The Rules Board for Courts of Law has under section 6 of the Rules Board for Courts of Law Act, 1985 (Act No. 107 of 1985), with the approval of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, made the rules in the Schedule.
In this schedule "the Rules" means the Rules of the Supreme Court of Appeal published under Government Notice No. R. 1523 of 27 November 1998.
"'President' means the President of the Court and, in his or her absence, includes the Deputy President of the Court;".
1 November to 30 November, inclusive.
A matter may be heard out of term if the [Chief Justice] President so directs.
If the day fixed for the commencement of a term is not a court day, the term shall commence on the next succeeding court day and, if the day fixed for the end of a term is not a court day, the term shall end on the business day preceding.
by the insertion before subrule (2) of the following subheading: "Exceptional cases".
(a) The registrar may refuse to accept any document tendered for lodging if, in the registrar's opinion, it does not comply with these rules: Provided that if proper copies of the rejected documents are submitted within 10 days of rejection, such lodging shall not be deemed untimely.
The registrar may provisionally accept, in lieu of the original document tendered for lodging, a copy (including a facsimile or other electronic copy) thereof, but the original shall be filed within 10 days thereafter.
The registrar may not accept documents in relation to an appeal on the date of the hearing of that appeal.
(a) A notice of appeal or the first application in an intended appeal shall be numbered by the registrar with a consecutive number for the year during which it is filed.
Every document lodged afterwards in such a case shall be marked with that number by the party lodging it and shall not be received by the registrar until so marked.
All the documents delivered to the registrar to be filed in a case shall be filed by a registrar in a case file under the number of such case.
The registrar shall maintain the Court's records and shall not permit any of them to be removed from the court building, except as authorised by the registrar.
Any document lodged with the registrar and made part of the Court's records shall not thereafter be withdrawn permanently from the official court files.
[Copies of any document forming part of the Court's records may be made by any person in the presence of the registrar: Provided that the registrar shall, at the request of a party, make a copy of a recorded order, settlement or judgment on payment of the prescribed court fees and the registrar shall certify that copy or photocopy to be a true copy of the original.
Documents filed for Court purposes are public documents and may be inspected by any person in the presence of the registrar.
Copies of any document forming part of the Court's records may be made by any person in the presence of the registrar.
If a dispute arises as to the correctness of any ruling by the registrar, the registrar shall refer the dispute to a judge for a final ruling.
Any communication directed to the President or any Judge must be done through the office of the registrar.
A power of attorney need not be filed, but the authority of a legal practitioner to act on behalf of any party may, within [one month] 10 days after it has come to the notice of any other party that the legal practitioner is so acting, or with the leave of the Court on good cause shown at any time before judgment, be disputed by notice, whereafter upon expiry of [one month] 10 days after service of the notice the legal practitioner shall no longer so act, unless a power of attorney is lodged with the registrar within that [month] period.
Every power of attorney shall be signed by or on behalf of the party giving it, and shall otherwise be executed according to law.
the State Attorney, any deputy state attorney or any professional assistant to the State Attorney, or any attorney instructed in writing or by telegram or facsimile by or on behalf of the State Attorney or a deputy state attorney in any matter in which the State Attorney or deputy state attorney is acting as such by virtue of any statute.
In every matter where leave to appeal is by law required of the Court, an application therefor shall be lodged in [duplicate] triplicate with the registrar within the time limits prescribed by that law.
Provided that the registrar may, on written request, extend the period for the filing of a copy of the judgment or judgments for a period not exceeding one month.
Every affidavit in answer to an application for leave to appeal shall be lodged in [duplicate] triplicate within one month after service of the application on the respondent.
An applicant who applied for leave to appeal shall, within 10 days after an affidavit referred to in subrule (3) has been received, be entitled to lodge an affidavit in reply dealing strictly only with new matters raised in the answer.
exceed, for the founding affidavit and answer 30 pages each and for the reply 10 pages.
additional copies of the application.
The party concerned shall lodge the required documents within the period prescribed by the registrar.
