Court is established as a court of law and equity in respect of the Restitution Act and has the status of a High Court that has the authority, inherent powers and standing, in relation to matters under its jurisdiction.
    
6. The Bill also proposes a cheaper and speedier alternative dispute resolution mechanism in the form of mediation.
    
7. In addition, the Bill makes provision for future legislation (new or amending legislation) to confer jurisdiction on the Land Court as and when the need arises.

 

 

Report for consideration