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.
7-589: The KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa . The main seat of the division is at Pietermaritzburg , while a subordinate local seat at Durban has concurrent jurisdiction over the coastal region of the province. As of January 2024 the Judge President of the division
14-668: Is Thoba Poyo-Dlwati . The Natalia Republic , established in 1839 by Voortrekkers , was annexed by Britain in 1843 and renamed Natal . In 1844 it was attached to the Cape Colony , and in 1846 a District Court for Natal was established with its seat in Pietermaritzburg. In 1856 Natal was detached from the Cape and became a separate colony , and in 1857 the District Court was replaced by a Supreme Court of Natal. When
21-809: The Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the Supreme Court of Natal became the Natal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa ; at the same time, the circuit court at Durban became the Durban & Coast Local Division. When the current Constitution of South Africa came into force in 1997, the courts became High Courts, and in 2009 they were renamed the KwaZulu-Natal High Courts. In 2013, in
28-606: The apartheid government in the 1950s). Each division is headed by a Judge President and Deputy Judge President. 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 (whether they are deceased or insolvent). The Sheriff delivers certain documents to
35-594: The KwaZulu-Natal Division were: High Court of South Africa The court and its divisions are constituted in their current form by 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
42-545: 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). The Superior Courts Act, 2013 , divides the High Court into nine divisions, one for each province . Some divisions have multiple seats of
49-403: The restructuring brought about by the Superior Courts Act , the courts became two seats of a single KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court of South Africa. After former South African President Jacob Zuma failed to appear in court on 4 February 2020, the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court of South Africa issued an arrest warrant against Zuma. As of January 2023, the permanent judges of
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