Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Consultation and consent under the MPRDA and the IPILRA: a legal analysis of the decision-making practices of customary communities in South Africa

Under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA), the State, as custodian of mineral resources, has the authority to grant rights to minerals and permits in favour of applicants that satisfy the requirements of the prescribed application procedures. Applicants for rights...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ntsanwisi, Fezeka
Other Authors: Mostert, Hanri
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Private Law 2022
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613797392318464
access_status_str Open Access
author Ntsanwisi, Fezeka
author2 Mostert, Hanri
author_browse Mostert, Hanri
Ntsanwisi, Fezeka
author_facet Mostert, Hanri
Ntsanwisi, Fezeka
author_sort Ntsanwisi, Fezeka
collection Thesis
description Under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA), the State, as custodian of mineral resources, has the authority to grant rights to minerals and permits in favour of applicants that satisfy the requirements of the prescribed application procedures. Applicants for rights to minerals and permits must consult meaningfully with landowners and lawful occupiers, although the MPRDA itself does not require the latter's prior consent. The Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act 31 of 1996 (IPILRA), by contrast, requires prior consent when persons are deprived of their informal rights to land. In South Africa, communities that occupy land under customary land tenure are recognised as lawful occupiers that have informal rights to land. The occupation of land by customary communities and the applicant's interest to exploit mineral resources creates competing rights and interests between these two parties, namely: a right to consultation and a right of access to land. This minor dissertation aims to analyse the impact that the current statutory formulation of the requirements of consultation and consent has on the informal rights to land held by customary communities. This aim translates into two sub-inquiries: How do the statutorily required processes of consultation and consent embodied in the MPRDA and the IPILRA protect the informal rights to land held by customary communities? Furthermore, do the statutorily required processes of consultation and consent meaningfully engage with the existing decision-making practices of customary communities? These issues are considered in light of the elevated status that customary law enjoys under South African law and the Constitution's aspiration to reform racially discriminatory landholding systems. The dissertation argues that the statutorily required processes of consultation and consent inadequately engage with the existing decision-making practices of customary communities. It offers insight on how engagement with the existing decision-making practices, and with the Free, Prior and Informed Consent principle, can better accommodate and protect the rights and interests of customary communities that are affected by prospecting and mining operations.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/35988
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:41:51.539Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher Private Law
publisherStr Private Law
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/35988 Consultation and consent under the MPRDA and the IPILRA: a legal analysis of the decision-making practices of customary communities in South Africa Ntsanwisi, Fezeka Mostert, Hanri Cramer Richard Henry mineral law Under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA), the State, as custodian of mineral resources, has the authority to grant rights to minerals and permits in favour of applicants that satisfy the requirements of the prescribed application procedures. Applicants for rights to minerals and permits must consult meaningfully with landowners and lawful occupiers, although the MPRDA itself does not require the latter's prior consent. The Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act 31 of 1996 (IPILRA), by contrast, requires prior consent when persons are deprived of their informal rights to land. In South Africa, communities that occupy land under customary land tenure are recognised as lawful occupiers that have informal rights to land. The occupation of land by customary communities and the applicant's interest to exploit mineral resources creates competing rights and interests between these two parties, namely: a right to consultation and a right of access to land. This minor dissertation aims to analyse the impact that the current statutory formulation of the requirements of consultation and consent has on the informal rights to land held by customary communities. This aim translates into two sub-inquiries: How do the statutorily required processes of consultation and consent embodied in the MPRDA and the IPILRA protect the informal rights to land held by customary communities? Furthermore, do the statutorily required processes of consultation and consent meaningfully engage with the existing decision-making practices of customary communities? These issues are considered in light of the elevated status that customary law enjoys under South African law and the Constitution's aspiration to reform racially discriminatory landholding systems. The dissertation argues that the statutorily required processes of consultation and consent inadequately engage with the existing decision-making practices of customary communities. It offers insight on how engagement with the existing decision-making practices, and with the Free, Prior and Informed Consent principle, can better accommodate and protect the rights and interests of customary communities that are affected by prospecting and mining operations. 2022-03-08T07:17:27Z 2022-03-08T07:17:27Z 2021 2022-03-08T07:16:49Z Master Thesis Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35988 eng application/pdf Private Law Faculty of Law
spellingShingle mineral law
Ntsanwisi, Fezeka
Consultation and consent under the MPRDA and the IPILRA: a legal analysis of the decision-making practices of customary communities in South Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Consultation and consent under the MPRDA and the IPILRA: a legal analysis of the decision-making practices of customary communities in South Africa
title_full Consultation and consent under the MPRDA and the IPILRA: a legal analysis of the decision-making practices of customary communities in South Africa
title_fullStr Consultation and consent under the MPRDA and the IPILRA: a legal analysis of the decision-making practices of customary communities in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Consultation and consent under the MPRDA and the IPILRA: a legal analysis of the decision-making practices of customary communities in South Africa
title_short Consultation and consent under the MPRDA and the IPILRA: a legal analysis of the decision-making practices of customary communities in South Africa
title_sort consultation and consent under the mprda and the ipilra a legal analysis of the decision making practices of customary communities in south africa
topic mineral law
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35988
work_keys_str_mv AT ntsanwisifezeka consultationandconsentunderthemprdaandtheipilraalegalanalysisofthedecisionmakingpracticesofcustomarycommunitiesinsouthafrica