Macassar Land Claims Committee v Maccsand CC and Others

The Macassar Land Claims Committee instituted an action for restitution of land rights under the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994, claiming various parcels of land in Macassar, Western Cape, described as historic commonage used by the Sandvlei community. The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) and the Camies Darries Heritage Land Trust (CDH Trust) are competing claimants. Both lodged counter-claims asserting rights to some or all of the same land. While it was common cause that the MJC lodged a claim before the statutory cut-off date of 31 December 1998, the extent of that claim was disputed. The CDH Trust’s status as a pre-1998 claimant was also contested. Both entities relied alternatively on counter-claims lodged in 2015 under section 38B of the Act. The plaintiff applied in terms of Rule 57 of the Land Court Rules for the separation and prior determination of two issues concerning the extent and validity of the competing claims.

The Court ordered that the two identified issues be heard and decided separately in terms of Rule 57. The question whether the Court should be constituted by more than one judge was referred to the Judge President. Costs were ordered to be costs in the cause, with wasted costs relating to the failure of the MJC and CDH Trust to assist in formulating the separated issues reserved.

The judgment clarifies the Land Court’s approach to procedural separation of issues in complex restitution litigation and underscores the importance of determining the scope and status of competing land claims at an early stage. It also highlights ongoing uncertainty regarding the legal effect of counter-claims lodged under section 38B after the 1998 cut-off date in the context of the Constitutional Court’s LAMOSA decisions.