The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa . It is divided into nine provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction over a defined geographical area in which it is situated. The decisions of a division are binding on magistrates' courts within its area of jurisdiction. The High Court has jurisdiction over all matters, but it usually only hears civil matters involving more than 400,000 rand , and serious criminal cases. It also hears any appeals or reviews from magistrates' courts and other lower courts.
6-916: The Northern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa (formerly named the Northern Cape High Court and the Northern Cape Provincial Division , and commonly known as the Kimberley High Court ) is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over the Northern Cape province of South Africa . The division sits at Kimberley . A Supreme Court was created for the British colony of Griqualand West by proclamation in 1871. The Cape Colony annexed Griqualand West according to
12-953: A provincial division in its own right as the Northern Cape Provincial Division. In 1997, on the adoption of the current Constitution of South Africa , it became a High Court, and in 2009 it was renamed the Northern Cape High Court by the Renaming of High Courts Act . In 2013, in the restructuring brought about by the Superior Courts Act , it became the Northern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa. High Court of South Africa The court and its divisions are constituted in their current form by
18-484: 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). The Superior Courts Act, 2013 , divides the High Court into nine divisions, one for each province . Some divisions have multiple seats of
24-873: The Griqualand West Annexation Act on 27 July 1877, with the date for annexation set for 18 October 1880. According to this act, the court was subordinated to the Cape Supreme Court and became known as the High Court of Griqualand West. On the creation of the Union of South Africa it became the Griqualand West Local Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa and remained subordinate to the Cape Provincial Division. In 1969 it became
30-449: The Superior Courts Act, 2013 . They replaced the previous separate High Courts, which had in 1997 replaced the provincial and local divisions of the former Supreme Court of South Africa and the supreme courts of the TBVC states ("Bantustans" created by the apartheid government in the 1950s). Each division is headed by a Judge President and Deputy Judge President. The registrar keeps all
36-467: 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 (whether they are deceased or insolvent). The Sheriff delivers certain documents to the parties in a civil case, and also attaches property when
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