Supreme Court Act
46 UNION GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY, 3Ro JULY, 1959.
Definitions.
No. 59, 1959.]
ACT To consolidate and amend tbe,Jaws relating to tbe Supreme
Court of South Africa and to provide for matters incidental thereto.
(English text signed by the Governor-General.) (Assented to 21th June, 1959.)
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate and the House of Assembly of the Union of
South Africa, as follows:-
1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates- (i) "Chief Justice" means the Chief Justice of South
Africa; (iv) (ii) "civil summons" means any summons whereby civil
proceedings are commenced, and includes any rule nisi, notice of motion or petition the object of which is to require the appearance before the court out or which it is issued of any person against whom relief is sought in such proceedings or of any person who is interested in resisting the grant· of such relief; (ix)
(iii) "defendant" includes any respondent or other party against whom relief is sought in civil proceedings; (xi)
(iv) "division" means a division of the Supreme Court; (i) (v) "full court" means a court consisting of two or more
judges; (xii) (vi) "inferior court" means any court (other than the court
of a division) which is required to keep a record of its proceedings, ·and includes a magistrate or other officer holding a preparatory examination into an alleged offence; (vi)
(vii) "Minister" means the Minister of Justice; (vii) (viii) "plaintiff" includes any petitioner or other party who
seeks relief in civil proceedings; (ii) · (ix) "provincial division" includes the Eastern Cape
division and the South-West Africa division; (viii) (x) "registrar" includes an assistant registrar; (iii)
(xi) "Supreme Court" means the Supreme Court of South Africa; (v)
(xii) "Union" includes the territory of South-West Africa. . (x)
(2) Any reference in any law to the Eastern Districts Local Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa shall be con- strued as a reference to the Eastern Cape Division.
Constitution of 2. There shall be a Supreme Court of South. Africa which Supreme Court of shall consist of the several divisions mentioned in the First South Africa. · Schedule.
Constitution of divisions.
Seats of divisions.
3. (1) The appellate division shall consist of the Chief Justice of South Africa and so many judges of appeal as the Governor-General may from time to time determine.
(2) A provincial division shall consist of a judge president and so many judges as· the Governor-General may from time to time determine.
(3) The Griqualand West local division shall consist of so many judges as the ·Governor-General may from time to time determine,- either with or without a judge president, as the Governor-General may deem fit.
(4) Any court of the Durban and Coast or the Witwatersrand local division shall be presided over by a judge of the provincia[ division which has concurrent jurisdiction in the area of the local division concerned.
(S) A judge of a provincial or local division may upon the request of the Minister act as a judge of any other such division in the place of any judge· of that division or in addition to the judges of that division.
4. (1) The seats of the several divisions shall be in the places specified in respect of those divisions in the second column of the First Schedule.
48. UNION GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY, 3RD JULY, 1959.
Scope and execu- tion of process of appellate division.
Areas of jurisdic- tion of provincial and local divisions.
Circuit local divisions.
(2) Whenever on application made to the appellate division at Bloemfontein by a party to any appeal which is pending in that division, it appears to the said division that by reason of the existence of exceptional circumstances it is expedient to hold its sitting for the hearing of that appeal at a place else- where than in Bloemfontein, the said division may hold such sitting at that place accordingly.
5. The process of the appellate division shall run throughout the Union, and its judgments and orders shall have force and effect in the area of jurisdiction of every other division and shall be executed in any such area in like manner as if they were original judgments or orders of that division.
6. (1) Save as provided in this· Act or any other law, a provincial or local division shall have jurisdiction in the area specified in respect of that division in the third column of the First Schedule.
(2) The provincial divisions of the Transvaal, Natal and the Cape of Good Hope shall exercise concurrent jurisdiction in the areas of jurisdiction of the Witwatersrand, the Durban and Coast and the Griqualand West local divisions respectively, and the provincial division of the Cape of Good Hope shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), until the thirty-first day of December, 1961, exercise concurrent jurisdiction in civil matters in the area of jurisdiction of the Eastern Cape division. ·
(3) A plaintiffresiding in the area of jurisdiction of the Eastern Cape division may at all times institute an action in the court of the Cape of Good Hope provinCial division against a defendant residing in that area on any cause of action arising in· that area, but no action shall be so instituted unless either the leave of the court of the Eastern Cape division has been obtained or the parties to the action have in writing agreed that it be instituted in the Cape or Good Hope provincial division.
