The Land Court has ruled that landowners must go through a mediation process before seeking an eviction order from a courtA full bench of the court said this week that mediation is mandatory under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA). Mediation — and not “good faith negotiations” — is mandatory before landowners can approach courts seeking evictions under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA). This is the ruling of a full bench of the Land Court after litigants raised concerns about ambiguities between amendments to ESTA, and the introduction of the Land Court Act, which both came into effect in April 2024. They said the Land Court Act was “ambitious legislation” intended, amongst other things, to ensure that land reform accelerated in a lawful and equitable manner, guided by progressive jurisprudence. Litigants had questioned whether, in view of the new Land Court Act, mediation was still necessary under ESTA.