(a)determine, verify and mark the boundaries of all interests in the land which is the subject of the application;

(b)demarcate rights of way and other easements over the land the subject of the application and any adjacent land which benefit or burden or are reputed to benefit or burden any such land or which it considers will be necessary for the more beneficial occupation of any such land in respect of which an application may be granted or any adjacent land;

(c)adjudicate upon and decide in accordance with and applying customary law any question or matter concerning the land referred to it by any person with an interest in land which is the subject of an application or any land adjacent to it, including the question of whether the customary law applicable to the land the subject of the application recognises individual rights to the occupation and use of land and, if so, subject to what conditions and limitations;

(d)record that if any person has, or two or more persons have, exercised rights under customary law over the land the subject of the application that should be recognised as ownership of that land, that person or those persons, as the case may be, shall, prirna facie, be entitled to be issued with a certificate of customary ownership and in the case of two or more persons, the shares of each person and the nature of their ownership;

(e)if any persons have exercised any right over the land or any part of it or are entitled to any interest in the land or part of it not amounting to ownership, including any lease, right of occupation or use, charge, pledge or other encumbrance whether by virtue of customary law or otherwise, hereafter in this Act referred to as a third party right, record the nature, incidents and extent of that third party right and the persons entitled to the benefit of it;

(f)advise the board upon any question of customary law;

(g)safeguard the interests and rights in the land which is the subject of the application of women, absent persons, minors and persons with or under a disability;

(h)take account of any interest in land in respect of which, for any reason, no claim has been made; and

(i)exercise such other functions as may be prescribed.

(a)hear evidence which would otherwise not be admissible in a court of law;

(b)call evidence of its own motion;

(c)use evidence contained in any official record or adduced in any other claim;

(d)refer any matters to any customary institution habitually accepted within the area as an institution with functions over land for its advice and, where relevant, use, with or without adaptations and additions, customary procedures relating to the settlement of disputes over land recognised and in general use within the community where the land is situated; and

(e)generally, determine its own procedures.