Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa -  http://www.uovs.ac.za/apps/law/appeal/

27 March 2007
85/06
Moodley v Nedcor [2007] SCA 27 (RSA)
Jurisdiction - In an action upon a debt secured by a mortgage over immovable property, the fact that the property is situated in the territory over which a high court exercises jurisdiction constitutes a jurisdictional connecting factor which confers jurisdiction on the court
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26 March 2007
253/06
City of Johannesburg v Rand Properties (Pty) Ltd 2007 SCA 25 (RSA)
National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977 s 12 – Dangerous building – Access to housing – s 26 of the Constitution – Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 – interaction

Joburg evictions to continue - 27 March
A landmark decision in the Supreme Court of Appeal has ensured that the City of Johannesburg will continue with evictions while providing temporary accommodation to some of the almost 70 000 poor who occupy "bad" buildings in the inner city. The case, which has implications for other cities, including Pretoria, stems from an attempt by Johannesburg to evict about 300 residents from dilapidated buildings in the inner city. - IOL website

Court sides with Jo'burg on evictions - 26 March
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has upheld an appeal by the City of Johannesburg, which wants to remove about 300 people from buildings in its inner city due to health reasons and other dangers. The SCA held that the residents of two of the buildings had one month to vacate the buildings, otherwise the sheriff would be permitted to remove all persons from the properties and perform "such steps as may be necessary" to prevent the reoccupation of the buildings. The court also ordered that the police should assist the sheriff if necessary. - Mail & Guardian website
Keyphrase :
National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act

Cape Provincial Division - http://law.sun.ac.za/cgi-bin/list.php

8 March 2007
9708/2004
Enrico Pietro Manna v Jane Mary Lotter
This is an application to enforce specific performance of an alleged deed of sale entered into between the applicant and the first respondent during November 2003 in respect of erf 3649 Sedgefield. The seller is a peregrinus to the Republic. The seller states that the deed of sale was void for two reasons : (a) she had accepted the offer only after it had lapsed ; and (b) the suspensive condition regarding the buyer's obtaining bond finance for the transaction had not been fulfilled. In addition, the seller argued in limine that, in the absence of an attachment of property ad confirmandam jurisdictionem, this court does not have jurisdiction to hear this matter in view of her status as a peregrinus

1 March 2007
A332/2006
Joles Eiendom (Pty) Ltd v Johan Bloem Kruger and Another
This appeal concerns a common passage forming the boundary between two adjoining properties, erven 548 and 3765, situated in Dorp Street, Stellenbosch. In terms of a servitude registered against the title deeds of the two properties, each party has a reciprocal right of 'common use' of the passage. In this litigation, the plaintiff claimed that the defendant's right of servitude over the plaintiff's half of the passage had lapsed through non-use for more than 30 years. He claimed, furthermore, that he (the plaintiff) had acquired ownership through acquisitive prescription of the defendant's half of the passage, as well as of a further part of the passage, referred to at the trial as 'the extended passage'

South Africa

Municipal Management and Procedure

Survey of municipal service needs on farms - 27 March
The Eden district municipality is conducting a survey to determine the level of basic municipal services on farms in the district. Young people, previously trained by the district municipality and employed in previous surveys, were commissioned for this work. When completed the survey, consisting of questionnaires, will be sent to Stellenbosch University where analysts will take about two months to interpret the statistics. A technical services profile will be produced, which can be used by regional and local town planners, engineers and environmental officials. - The Herald Online website

Property

Property heading for meltdown? - 27 March
Is the long-awaited drop in house prices finally on the horizon? The question is popping up increasingly amid growing concerns of mounting mortgage debt (in South Africa and overseas) and house prices that some believe have increased too far too fast. The big worry is that SA homeowners, like many of their US counterparts, could soon find themselves in the dreaded negative equity situation - when your mortgage debt exceeds the market value of your house. - Fin24 website

Poverty specialists issue 2010 warning - 27 March
There are fears South Africa could follow the example of other international cities by "demolishing the livelihoods of the poor" when it hosts the Fifa 2010 World Cup. This contentious remark was made by poverty specialists at the Living on the Margins international conference held at Spier in the Western Cape yesterday. Deborah Potts of King’s College, London said a disconcerting issue was when big events were held and authorities "willy nilly" demolished informal settlements and destroyed the livelihoods of the poor. - The Citizen website

Pniel Farm 281

Settle land case outside of court : Judge - 27 March
A Kimberley High Court judge has asked the regional Land Claims Commission and the Pniel Community Property Association (CPA) to try to settle their dispute outside of court, the Volksblad newspaper reported on Tuesday. The report said the court would hear argument in the matter if no settlement was reached by Tuesday morning. But, by early Tuesday morning, it was still not clear whether a settlement had been reached during all-night negotiations. The judge's instruction on Monday followed after the regional land claims commissioner for the Free State and Northern Cape brought an application to court to place the CPA under its administration. The CPA is opposing the matter. The matter relates to the Pniel Estate, near Barkly West, which earlier this month became the first farm to be expropriated by the government. - IOL website 

Namibia

Namibia gives San long-lost land near Etosha - 24 March
Namibia has purchased two commercial farms near the Etosha National Park on behalf of a tribe of San who were evicted from their ancestral lands inside the famed game reserve 100 years ago, a minister said. The government of the south-western African nation also plans to buy the Hai//om San tribe an additional four farms bordering Etosha, Namibian Environment and Tourism Minister Willem Konjore told reporters in the capital Windhoek on Thursday. Etosha is Namibia's premier tourist destination and the positions of the two farms could enable the tribe to cash in on overseas visitors. The land grants come after more than a decade of protests by San tribesmen in Namibia, who were driven off their lands in 1907 by colonial ruler Germany to make way for the Etosha game park, which covers an area of 22 000 square kilometres. - Mail & Guardian website
Keyphrases :
Land claims
Property

Zimbabwe

Court reserves judgment in farmers' case - 24 March
The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in the case in which two Chegutu commercial farmers are challenging the validity of a certain section of the Constitution which bars those whose land was acquired under the land reform programme to sue Government. Under the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 17, the courts are also barred from hearing land cases, making it impossible for the farmers to challenge the acquisition of their farms in court. - allAfrica website

Venezuela

Venezuela steps up land seizures - 26 March
Venezuela's government has seized more than 330 000 hectares (815 450 acres) of land to redistribute them under an agrarian reform programme. President Hugo Chavez said 16 farms - which he described as large and unproductive - had been expropriated. His government was moving towards a "collective property" policy as part of its "drive towards socialism", he said. Critics say land reform has failed so far to revive the agricultural sector and end dependence on food imports. - BBC News website