Expropriation without compensation would affect the Rule of Law

Author: Gary Moore

Date: 09 May 2018

The Expropriation Act authorises government expropriation of private property for market-value compensation.

The Constitution states that compensation for expropriation must reflect “equitable balance” between the public interest and interests of those affected, having regard to “all relevant circumstances” including the property’s current use, the history of its acquisition and use, market value, any state investment or subsidy in the acquisition or capital improvement of the property, and the expropriation’s purpose.

According to the Constitutional Court, though the Expropriation Act has been the primary instrument for expropriations, the Constitution now applies and compensation must be determined in two stages. A court first establishes the amount payable under the Act, considers if it is just and equitable under the Constitution, and makes any adjustment.

(Read the rest of the article at the Free Market Foundation…)

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Gary Moore

Gary Moore BA LL.B. (Witwatersrand) LL.M. (UC London) is a South African lawyer and Senior Researcher at the Free Market Foundation.

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