n Stellenbosch Law Review = Stellenbosch Regstydskrif - Land Reform, J.M. Pienaar : book review

Abstract

Land reform has been a part of the South African government's strategy since the late 1980s when the first tentative steps were made to address the extreme inequities and segregation in relation to land. The 1991 White Paper on Land Reform initiated some important policy proposals around land reform and called for the repeal of some of the most notorious discriminatory legislation. The issues around property that were thrashed out during the Codesa negotiations led to the incorporation of land restitution provisions in the interim Constitution of 1993 and resulted in a carefully crafted property clause in the 1996 Constitution. The second part of this property clause authorises state action to promote land and related reforms. Given its scope, land reform has developed into a distinct area of the law, with its own unique, comprehensive, and at times confusing set of policies and legislation. Professor Juanita Pienaar has now systematised this very extensive material in a seminal publication. Land Reform is the fifth title in Juta's Property Law Library Series. As such, its point of departure is a property law one, but it links all the relevant constitutional and human rights considerations.