The Reform of South African Land Law in its Roman-Dutch Context - New Wine?

The root and branch reform of South African land tenure dates from the De Klerk Government's White Paper put before Parliament in March 1991 but the fundamental basis of the reform process might be seen as the longstanding agenda of the ANC Government in waiting. This chapter is concerned with the extent to which the reforms represent a departure from the relevant South African Roman-Dutch based common law. The first part seeks to identify the most significant features of that system; the second, and main part of the paper, aims to determine the priorities and outstanding features of the developing land law of the new South Africa. The final part attempts a succinct overall analysis of the nature and scope of the changes. The concept of "initial ownership" is examined as an aspect of tenure reform legislation.