Jakobus Petrus Marais N.O. and Others v Jacques Daniels and Others and Related Matters

The matter arose from eight separate eviction proceedings instituted under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (ESTA). Following the coming into force of the Extension of Security of Tenure Amendment Act 2 of 2018 on 1 April 2024, which introduced mandatory mediation requirements into sections 10(1) and 11(2) of ESTA, uncertainty arose when the Land Court Act 6 of 2023 commenced shortly thereafter. The Land Court Act amended several provisions of ESTA, including section 11, leading landowners to contend that the mediation requirement in section 11(2) had been repealed. The Full Court of the Land Court was constituted to determine, as separated legal issues, whether the mediation amendments remained operative, whether mediation was mandatory, whether good faith settlement efforts amounted to mediation, and whether the new mediation requirements applied to proceedings already pending before 1 April 2024.

The Court issued declaratory orders confirming that (1) the Land Court Act did not repeal the mediation amendment to section 11(2) of ESTA; (2) the mediation requirements in sections 10(1)(e) and 11(2)(b) are mandatory; (3) good faith settlement efforts or meaningful engagement do not constitute mediation; and (4) the mediation requirements do not apply to eviction proceedings instituted and pending before 1 April 2024. No order as to costs was made.

This judgment is the first authoritative interpretation of the interaction between the ESTA Amendment Act 2 of 2018 and the Land Court Act 6 of 2023. It confirms mediation as a central, mandatory component of ESTA eviction proceedings, reinforcing the Constitution’s commitment to tenure security and restorative land justice. The decision provides crucial legal certainty for landowners, occupiers, courts, and practitioners, and underscores the transformative and remedial purpose of ESTA within South Africa’s land reform framework.