(4) The Governor-General may by proclamation in the Gazette amend the First Schedule by excluding from the area of jurisdiction of a division any area included therein or by including therein any additional area.
. 7. (1) The judge president of a provincial division may by notice in the Gazette divide the area under the jurisdiction of that division (excluding, in the case of the Cape of Good Hope provincial division, that portion of the area in question in which the Griqualand West local division exercises jurisdiction) into circuit districts, and may from time to time by like notice alter the boundaries of any such district.
(2) In each such district there shall be held at least twice in every year and at such times and places as may be determined by the judge president concerned, a court. which shall be presided over by a judge of the division in which that district is situated.
(3) Any such court shall be known ·as the circuit local division for the district in question and shall for all purposes be deemed to be a local division.
(4) The provisions of this section shall mutatis mutandis apply with reference to the Griqualand West local division as if that local division were a provincial division, and for the purpose of the application of the said. provisions the ;references in sub-sections (1) and (2) to the judge president of ·a provincial division shall be construed as references to the judge president of that local division or, where a judge president has not been appointed, to the senior judge appointed to such division in terms of sub-section (l) of section ten.
Disposal of re-. . 8. (1) Within thirty days after the termination of the sittings fr~ dand executron of any c~rcui! local division,. t~e r~gistrar tbere~f shall, subje~t ~rJ!t ~=::s. 0 to any ~uectt_ons of the pre~tdm~ JUdge, ~r~~stnit all recor.ds m ·
connectwn With the proceedmgs m that diviSion to the regrstrar of the provincial or loclll division concerned to be filed of record as records of that division.
(2) Any judgment, order, decree or sentence of a circuit local division, may, subject to any applicable rules for the time being in force, be carried into execution by means of proeess of. that division or of the provincial or local division concerned.
Rem.oval of pro- 9. (1) If any civil cause, proceeding or matter has been ~-ngs frQm ohe instituted in any provincial or local division, and it is made to
VISIOn to ano1 er. appear to the court concerned that the same may be more conveniently or more fitly heard or determined in another
50 UNION GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY, 3RD JULY, 1959.
Appointment, remuneration and tenure of office of judges.
division, that court may, upon application by any party thereto and after hearing all other parties thereto, order such cause, proceeding or matter to be removed to that other division.
(2) An order for removal under sub-section (1) shall be transmitted to' the registrar of the division to which the removal is ordered, and upon the receipt of such order that division may hearand determine the cause, proceeding or matter in ques~ tion and shall in that event apply the practice governing the division in which it was instituted and the law according to which that division would but for the removal have heard and determined such cause, proceeding or matter.
10. (1) (a) The Chief Justice, the judges of appeal, the judges president and all other judges of the Supreme Court shall be fit and proper persons appointed by the Governor-General under his hand and the Great Seal of the Union of South Africa, and shall receive such remuneration as may be prescribed by Parliament, and their remuneration shall not be reduced during their continuance in office.
(b) An appointment under this sub~section may in the case of a person then holding office in an acting capacity by virtue of any appointment under sub· section (3) or (4), be made with retrospective effect from the commencement of the period during which he so held office, or, where he has so held office for two or more periods which together constitute a single uninterrupted period, from the commencement of the first of such periods. .
(c) No person shall be appointed as a judge or an acting judge of the South-West Africa division except after consultation with the Administrator of the territory of South-West Africa.
(2) (a) Any person appointed under sub-section (1) shall before commencing to exercise the functions of his -office take an oath or make an affirmation, which shall be subscribed by him, in the form set out below. namely-
"! ................ do hereby swear/solemnly and (futl name)
sincerely affirm and declare that I will in my capacity as a judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa administer justice to all persons alike without fear, favour or prejudice and in accordance with the law and customs of the Union of South Africa or (in the case of a judge of the South-West Africa division) of
. the territory of South-West Africa.". (b) Any such oath or affirmation shall be taken or made
before the senior available judge of the division concerned who shall at the foot thereof endorse a statement ofthe fact that it was taken or made before him and of the date on which it was so taken or made and append his signature thereto.
