The Land Claims Court has ruled that market value is not the sole determinant for compensation when land was being expropriated for restitution purposes, says a Business Day report. Although the judgment remained within the boundaries of the Constitutional Court’s and Land Claims Court’s earlier approach to expropriation, it emphasised that while market value should be considered, this was not the only factor. Acting Judge Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said that the Constitutional Court and Land Claims Court had adopted a two-stage approach to determine just and equitable compensation: first to determine the market value; then to consider the other factors. However, while this approach of considering multiple factors had been used by a number of courts, in some cases, market value had played ‘a disproporti onately significant role’, the acting judge said. ‘In my view, the purpose of expropriation should be given due weight. The recognition of labour tenants’ rights ... is as important as the market value of the property,’ said Ngcukaitobi. He noted in the case at hand the current owners had bought the farm for just R400 000 in 1999 – knowing that it was the subject of a restitution claim – and now wanted to sell just a portion, 45 hectares, for more than R4m. 'The object is not to reward property speculators. It is to serve the public interest,' he said when reducing the amount by R1.5m

Full Business Day report

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