Horn, J. G.September-van Huffel, Anthea-Lee2023-08-182023-08-182022http://hdl.handle.net/11660/12130Thesis (Ph.D (Private Law))--University of the Free State, 2022The South African public is increasingly being exposed to political debates on state custodianship of all rural or agricultural land, particularly within the context of land reform initiatives. However, what first appeared like a surreptitious shift towards state custodianship of land on the part of some political parties is now boldly stated in the objects of the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill, 2021,¹ thereby confirming a potential sociopolitical trend towards state custodianship of land within the land reform context.² If applied to land, state custodianship would entail strict regulatory control over the natural resource, with unique features and legal implications,² which may pose challenges to the existing property regime and security of land tenure. Therefore, this thesis examines the construct of state custodianship and its application to South Africa's natural resources,⁴ its legal implications, and its application to the existing property regime, particularly to transformative land reform.enThesisUniversity of the Free State