AfriForum submits comments on land expropriation at Parliament
16 January 2020
AfriForum today submitted commentary by hand at Parliament against the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill (Section 25 amendment). This bill intends on amending Section 25 of the Constitution (which deals with property rights) to enable the expropriation of private property without compensation. The closing date for the submission of commentary is 31 January 2020.
AfriForum’s commentary was drafted by Adv. Mark Oppenheimer, an expert in constitutional law and member of the Johannesburg Bar Council.
The ad hoc committee to initiate and introduce legislation amending Section 25 of the Constitution has been tasked with handling the process of implementing the Amendment Bill. AfriForum, in its submission, points out that the proposed amendment exceeds the scope of the recommendations made by the committee and is therefore unlawful. “The Committee invited the public to make submissions regarding the expropriation of land without compensation and the recommendations by the committee also particularly referred to land, while the amendment goes beyond this by referring not only to land, but also to improvements on land,” says Ernst Roets, Head of Policy and Action at AfriForum.
Considering that Section 39(1)(b) of the Constitution requires that when interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court, tribunal or forum must consider international law, AfriForum contends that the amendment would also result in a violation of international law. The Resolution on Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources 1803 (XVII) of 1962 (of the United Nations, of which South Africa is a founding member and has been since 1945), as well as Section 2(2)(c) of The Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States Resolution 3281 (XXIX) of 1974 state that owners should be paid the appropriate compensation if a state expropriates their property.