Abstract

The Integrated Coastal Management Act 24 of 2008 introduces various innovative provisions designed to enhance equitable access to South Africa’s coastal resources. One such provision is section 14(5)(a), which seeks to regulate the interplay between public and private property at the shoreline in the context of a dynamic high-water mark (“HWM”). Section 14(5)(a) alters the pre-existing common law principles governing the effects of movements of the HWM on coastal land units, particularly land units known as agri limitati. However, the language of section 14(5)(a) is open to differing interpretations, obfuscating its practical value and transformative effect. Through a purposive and contextual reading of section 14(5)(a), informed by the approach to statutory interpretation elaborated in Natal Joint Municipal Pension Fund v Endumeni Municipality 2012 (4) SA 593 (SCA), this contribution endeavours to investigate whether section 14(5)(a) has the effect of converting affected coastal land units to agri non limitati. We argue that, if correctly interpreted, section 14(5)(a) signals the legislative dissolution of agri limitati and the emergence of a novel category of coastal land units in South African law, provisionally termed “agri how limitati”. The resolution of the exact legal status of this novel class of coastal land units and its effect on the long-established common law principles governing the effects of movements of the HWM on coastal land units – whether through judicial interpretation or legislative intervention – may reshape the future of littoral landownership in South Africa.