Neela Rajbunsee v Regional Land Claims Commissioner KwaZulu-Natal and Others

The applicant sought to review the failure of the Regional Land Claims Commissioner, KwaZulu-Natal (RLCC), to certify and refer a land restitution claim lodged in 1997 by her deceased husband to the Land Claims Court in terms of section 14 of the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994. Over many years there were extensive delays by the RLCC in processing the claim, despite repeated correspondence from the applicant’s attorneys. Initially the applicant pursued monetary compensation, but in April 2006 elected restoration of the land. The RLCC continued to delay and opposed the application until the morning of the hearing, when it consented to an order compelling certification and referral. The only remaining dispute before the Court concerned the appropriate costs order.

The first respondent was ordered to pay the applicant’s costs on a party-and-party scale.

The case illustrates the Land Claims Court’s approach to delays by the Regional Land Claims Commissioner in processing restitution claims and confirms that unjustified administrative delay may warrant an adverse costs order. It also demonstrates that even where a state organ’s conduct is blameworthy, punitive costs will not automatically be granted if the successful party could reasonably have mitigated or curtailed litigation costs.