Slide 1 General introduction
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khumalontombi659Slide 1 General introduction
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khumalontombi659LCVP 3705
• Welcome.
• Lecturer – Dr. E.C. Muller.
• Contact details: E-mail – [email protected]; Landline – (051) 401 9821; Office – Room 114 Equitas Building.
• Consultation hours: Monday and Thursday between 08:00-11:00. Otherwise arrange via e-mail.
• UFS Rules & Regulations.
• Text book – Peté et al, Civil Procedure: A practical guide, 4th edition, Oxford.
• Additional material uploaded on Blackboard.
• Exams.
• See assessment information document for further detail.
• 3 Tests and 1 assignment.
• 9 Learning units.
• Civil Procedure & based on premise of acquired knowledge of substantive law in previous years of study.
• Note learning outcomes for each learning unit.
Remember!
• These slides are a teaching and learning TOOL.
• They are NOT the full content of this module.
• The only place where the full content of the module is contained is in
the textbook, the study guide and the prescribed material on
Blackboard.
• The content is further supplemented with what I teach you in the
lectures.
General introduction
• Where does the Law of Civil Procedure fit into the law as a whole?
• If law=about creation and enforcement of rights, Law of Civil
Procedure is the part that deals with ENFORCEMENT of rights.
• About practical application of theoretical knowledge.
• CP=Part of an adversarial system of trial+proof. (Adversarial)
• Civil procedure part of civil law.
• Compare with criminal law: state v accused :(plaintiff v defendant or
applicant v respondent)-COURT UNINVOLVED.
General introduction
• Compare public nature v private nature
• Compare guilt v liability
• Compare Fine + imprisonment v payment of damages.
• Compare Purpose of criminal punishment v restoring disturbed
private legal relationship.
• THUS: Nuts and bolts: substantive law: what rights are COMPARED
TO-adjectival law: process to enforce those rights.
• Forget “guilty”, “crime”, “accused”.
General introduction: court
system
• Practical subject – Particular procedure – Think about documents
exchanged by parties and court officials.
• Special courts: Small Claims Court, Labour Court, Competition Appeal
Court, Tax Courts, Land Claims Court, Electoral Court.
• Ordinary courts: Magistrates’ Courts, High Court, Supreme Court of
Appeal, Constitutional Court.
• Magistrates Courts (District and Regional).
• High Court (Provincial) – every province
• High Court (Local) – EC, KZN, ,Limpopo, Mpumalanga & Gauteng.
General introduction
• Supreme Court of Appeal:
• President, Deputy president, number of appeal court judges
• Bloemfontein
• Appeal Court only
• Decides all appeals in any matter arising from HC or similar status
court that appealed, except certain Labour or competition matters.
Constitutional Court
• Chief Justice of SA, Deputy chief justice of SA, nine judges.
• Johannesburg.
• EXCLUSIVE jurisdiction-section 167(4) Constitution.
• Highest court of appeal in all matters.
• Generally NOT a court of first instance, except DIRECT ACCESS cases.
• Office of the Chief Justice – responsible for administration of justice in
SA courts.
The officials
• Various officials – treat with respect.
• First appearance before presiding judicial officer – Introduce yourself
in chambers.
• CC - Most senior judge in SA – Chief Justice. Also chairperson of JSC.
• CJ, DJC, J in law reports. Address individual judge – Justice and
surname and all judges through most senior judge as the Court .
• SCA – Most senior judge – President of SCA. P, DP, JA (do not confuse
with acting judge – AJ) in law reports. Address individual judge –
Justice and surname and the bench through presiding judge as the
Court .
• HC – Most senior judge - Judge President of particular division. JP and
J in law reports (AJ also possible for acting judges). Addresses as My
Lord(ship/s) or My Lady(ship/s). Outside of court – Judge.
• MC – Magistrates. Addressed as Your Worship and NOT anything else
in court. Outside court – Mr/Mrs/Ms and their surname.
• Administrative personnel – HC – Registrar, RC - Registrar, DC – Clerk of
the court.
• Legal documents delivered by the sheriff in both HC and MC.
• Bills of costs – handled by the taxing master.
Where to find the relevant law
• Statutes and case law.
• Most NB – Superior Courts Act, Magistrates’ Court Act and Small
Claims Court Act.
• Also NB are rules of court read with the relevant statute.
• Acts and rules set out procedures that are core of civil procedure.
Work in tandem.
• HC – also Practice Manual – elaborates on specific aspects of practice
and administration in that division. Supplementary to rules.
• Forms = Precedents of how doc’s referred to in rules should look like.
Impact of Constitution
• Coetzee v Government of SA: debt collection procedures
• University Stellenbosch Law Clinic: debt collection procedures.
• Time periods Organs of State – Legal Proceedings Against Certain
Organs of State Act.
• Section 38 Constitution – public interest litigation
• Bid Industrial case: peregrini arrests.
General map of process
• Stage 1: Before litigation-beginning
• Stage 2: Litigation
• Stage 3: After litigation
• Stage 4: Additional procedures in required circumstances
Preliminary questions before
litigation
• 1. Cause of action
• 2. Locus standi
• 3. Jurisdiction
• 4. Prescription
Pre-litigation issues
• 1. Demand
• 2. Calculation time periods
• 3. Service legal documents
• 4. Action or application
Litigation
• Applications
• Actions:-
• 1. Pleadings
• 2. Pre-trial procedures
• 3. Trial
• 4. Judgment, interest and costs
• Appeals
• Reviews
• Writs and warrants of execution
Litigation
• Section 65 procedure
• Administration orders
Additional
• Settlement procedure
• Provisional sentence
• Interim relief
• Multiple parties and actions
• Interdicts
• Drastic procedures
• Declaration of rights and stated cases
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