By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Judge Susannah Cowen says she can’t give an answer on whether it would be (un)constitutional to pass a Bill that allows the state to have full ownership rights of the land.
The JSC interviewed three candidates for the position of Deputy Judge President in the Land Court.
Cowen has been Acting Deputy Judge President of the Land Court since 22 May and was the first candidate to take the hot seat.
She listed access to the court as one of the challenges, saying that most South Africans have no idea that a Land Court exists or where they can find it.
There is also a backlog of claims, which could cost billions of rand to resolve.
The challenges that we are facing in restitution cases are immense, it’s right to prioritise them. The big challenge is the backlog of claims launched before 1998, we are looking at just under 6,000 claims that have to be finalised,” said Cowen.
“This is not factoring in the new-order claims [post-1998], which are currently interdicted – tens of thousands – and cannot be processed by the commission.
“The commission is telling us at the moment, that it’s going to take 30 years to settle the claims at a cost of R172 billion.
“To have an effective land restitution case, litigants and claimants need to have access to more than lawyers. Often, what they need is historians and experts, and land surveyors.”
For the court to function fully, it would need to hire eight more judges over time.
Commissioner Julius Malema grilled Cowen about the number of reserved judgements she had on her roll.
“At the time I submitted my form, I had seven reserved judgments, but none of those is outstanding as I sit here. There is only one new reserved judgment that is within the three-month period,” responded Cowen.
You cleared them for this purpose? Malema asked further, to which she responded: “I always clear my judgments.”
“No, they were outstanding not so long ago and before you come, they’re all cleared,” commented Malema.
“I always clear judgments,” she insisted.
Malema further questioned the judge whether it would be unconstitutional to pass a bill which allows for the state to be a custodian of the land, with full land use rights guaranteed.
Cowen said that although she was aware of the political debate around the issue, she had not engaged with it from a legal point of view.
Meanwhile on Monday, it was announced that the interviews of judges Judge Piet Koen, Elizabeth Dorothy Baartman and Phillip Coppin were successful and that their names will be recommended to the president to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Koen was praised by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), including Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, for his contribution to the judiciary during his interview for the Supreme Court of Appeal post on Monday.
Koen, who serves in the Pietermaritzburg High Court, is among six judges being interviewed for the three available vacancies in the Supreme Court of Appeal.
He was one of the shortlisted candidates for key judicial positions in the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Land Court, the Labour Appeal Court, and several high courts.
Other candidates for the Supreme Court of Appeal included Durban-born Judge Mahendra Ramasamy Chetty, Judges Baartman, Coppin, Gloria Nozuko Zukiswa Mjali, and Leonie Windell.