The Commission operates within the ambit of the Constitution and the Restitution of Land Rights Act, No 22 of 1994 (the Act). Provisions of Section 25 (7) of the Constitution and Section 2 of the Act prescribe that persons or communities dispossessed of a right in land after 19 June 1913 as a result of past racially discriminative laws or practices are entitled to restitution of right in land and in terms of the Act, such persons must have lodged the claim for restitution on a prescribed form by no later than the 31st of December 1998. Neither the Commission nor the DRDLR could condone claims for land rights lost prior to June 1913. Therefore, all land claims that did not meet the criteria of 19 June 1913, 31st December 1998, and had no evidence for land dispossession would be considered as non- compliant. However, in the event that the Commission finds that a claimant did not qualify for restitution in terms of the Act but have expressed a need for land, the Commission could refer those groups or individuals to the DRDLR for assistance in terms of land redistribution or tenure reform programmes.