Challenges in land reform: a judicial perspective

CHALLENGES IN LAND REFORM: A JUDICIAL PERSPECTIVE

Judge Susannah Cowen, Gauteng High Court and Land Court

Monday 26 January  9.15 am  COURSE FEES R115; Staff and students R58

South Africa’s spatial geography is still markedly shaped by our colonial and apartheid history, both in urban and rural areas. Section 25 of the Constitution contemplates a series of legislative interventions to remedy the injustices of the past relating to restitution for past racially discriminatory laws and practices, securing insecure tenure and facilitating equitable access to land. The legislature has recently recognised that the pace of change has been too slow and must be accelerated, culminating in the Land Court Act 2023.

This lecture will explore some of the challenges in land reform from a judicial perspective. It will do so by seeking to understand common themes and patterns in litigation that come to the Land Court in these areas. For example, in recent years there has been a high prevalence of eviction cases, emanating especially from the Western Cape, and cases concerning removal of cattle from farms. Conversely there is a low prevalence of cases dealing with restitution and awards of land to labour tenants. What do these, and other patterns, say about the state of land reform in South Africa and the role courts play under the Constitution? Consideration will be given to the opportunities now presented by the new Land Court Act to achieve the transformative vision of the Constitution, while balancing competing rights and interests.

Recommended reading

Motlanthe Report: High Level Panel on the Assessment of Key Legislation and the Acceleration of Fundamental Change: Chapter 3.

Mwelase v Director-General for the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development (2009) ZACC 30 (accessible on SAFLII).

TO BOOK: https://www.webtickets.co.za/performance.aspx?itemid=1575326387

Susannah Cowen is the Deputy Judge President of the Land Court and a Judge of the Gauteng High Court. Before her elevation to the Bench in January 2022, she practised as an advocate over 20 years in both Cape Town and Johannesburg. She worked for a period as counsel in the Constitutional Litigation Unit of the Legal Resources Centre focusing on rural land work. She was conferred the status of senior counsel in 2018. In 2000, she was a law researcher to the late Chief Justice Chaskalson. She was instrumental in founding the Parliamentary Monitoring Group while working for the erstwhile Human Rights Committee. She holds three degrees: a BA and LLB from the University of Cape Town and a BCL from the University of Oxford.