Suchergebnisse

Banning orders have been issued since 1951 in terms o f the Internal Security Act 44 of 1950. Currently 109 banning orders are in force. They provide for the infringement of "inter alia" the rights to choose one's own company, place of work and type of occupation, social contact is either very limited or non-existent. Banning orders have been justified in the light ofthe exciting dangers to the security of the slate, to the upholding of law and order and the threat of Communism. The Rabie Commission into Security Legislation has recommended that the present system bemaintained. In this paper the contents of banning orders are discussed with reference to juridical concepts such as the rule of law, human rights and the principles of natural justice. Banning orders are analyzed in terms of the "imago Dei"-concept and of what the Christian attitude to human rights should be. The exclusion of the common law revisionary powers of the Supreme Court and the absence of independent control are discussed. The recommendations of the Rabie Commission are analyzed and critized. One has to conclude that banning orders form a radical departure from the well-established principle that everyone is deemed innocent until his guilt has been adequately proved in an independent court o f law. This drastic deviation has not been remedied by the proposed Revision Committee whose independence and obligation to apply the rules o f natural justice are not absolute.

From text: This article deals with the decision-making powers of different spheres of government, in terms of various pieces of legislation, with regard to the development of agricultural land and, more specifically, the subdivision or rezoning of such land.

In terms of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970, the (national) Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has to authorise, in writing, every application for the subdivision of agricultural land. The following proviso was added to the definition of 'agricultural land' in the Act in 1995: "Provided that land situated in the area of jurisdiction of a transitional council as defined in section 1 of the Local Government Transition Act, 1993 (Act No. 209 of 1993), which immediately prior to the first election of the members of such transitional council was classified as agricultural land, shall remain classified as such." The question that arose in this case was whether the proviso only existed during the lifetime of transitional councils. An affirmative answer to the above question would result in the de facto and de jure implicit termination (and disappearance) of agricultural land as a category in South African law and, consequently, of the Minister's power to approve any subdivision of agricultural land. A negative answer would imply that agricultural land remains as a category, that the provisions of SALA need to be complied with, and that the Minister's written approval needs to be obtained for each and every application for subdivision of agricultural land. This article contends that the Constitutional Court was correct in finding that the proviso (and the Act) is still applicable today.

The Constitutional Court in Maccsand (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town (CCT 103/11) 2012 ZACC 7 decided that the granting of mining rights or mining permits by the Minister of Mineral Resources in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 does not obviate the obligation on an applicant to obtain authorisations in terms of other legislation that deals with functional domains other than minerals, mining and prospecting. This applies to all other legislation, irrespective of whether the responsible administrator of such other legislation is in the national, provincial or local sphere of government. The effect of the decision is that planning and other authorities which derive their statutory mandate and powers from other legislation retain all their powers as regards planning and rezoning, for instance. In addition, the Minister of Mineral Resources cannot make a decision on behalf of, or for, such functionaries. The judgement also clarified the question of whether or not a national Act can supersede provincial legislation dealing with a distinctly different functional domain. In principle, the decision also indicates that the fact that a range of authorisations are required in terms of separate statutory instruments (each with its own functional domain and administered by its own functionary) does not necessarily amount to conflicts between these instruments. An owner of land may now insist that his land may not be used for mining purposes if it is not zoned for such purposes. It is submitted that, in order to provide certainty to land owners, developers and government functionaries, and to promote investor confidence (especially in the mining sector), an intergovernmental system for the consideration of applications by the functionaries responsible for the separate statutory instruments needs to be developed as a high priority.

This article provides an overview of some developments, internationally, regionally and in the SADC, in relation to development, that may be expected to influence the South African government's response to the development needs of the people in the country. An overview is provided of the somewhat haphazard way in which the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 refers to the need for and objective of development (including rural development) in the country. Through their explanatory outline of three distinct phases in South African rural development law and policy: 1994–2000 (the Reconstruction and Development Programme and related documents and their implementation); 2000–April 2009 (the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy and its implementation) and April 2009+ (the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme and related documents), the authors review some of the historical strengths and future prospects related to rural development in South Africa. Based on an assessment of historical trends, a number of recommendations are made for government's way forward in the implementation of the constitutional objectives, law and policy relevant to rural development in the country.