AfriForum’s case against parliament’s land expropriation report dismissed

An application by AfriForum to interdict parliament from adopting a report recommending amending the Constitution to provide explicitly for land expropriation without compensation was dismissed on Friday morning in the High Court in Cape Town on the basis that it is not urgent.

The parliamentary debate will therefore be able to continue.

It was not an attack on land reform, but an attempt to ensure a lawful process, the High Court in Cape Town heard on Thursday from parliament in its response.

Etienne Labuschagne, for AfriForum, argued the case hinged on whether there was meaningful public participation in the process undertaken by parliament’s constitutional review committee (CRC) before it adopted the report and sent it to the National Assembly, which is due to debate and vote on the report next week.

“My clients assert a constitutional right to meaningful participation in proceedings before the constitutional review committee,” said Labuschagne.

He argued parliament unlawfully delegated its powers of analysing the hundreds of thousands of submissions received from the public to an external service provider.

The organisation wanted the court to interdict the National Assembly from adopting the report until such time as the court makes a final determination on the legality of the process leading up to its approval by MPs in the CRC.

The second part of AfriForum’s application, which wants the public participation process reviewed, will still be heard later in court.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.