Share

Beachfront land dispute in ConCourt


Johannesburg - The Constitutional Court will hear argument on Tuesday on whether a non-ratepayer can challenge the validity of a land contract between a municipality and a third party.

Giant Concerts is filing an application for leave to appeal a decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which ruled that it failed to establish its legal standing to challenge a decision by the eThekwini municipality.

In 2003, the eThekwini municipality sold beachfront land to Rinaldo Investments in an attempt to develop Durban's film industry. This was done through private sale instead of public tender.

Giant Concerts, which is the property holding company of Videovision Entertainment, objected to the proposed sale and instituted legal action in the Pietermaritzburg High Court to have it reviewed.

It claimed that its right to just administrative action had been infringed upon by the municipality’s non-compliance with a provincial ordinance.

The court ruled in favour of Giant Concerts and found that the municipality's decision was unlawful. It declared the agreement between the municipality and Rinaldo void.

Rinaldo appealed in the SCA, which overturned the high court's judgment.

It found that Giant Concerts had failed to establish a legal standing to challenge the municipality’s decision to sell the land as it had not shown sufficient interest in the subject matter of the dispute.

In its appeal to the Constitutional Court, Giant Concerts will argue that the SCA’s approach to legal standing was "too narrow".

It asked that the court take a more relaxed approach to safeguarding the principles of transparency, competitiveness, fairness, political participation and legality, as enshrined in the Constitution.

Giant Concerts also wants the contract deemed void and the decision to sell the property to Rinaldo deemed "unlawful, procedurally unfair and unreasonable".

Rinaldo contends that even if Giant Concerts can show standing, the contract was lawful and valid.

* Follow Fin24 on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.



We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.04
-0.7%
Rand - Pound
24.02
-0.5%
Rand - Euro
20.53
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.7%
Platinum
900.15
+0.4%
Palladium
1,000.00
-0.2%
Gold
2,212.54
+0.8%
Silver
24.59
-0.2%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,094
+0.6%
All Share
74,290
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,964
+2.3%
Industrial 25
103,585
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,463
-0.4%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders