Law: Undergraduate Support Services

The Courts of South Africa are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in South Africa. They apply the law of South Africa and are established under the Constitution of South Africa or under Acts of the Parliament of South Africa.

Despite South Africa's division into nine provinces, the country has a single national court system. The courts are funded and supported by the national Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The ordinary courts are the district and regional magistrates' courts, the provincial divisions of the High Court, and the Supreme Court of Appeal. The Constitutional Court is the highest court for constitutional matters.

Specialist courts have been established for various matters, including Labour Courts, the Land Claims Court, Special Income Tax Courts, and the Electoral Court. African customary law is administered by chiefs' and headmen's courts, subject to the Council of Traditional Leaders.

The Supreme Court of Appeal deals exclusively with appeals against rulings. No other court, except for the Constitutional Court, can change a decision made by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

There are ten provincial and three local High Courts, each presiding over a different jurisdiction, in South Africa. These courts hear cases that can’t be handled by the Magistrates’ Courts.

Circuit courts are also part of the High Court system. They move around the country in order to serve more rural areas.

Magistrates’ Courts are at the lower level in South Africa’s system of courts. They’re divided into district and regional courts.

District courts hear civil matters and less serious criminal cases, involving offences other than rape, murder or treason. They can impose fines of up to R120 000 and prison sentences of up to 3 years.

Regional courts may also hear civil matters and can deal with criminal cases involving any offence except treason. They can also hear divorce cases. A regional Magistrate’s Court can impose fines of up to R600 000 and hand down prison sentences of up to 15 years.

Small Claims Courts deal with any civil matter where the claim is for less than R15 000. Typically these claims involve individuals rather than companies or corporations. Examples of matters that can be taken to a Small Claims Court include:

• claiming goods that are due to you or monies owed
• claiming damages
• claims based on violations of legal agreements or documents.

A number of specialist courts have been established by Parliament to deal with matters in specific areas of law. These include the Labour Court, Land Claims Court, Electoral Court, and Tax Courts.

All except the Tax Courts have a status similar to the High Courts. The Tax Courts deal specifically with disputes between SARS and taxpayers.

The military courts deal exclusively with cases involving members of the South African National Defence Force, who are subject to the Military Discipline Code. They deal with serious offenses that can’t be handled by a commanding officer.