DVB Behuising (Pty) Ltd v North West Provincial Government and Another

The case concerned the constitutionality of section 6 of the North West Local Government Laws Amendment Act 7 of 1998, which purported to repeal Proclamation R293 of 1962—an apartheid-era law regulating African townships and land tenure. DVB Behuising (Pty) Ltd, a private property company, challenged the repeal after purchasers of houses it had sold in townships established under the Proclamation were unable to register deeds of grant, allegedly preventing them from securing mortgage finance. The Bophuthatswana High Court declared the repeal unconstitutional, holding that the North West provincial legislature lacked competence to repeal key chapters of the Proclamation dealing with land tenure and deeds registration. That declaration was referred to the Constitutional Court for confirmation under section 172(2)(a) of the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court confirmed the High Court’s order declaring section 6 of the North West Local Government Laws Amendment Act 7 of 1998 unconstitutional to the extent that it purported to repeal chapters of Proclamation R293 of 1962 falling outside provincial legislative competence. No order as to costs was made.

The case is significant for clarifying the constitutional limits of provincial legislative power, particularly in relation to pre-1994 legislation inherited from the apartheid and homeland systems. It established an authoritative framework for determining when old-order legislation becomes provincial legislation and reinforced the national competence over land tenure and deeds registration. The judgment also contributes to South African constitutional jurisprudence on cooperative government and transitional constitutional arrangements.