By Siyabonga Mkhwanazi 
Aug 7, 2021
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The Land Court Bill will be up for public hearings in the next few weeks with members of the national legislature to return to conduct their business.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola tabled the bill early this year to ramp up the land reform programme.
There has been a delay in processing land claims over the years with the backlog of thousands of cases.
The bill aims to do away with the Land Claims Court and establish the Land Court and the Appeal Court where land claims will be heard by permanent judges.
The programme committee heard this week that public hearings on the Land Court Bill will start after members of Parliament return.
The Land Court would allow for the appointment of full-time judges unlike in the Land Claims Court where only the judge president was a permanent judge.
This led to the backlog in cases.
The country has been dealing with land reform in various laws including the restitution of land rights.
The president will appoint the judge president and deputy judge president of the Land Court.
President Cyril Ramaphosa set up an advisory panel on land reform to speed up this programme.
Political Bureau