The Principles of the Law of Property in South Africa provides a rich source of expertise and a lively and approachable introduction to the principles of property law. --

The first coherent analysis of the topic of possession from a comparative and historical legal perspective. The volume comprises contributions from some very distinguished scholars from the civilian tradition (Germany, Italy) as well as the common law (England) and mixed legal systems (Quebec, Scotland, South Africa).

One: Research Question, Terminology and Methodology.- 1: Introduction.- 1. An Introduction to the Basic Problems.- 2. Objectives of Research.- 2.1. Motivation.- 2.2. Legal Comparison.- 2.3. Delimitation.- 3. Practical Significance of Research.- 4. Inquiry Outline.- 2: Terminology.- 1. Possible Terminological Difficulties.- 2. Ownership and Property.- 2.1. Ideological Concept.- 2.2. Legal Concept.- 2.2.1. Private Law Terminology.- 2.2.2. Terminology of the Constitution.- 2.2.3. Terminology of Reform.- 2.2.4. Polarisation of the Private Law Property and Constitutional Property.- 3. Public Interest, Common Weal and Public Purposes.- 3.1. Public Interest and Common Weal in the Constitutional Context.- 3.2. Public Interest, Public Purposes and the Property Clauses.- 3.2.1. Public Interest, Public Purposes and Expropriation.- 3.2.2. Public Interest, Public Purposes and Land Reform.- 4. The Relationship between Property and Public Interest.- 3: Legal Comparison and the Course of Inquiry.- 1. Legal Comparison as Method of Analysis.- 2. Comparative Analysis as Constitutional Directive.- 3. Possibilities for Legal Comparison.- 4. Similarities in the German and South African Property Orders.- 4.1. Bases of the Legal Systems and their Material Law.- 4.2. Corresponding Legal Problems.- 4.3. Comparable Legal Methods.- 4.4. Constitutional Principles.- 5. Differences between the German and South African Systems of Property Law.- 5.1. Drafting Circumstances.- 5.2. Wording of South African and German Property Clauses.- 6. Course of Inquiry.- Two: Background to the Constitutional Protection of Property in Germany and South Africa.- 4: The Drafting Histories of the South African and German Constitutional Property Clauses.- 1. Relevance of an Historical Inquiry.- 2. Germany: Development of Property Protection Under a Constitution.- 2.1. Historical Background of article 14 GG.- 2.1.1. First Attempts at Constitutional Protection of Property.- 2.1.2. Property Protection in the Weimar Republic and Under National-Socialism.- 2.1.3. Circumstances Influencing the Drafting of article 14 GG.- 2.1.4. Constitutional Property Protection in a Reunified Germany.- 2.2. Relevance of article 14 GG for the German Property Order.- 3. South Africa: Negotiating a Constitutional Property Clause.- 3.1. Historical Background to the Property Clauses.- 3.1.1. The Inclusion of a Property Guarantee in the Constitution.- 3.1.2. Compromises Incorporated in Section 28 IC and Section 25 FC.- 3.1.3 Certification of Section 25 FC.- 3.2. Relevance of the Constitutional Property Clauses for the South African Property Order.- 4. Constitutionalism and Socio-economic Needs.- 5: Structure of the Constitutional Protection and Regulation of Property in Germany and South Africa.- 1. External Aspects of the Constitutional Property Clauses.- 2. "Positive" and "Negative" Guarantees.- 2.1. The German Property Guarantee.- 2.2 The South African Property Guarantees.- 2.2.1. Section 28 IC.- 2.2.2. Section 25 FC.- 2.3. Legal-comparative Evaluation.- 3. Basic Structure of an Inquiry into the Constitutional Property Clause.- 3.1. Structure of Human Rights Litigation in General.- 3.2. Substantive Issues Relating to the Property Clause.- 3.2.1. Claims Arising from the Constitutional Property Clause.- 3.2.1.1. The Claim to Have Property.- 3.2.1.2. Eligibility to Hold Property.- 3.2.1.3. Insulation of Private Property from State Interference.- 3.2.1.4. Immunity against Uncompensated Expropriation.- 3.2.2. Stages of Inquiries Based on the Constitutional Property Clause.- 3.2.2.1. Inquiries into the Constitutional Validity of an Interference with Property.- 3.2.2.1.1. "Threshold Question".- 3.2.2.1.2. Infringement Question.- 3.2.2.1.3. Justifiability.- 3.2.2.2. Inquiries Regarding the Payment of Compensation.- 3.2.3. Summary: Object of Protection and Nature of Limitation.- 3.3. The Structure of the Judicial System and its Relevance for a Constitutional Property Inquiry.- 3.3.1. The South African Judicia...

The Authors. List of Abbreviations. General Introduction. Part I. General Principles (Choice-of-Law Technique). Chapter 1. Sources of PIL. Chapter 2. Connection. Chapter 3. Basic Terms. Part II. Rules of Choice of Law. Chapter 1. Persons. Chapter 2. Obligations. Chapter 3. Law of Property. Chapter 4. Intangible Property Rights. Chapter 5. Company Law. Chapter 6. Family Law. Chapter 7. Succession Law. Part III. Annex: International Civil Procedure (ICP). Chapter 1. Sources of ICP (National Law, International Conventions). Chapter 2. The Principle of Lex Fori. Chapter 3. National Jurisdiction. Chapter 4. International Jurisdiction. Chapter 5. Acceptability (Recognition) and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments. Selected Bibliography. Index.

Can private law assume an ecological meaning? Can property and contract defend nature? Is tort law an adequate tool for paying environmental damages to future generations? This book explores potential resolutions to these questions, analyzing the evolution of legal thinking in relation to the topics of legal personality, property, contract and tort. In this forward thinking book, Mattei and Quarta suggest a list of basic principles upon which a new, ecological legal system could be based. Taking private law to represent an ally in the defence of our future, they offer a clear characterization of the fundamental legal institutions of common law and civil law, considering the challenges of the Anthropogenic era, technological tools of the Internet era, and the global rise of the commons. Summarizing the fundamental institutions of private law: property rights, legal personality, contract, and tort, the authors reveal the limits of these legal institutions in relation to historical international evolution and their regulation in the contexts of catastrophic ecological issues and technological developments. Engaging and thoughtful, this book will be interesting reading for legal scholars and academics of private law and, in particular, those wishing to understand the role of law when facing technological and ecological challenges.