High Court of South Africa
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The High Court of South Africa is a court of law in South Africa. It was formerly called the "Supreme Court.” The High Court divisions have jurisdiction over defined geographical areas in which they are situated, and the decisions of the High Courts are binding on magistrate’s courts within their areas of jurisdiction. The High Court divisions have jurisdiction over all matters in their geographical area, but they usually only hear civil matters involving more than Rand 100,000, and serious criminal cases. They also hear any appeals or reviews from lower courts (magistrates’ courts) which fall in their geographical jurisdiction. The High Court usually hears any matter involving a person’s status (for example, adoption, insolvency).
Important officers in a High Court Division
The registrar keeps all the official court documents. The family advocate must be consulted on all matters involving children, as the High Court is the “upper guardian” of all children in South Africa. The Master of the High Court keeps all the records relating to people’s estates (deceased or insolvent). The Sheriff delivers certain documents to the parties in a civil case, and also attaches property when a warrant is issued. The Director of Public Prosecutions, who used to be called the Attorney-General, is responsible for criminal prosecutions by the state. The State Attorney is the lawyer who represents the state in civil actions (where the state is suing or being sued).
Provincial divisions
There are at the moment ten provincial divisions of the High Court and three local divisions, which have concurrent geographical jurisdiction over an area within a division. These still use names which relate to the old provincial and homeland structure of South Africa before 1994. For example, the division of the High Court in Cape Town is called the High Court of South Africa: Cape of Good Hope Provincial Division.
The present thirteen divisions and local divisions of the High Court are situated in:
- Bisho (Ciskei)
- Bloemfontein (Orange Free State)
- Cape Town (Cape of Good Hope)
- Durban (Durban and Coast Local Division)
- Grahamstown (Eastern Cape)
- Johannesburg (Witwatersrand Local Division)
- Kimberley (Northern Cape)
- Mmabatho (Bophuthatswana)
- Pietermaritzburg (Natal)
- Port Elizabeth (South Eastern Cape Local Division)
- Pretoria (Transvaal)
- Thohoyandou (Venda)
- Umtata (Transkei)
Once the Superior Courts Bill is passed, there will be a division of the High Court in each of the nine provinces with a name matching that of the province, with some provinces have more than one seat. Gauteng Province will have both a Southern (Johannesburg) and Northern (Pretoria) division.
Circuit Court
Circuit Courts are also part of the High Court. They are sit at least twice a year, moving around to serve more rural areas. They can be contacted through the High Court.