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No Country for Old Women: <i>A Critique of Grobler v Phillips</i> 2023 1 SA 321 (CC)


Allison Geduld

Abstract

Land and land rights remain a contested issue in South Africa. Grobler v Phillips centered on the eviction of an 86-year-old woman, Mrs  Phillips, and her disabled son from property she had lived on since she was 11 years old. After a fourteen-year court battle the  Constitutional Court granted an eviction order against Mrs Phillips. This case note consists of a discussion of the judgments of the  Magistrate's Court, High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court. It is found that the Constitutional Court erred in its  decision as it applied a formalistic approach, disregarded the narrative of the occupier and did not sufficiently challenge the current neo- liberal regime in which property rights operate.


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eISSN: 1727-3781