Resource information
This is a judgement in the Land Claims Court which concerned the validity of land claims lodged under The Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act 15 of 2014. This act was an amended version of the Restitution of Land rights Act 22 f 1994 which differed by extending the time frame for persons, descendants, or communities who were disposed of land after 1913 to lodge land claims. Previously the cut-off date under the 1994 to lodge claims was 31st December 1998. Under the 2014 Act, claims could up lodged from the passing of the act until 30 June 2019. However, the act of 2014 was declared invalid in the Constitutional Court of South Arica because The National Council of Provinces and some of the Provincial legislators failed to conduct sufficient consultations with key stakeholders and their constituents to gain input on the bill. However, the question remained of what should happen to land claims that were submitted after the passing of the 2014 ACT but before the ACT was declared invalid. The Land Claim Court ordered that;
" 1. No new claim lodged between 1 July 2014 and 28 July 2016 can be adjudicated upon or considered in any manner whatsoever by this Court in any proceedings for the restitution of rights in land in respect of old claims lodged before 31 December 1998;
2. New claimants who contest old claims lodged before 31 December 1998 may be admitted as interested parties solely to the extent that their participation may contribute to the establishment or rejection of the aforementioned old claims or in respect of any other issue the presiding judge may allow to be addressed in the interests of justice. "
