JUST
COMPENSATION
The
theory of just compensation
is that
the dispossessed owner is no worse off after the compulsory taking of
his/her land or part of his/her land, than before the compulsory
taking. Lord Moulton expressed the concept in the PFA
case
as follows:
Probably the most
practical form in which the matter can be put is that they were
entitled to that which a prudent man in their position would have
been willing to give for the land sooner than fail to obtain it.
Old
legislation generally, required the assessment of the "value"
of the land taken. The various heads that make up Special Value to
the Owner were implied and developed by the courts over time.
However, modern legislation lists the heads of compensation, for
example; s55 of the Land
Acquisition Act (NSW) 1991. The
"value of land" test was abandoned in the UK in 1919
after
investigation of the resumption process in the Scott Report. It has
also been abandoned in Canada, South Australia, NSW and the Northern
Territory.