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| Native Administration Act, 1927 | |
|---|---|
| Parliament of South Africa | |
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| Citation | Act No. 38 of 1927 |
| Enacted by | Parliament of South Africa |
| Royal assent | 30 June 1927 |
| Commenced | 1 September 1927 |
| Repealed | 12 April 2006, 30 September 2007, and various other dates |
| Administered by | Minister of Native Affairs |
| Repealed by | |
| Repeal of the Black Administration Act and Amendment of Certain Laws Act, 2005 | |
| Related legislation | |
| Native Affairs Act, 1920 Bantu Authorities Act, 1951 | |
| Status: Repealed | |
According to the Native Administration Act, 1927 (Act No. 38 of 1927; subsequently renamed the Bantu Administration Act, 1927 and the Black Administration Act, 1927), the Governor-General of South Africa could "banish" a 'native' or 'tribe' from one area to another whenever he deemed this 'expedient or in the general public interest'.
This Act set up a separate legal system for the administration of African law and made the proclaimed Black areas subject to a separate political regime from the remainder of the country, ultimately subject only to rule by proclamation, not parliament.
The central imperative behind the Act was to establish a strong enough system of national 'native administration' to contain the political pressures that were likely to result from the legislative measures necessary for the implementation of territorial segregation. It was, together with the Native Affairs Act, 1920, part of a process of transferring power over the regulation of African life from Parliament to the executive.
Moreover, it included a clause which stated: "Any person who utters any words or does any other act or thing whatever with intent to promote any feeling of hostility between Natives and Europeans, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment not exceeding one year or to a fine of one hundred pounds or both", thus it became popularly known as the "hostility law".