The rights of evicted people and legitimate means to repel land invasions dominated the recommencing of an application by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the EFF against the City of Cape Town in the Western Cape High Court.

A Cape Argus report says the court is once again hearing the arguments on the principle of counter-spoliation following the inability of the two previous judges to reach consensus in the matter last year.

In their application, the HRC and the EFF want counter-spoliation to be declared illegal, the city’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit to be declared unlawful and for landowners – in this case the city – to first obtain court orders before evicting people occupying their land.

The case involves the city’s eviction of Bulelani Qolani from his Khayelitsha shack in June last year and is being heard by three new judges – Vincent Saldanha, Mokgoatji Dolamo and Hayley Maud Slingers.

The new judges called on the parties to file updated heads of arguments, and requested the participation of national government in the hearing which was slotted for two days.

The judges and Advocate Norman Arendse SC – appearing for the HRC under instruction of the Legal Resource Council – spent almost six hours discussing the common law right of counter-spoliation.

Arendse’s main argument was that demolition of structures on unoccupied land should only be supervised by the courts as provided for in the Constitution.

Full Cape Argus report (subscription needed)