The Expropriation Bill goes beyond the ambit of the constitutional property clause and permits nil compensation in certain circumstances, deviating from the compensation-based nature of the Constitution, say Bulelwa Mabasa and Thomas Karberg.
South Africans have recently been presented with the Expropriation Bill B3-2020 ("the Bill"). While it has drawn vociferous criticism from various voices, it is crucial to view the bill in the broader context of the land reform project. In our view, a unified system of expropriation and compensation is to be welcomed, as the compensation mechanisms in the Expropriation Act No. 63 of 1975 ("the 1975 Act") and the Constitution have been inconsistent since the inception of the Constitution.
