Cover -- Half-title -- Series-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Table of cases -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Introduction -- Outline of chapters -- 2 The right to property at common law -- Parliament and property -- Property rights and statutory interpretation -- Presumptions of interpretation and compensation -- Fundamental law and 'property' -- Statutory interpretation and the purpose of acquisition -- The police power -- Fundamental law: recent developments -- The royal prerogative and property -- The extent of the prerogative -- Compensation and the prerogative -- The prerogatives in the colonies -- Conclusions -- 3 The development of written rights to property -- Introduction -- Property rights in the colonies -- Australia -- Government of Ireland Act 1920 -- India -- Government of India Act 1935 -- Constituent Assembly -- Amendments -- The European Convention on Human Rights -- Malaysia -- The Nigerian-model bills of rights -- The Nigerian property provisions -- Opening provisions -- 'Property' -- 'Taking possession' and 'acquisition' of property -- 'Public purpose' -- Compensation -- Limitation clauses -- Canadian Bill of Rights and Trinidad and Tobago -- Namibia -- South Africa -- The interim constitution -- The final Constitution -- Other modern constitutions -- Conclusions -- 4 Constitutional interpretation -- Introduction -- Legalism and constitutional interpretation -- Types of legalism -- Challenges to legalism -- Alternatives to legalism: the constitution as a sui generis instrument -- Historical interpretation -- Constitutional structure and interpretation -- Interpretation and ethical values -- Conflicts in methods of interpretation -- 5 The meaning of property -- The plain meaning of property: 'ordinary' property and 'legal' property -- 'Legal' property and property interests -- Regulation.

'Legal' property and 'constitutional' property -- Possession -- Transferability -- Wealth as property: the economic value of rights -- Possession and transferability as liberal values -- Communal property -- Corporate property -- Customary interests in land -- Social welfare benefits -- Conclusions -- 6 Acquisition and deprivation -- Introduction -- The reasons for the interference -- The police power and the motive for state action -- Rationality and proportionality -- General limitation clauses: Namibia and South Africa -- Proportionality as the overarching principle -- Conclusions -- 7 Public purpose -- The redistribution problem -- The holdout problem -- Conclusions -- 8 Compensation -- Constitutional law and compensation standards -- Full compensation for loss -- Proportionality and compensation -- South Africa: 'just and equitable' compensation -- Other provisions on compensation -- Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index.