(3) Whenever it is for any reason expedient that a person be appointed to act as a judge of any division in the place of
·. any judge of that division or in addition to the judges of that division or in any vacancy in that division, the Governor- General may appoint some fit and proper person so to act for such period as the Governor-General may determine.
(4) The Minister may in the circumstances mentioned in sub~section (3) appoint some fit and proper person to act as . provided in that sub-section for any period not exceeding one month.
(5) No person other than a judge or former judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed to act as the Chief Justice
, or as a judge of appeal. (6) Any appointment made under this section shall -be
deemed to have been made also in respect of any period during which the person appointed is necessarily engaged in connection with the disposal of any proceedings in which he has taken
. part as a judge and which have not been disposed of at the termination of the period for which he was appointed or, having been disposed of before or after such termination, are re-opened.
(7) The Chief Justice, a judge of appeal or any other· judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from office except by the Governor-General upon an address from both Houses of Parliament in the same session praying for such removal on the ground of misbehaviour or incapacity.
(8) The provisions ofsub-sections (2) and (7) shall apply also in respect of a person appointed under sub-section (3) or (4), and the provisions of paragraph (a) of sub-section (1) relating
52 UNION GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY, 3RD JULY, 1959.
Judge not to hold any other office of profit.
Constitution of court of appellate division. ·.
to the remuneration of any judge referred to in that paragraph shall apply also in respect of a person so appointed to act in the capacity of such a judge.
11. No judge of the Supreme Court shall without the consent of the Governor-General accept, hold or perform any other office of profit or receive in respect of any service any fees, emoluments or other remuneration apart from his salary and any allowances which may be payable to him in his capacity as such a judge. ·
12. (1) The quorum of the appellate division shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), be five judges in civil matters and in criminal matters arising out of proceedings instituted before a special criminal court constituted under section one hundred and twelve of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1955 (Act No. 56 of 1955), and three judges in other criminal matters:
· Provided that-
Constitution of courts of provincial or local · divisions.
(a) an application under sub-section (2) of section four shall be heard and determined by the Chief Justice and two judges of appeal;
(b) on the hearing of an appeal, whether criminal or civil, in which the validity of an Act of Parliament (which includes any instrument which purports to be and has been assented to by the Governor-General as such an Act) is in question, eleven judges of the appellate division shall form a quorum;
(c) whenever it appears to the Chief Justice or, in his absence, the senior available judge of the appellate division that any matter, not being a matter referred to in paragraph (b), which is being heard before a court of that division should in view of its importance be heard before a court consisting of a larger number of judges, he may direct that the hearing be dis- continued and commenced anew before a court consisting of so many judges as he may determine.
(2) The judgment of the majority of the judges of any court of the appellate division shall be the judgment of the court and where there ·is no judgment to which a majority of such judges agree, the hearing shall be adjourned and commenced de novo before a new court constituted in such manner as the Chief Justice or, in his absence, the senior available judge of the appellate division may determine.
(3) If at any stage during the hearing of an appeal one or more of the judges "die or retire or become otherwise incapable of acting or are absent, the hearing shall, where the remaining judges constitute a majority of. the judges before whom the hearing was commenced, proceed before such remaining judges, and the judgments of a majority of such remaining judges which are in agreement shall, if that majority is also a majority of the judges before whom the hearing was commenced, be the judgment of the court, and in any . other case the appeal shall be heard de novo. ·
(4) No judge shall sit at the hearing of an appeal against a judgment or order given in a case which was heard before him.
(5) During any period which may be fixed by rule of court as a vacation of the appellate division, one judge thereof shall have power and jurisdiction to hear and determine applications for leave to appeal or for leave to proceed in forma pauperis or for any interlocutory order. ·
13. (1) (a) Save as provided in this Act or any other law, the court of a provincial or local division shall, when sitting as a court of first instance . for the hearing of any civil matter, be constituted before a sirigle judge of the division concerned: Provided that the judge president or, in his absence, the senior available judge of any division may at any time direct that any matter be heard by a full court consisting of so many judges as he may determine.
(b) A single judge of a division may at any time disc