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Copyright of Review of International Law & Politics / Uluslararasi Hukuk ve Politika is the property of International Strategic Research Organization and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article reviews the historical development path of water rights in South Africa during the last 300 years or so. The basic finding is that water rights have come full circle. As early as 1652, the Dutch Company rulers declared water as public commodity and dominus fluminis status of the state, and they imposed the Roman-Dutch law in the country. The British, in contrast, privatized water and linked it with land tenure, thus establishing the supremacy of the riparian principle, and the apartheid government tried to swing the balance again to the Roman-Dutch law However, the modern law under the democratic regime has appointed the central government as trustee of water resources with the major objective of promoting the efficient, sustainable, and beneficial use of water in the public interest and providing equitable access to water to all. However it has brought much more responsibility than that envisaged by the law-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]