Macassar Land Claims Committee v Maccsand CC and Another

The Macassar Land Claims Committee, representing the Sandvlei community, claimed that its members were dispossessed of historic commonage rights over portions of the former farm Zandvliet as a result of racially discriminatory laws, particularly the Group Areas Act 41 of 1950. The Committee lodged a restitution claim under the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994 seeking restoration of those commonage rights. One of the affected properties, Erf 1197 Macassar, was subject to a mining right held by Maccsand CC under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA). As part of its relief, the Committee sought orders compelling the State to acquire or expropriate the relevant erven and Maccsand’s mining right, and to expunge that mining right. The Department of Mineral Resources and Maccsand raised a special plea contending that the Land Claims Court (LCC) lacked jurisdiction and power to expropriate or expunge a mining right. The LCC upheld the special plea, and the Committee appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was largely dismissed. The Supreme Court of Appeal altered the Land Claims Court’s order by striking out specified portions of the Committee’s particulars of claim and prayers relating to mining and expropriation of the mining right. The appellant was ordered to pay Maccsand CC’s costs, including the costs of two counsel.

The case clarifies the limits of the Land Claims Court’s powers under the Restitution of Land Rights Act, particularly in relation to third-party rights created under post-1994 legislation. It confirms that restitution is confined to restoring the specific right dispossessed and cannot be used to obtain broader or different rights, such as ownership or mining rights, that were never held. The judgment also delineates the relationship between land restitution and mining rights under the MPRDA.