A critical analysis of the definition of “property” in clause 1 of the expropriation bill b4d – 2015.

Abstract

Property remains a contentious issue in the new South Africa due to the unequal distribution of wealth. At the heart of this emotive issue is the question of land reform - owing to the history of racially based land dispossession. Politicians have been discussing using expropriation as a method to transform land ownership and redress past injustices. The Expropriation Bill has been introduced in this context with the aim to assist the state in its land reform policies. The Bill contains a definition of property (which is capable of expropriation) that simply directs the reader to Section 25 of the Constitution, which itself has no express or limited definition of property. The logical question which faces scholars, politicians, foreign investors and the man-on-the-street therefore is, “What constitutes property for the purpose of section 1 of the 2015 Expropriation Bill?”