Western Cape evictions issue back in court
The Western Cape Government will make submissions today in the case brought by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the EFF to strike down the existing legal right of landowners to protect property from unlawful occupation attempts without a court order.
The case involves the city’s controversial eviction of Bulelani Qolani from his Khayelitsha shack in June last year, reports the Cape Argus.
The court is 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.
Lawyers for the province, which joined forces with the city and police in the case, will argue that there is no need to amend the common law of counter-spoliation, as sought by HRC and the EFF.
Their argument is that counter-spoliation exists as a constitutional means for landowners to prevent unlawful land invasions without first having to approach a court to do so.
The HRC and EFF argue that a court order should first be obtained before a landowner can act to stop an invasion of property in real-time.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
