Alexkor v Richtersveld Community
Encyclopedia
Alexkor v Richtersveld Community, decided by the Constitutional Court
in 2001
, is an important case in South African law, with a particular bearing on the law of property and the use of customary law.
The Richtersveld
community brought a claim for the restoration of its ancestral land in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, a statutory mechanism giving effect to the government's constitutionally-mandated land-reform and -restitution programme. The appellant in this case was the mining
corporation Alexkor, which had an interest in the diamond
iferous parts of the Richtersveld area. An important aspect of the case was the community's assertion that it used the land according to its indigenous
customs, an assertion upheld in both the Supreme Court of Appeal
(SCA) and the Constitutional Court, and on the basis whereof the land was returned to the community.
In defining and determining what is entailed by customary-law ownership of land, the SCA equated it with common-law ownership, while the Constitutional Court found that its content should be ascertained by studying the customs and uses of the community. It was thus decided that the Richtersveld community's claim to the land incorporated a claim to the mineral
s in the land, and that the community's entitlement to both the land and the minerals should be acknowledged and restored. Incorporated in this was the right of the community to claim compensation
for past exploitation of the land by Alexkor and the state. The court's reasoning shows "how the redefinition of the sources of South African property law affects the protection offered to relationships with land."
Constitutional Court of South Africa
The Constitutional Court of South Africa was established in 1994 by South Africa's first democratic constitution: the Interim Constitution of 1993. In terms of the 1996 Constitution the Constitutional Court established in 1994 continues to hold office. The court began its first sessions in February...
in 2001
2001 in South Africa
-March:* 4 March – Ian Syster wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:13:30 in Durban.* 18 March – The Department of Health declines the offer of a large donation of HIV test kits made by Guardian Scientific Africa Incorporated-April:...
, is an important case in South African law, with a particular bearing on the law of property and the use of customary law.
The Richtersveld
Richtersveld
The Richtersveld is a mountainous desert landscape characterised by rugged kloofs and high mountains, situated in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. It is full of changing scenery from flat sandy plains, to craggy sharp mountains of volcanic rock and the lushness of the Orange River, which...
community brought a claim for the restoration of its ancestral land in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, a statutory mechanism giving effect to the government's constitutionally-mandated land-reform and -restitution programme. The appellant in this case was the mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
corporation Alexkor, which had an interest in the diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
iferous parts of the Richtersveld area. An important aspect of the case was the community's assertion that it used the land according to its indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
customs, an assertion upheld in both the Supreme Court of Appeal
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
The Supreme Court of Appeal is an appellate court in South Africa; it is the highest appeal court except in constitutional matters, which are ultimately decided by the Constitutional Court...
(SCA) and the Constitutional Court, and on the basis whereof the land was returned to the community.
In defining and determining what is entailed by customary-law ownership of land, the SCA equated it with common-law ownership, while the Constitutional Court found that its content should be ascertained by studying the customs and uses of the community. It was thus decided that the Richtersveld community's claim to the land incorporated a claim to the mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
s in the land, and that the community's entitlement to both the land and the minerals should be acknowledged and restored. Incorporated in this was the right of the community to claim compensation
Compensation
Compensation can refer to:*Financial compensation, various meanings*Compensation , various advantages a player has in exchange for a disadvantage*Compensation *Compensation , by Ralph Waldo Emerson...
for past exploitation of the land by Alexkor and the state. The court's reasoning shows "how the redefinition of the sources of South African property law affects the protection offered to relationships with land."
See also
- Property lawProperty lawProperty law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
- Customary law
- South African property lawSouth African property lawSouth African property law regulates the "rights of people in or over certain objects or things." It is concerned, in other words, with a person's ability to undertake certain actions with certain kinds of objects in accordance with South African law....
- Customary law in South AfricaCustomary law in South AfricaSouth African customary law refers to that usually uncodified legal system developed and practiced by the indigenous communities of South Africa...
- Aboriginal titleAboriginal titleAboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism...