South Africa’s Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said Monday that the country’s Land Claims court would be converted into a specialized new court to adjudicate on all matters and not just restitution. The statement was made in a press conference introducing the new Land Court Bill that was approved for submission to the Parliament by the Cabinet last week.

Land reform is a longstanding issue in the country linked to rural development and several socio-economic challenges such as landlessness, poverty and inequality. It has a colonial history due to the Native Land Act 1913, which gave legislative sanction to the dispossession of thousands of black families from their ancestors’ land. The Native Land Act had limited land ownership by black people to 7 percent (later increased to 13 percent), thereby preventing them from buying or occupying land in their country. The apartheid government conducted the mass relocation of black people to poorly planned townships and effectively created a migrant labor system to benefit the colonizers.

Although the Native Land Act was repealed in 1991, issues of restitution, redress and expropriation still remain. The new court will have a permanent judiciary and additional responsibilities to facilitate arbitration and mediation. It will also be required to check whether settlements of grievances give equitable compensation to landowners as per the applicable law. The bill also introduces a Land Appeal Court, which will be a court of record and have jurisdiction equal to that of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Notably, the bill allows for hearsay evidence by families who have to rely on oral history and the existence of elders with knowledge of the description, location and extent of land that their descendants previously occupied. It also allows for expert evidence on historical and anthropological facts relevant to any particular dispute.

Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza also spoke at the press conference and highlighted the Land Court Bill’s potential to bring speedy, cost-effective and just resolutions of claims. She noted that under the old system of the Land Claims Court, some claims lodged as early as 1988 have not yet been resolved. She also hoped the reforms would help to further develop land jurisprudence in the country and reiterated that improving access to land resources will contribute towards nation-building and restoring the dignity of the people.