If the party concerned fails to comply with a direction by the registrar or fails to cure the defects in the application within the period directed, the [registrar shall refer the matter to the judges assigned to the application who may dispose of it in its incomplete form] application shall lapse.
by the insertion before subrule (2) of the following subheading: "Form or amount of security".
the respondent shall lodge with the registrar six copies of his or her main heads of argument within [two months] one month from the receipt of the appellant's heads of argument.
When the lodging of an application or record of appeal with the registrar does not allow the heads of argument to be lodged and served in terms of subrule (1), the applicant or appellant, as the case may be, shall file the same without delay and the respondent shall thereafter file the argument in answer as soon as possible.
(a) If the appellant fails to lodge heads of argument within the prescribed period or within the extended period, the appeal shall lapse.
party, and after hearing argument, make such order as it deems fit.
The heads of argument shall be clear, succinct and without unnecessary elaboration.
Each point should be numbered and be stated as concisely as the nature of the case allows and must be followed by a reference to the record or an authority in support of the point.
The heads of argument shall not contain lengthy quotations from the record or authorities.
The heads of argument must state, in respect of each authority cited, the proposition of law that the authority states, and if more than one authority is cited for a proposition the reason for citing the additional authorities must be stated.
References to authorities and the record shall not be general but to specific pages and paragraphs.
The heads of argument of the appellant shall [, if appropriate to the appeal,] be accompanied by a chronology table, duly cross-referenced, without argument.
If the respondent disputes the correctness of the chronology table in a material respect, the respondent's heads of argument shall be accompanied by the respondent's version of the chronology table.
The heads of argument shall be accompanied by a list of the authorities to be quoted in support of the argument and shall indicate with an asterisk the authorities to which particular reference will be made during the course of argument.
If any such authority is not readily available, copies of the text relied upon shall accompany the heads of argument in a separate volume.
The heads of argument shall define the form of order sought from the Court.
[If reliance is placed on subordinate legislation, a copy of such legislation.] A photocopy, or a printout from an electronic database, of those provisions of any statute, regulation, rule, ordinance or by-law directly at issue, shall accompany the heads of argument in a separate volume.
The heads of argument of any appellant or respondent shall not exceed 40 pages, unless a judge, on request, otherwise orders.
The heads of argument shall be clearly typed on stout A4 standard paper in double-spacing in black record ink, on one side of the paper only.
All annexures to the heads of argument shall be bound separately.
Heads of argument and annexures thereto shall be bound with plastic comb binders and card covers, white for the appellant and blue for the respondent.
Cross-appeals do not require a separate set of heads of argument. In all cases where there is an appeal and a cross-appeal, the appellant's main heads of argument under rule 10(1)(b) shall follow the same pattern.
a certificate signed by the legal practitioner responsible for the heads of argument that rules 10 and 10A(a) have been complied with.
give such directions in matters of practice, procedure and the disposal of any appeal, application or interlocutory matter as the [Chief Justice] President or the Court may consider just and expedient.
Any power or authority vesting in the [Chief Justice] President in terms of these rules may be exercised by a judge or judges designated by the [Chief Justice] President for that purpose.
11A. The Court may make an order for costs to be borne personally by any party or attorney or counsel if the hearing of the appeal is adversely affected by the failure of that party or his or her legal representative to comply with these rules.
In every matter where condonation is sought, the application shall be lodged in [duplicate] triplicate with the registrar.
Every affidavit in answer to an application for condonation shall be lodged in [duplicate] triplicate with the registrar within one month after service of the application on the respondent.
The applicant shall lodge with the registrar any reply in [duplicate] triplicate within 10 days of receipt of the answering affidavit.
deal with the merits of the case only in so far as is necessary for the purpose of explaining and supporting the particular grounds upon which the application is sought or opposed.
additional copies of the application, and the party concerned shall lodge with the registrar the required documents within the period prescribed.
If the applicant fails to comply with a direction by the Court or the registrar or to complete the application within the period prescribed, the [registrar shall refer the matter to the judges assigned to the application who may dispose of it in its incomplete form] application shall lapse.
The registrar shall, subject to the directions of the [Chief Justice] President, notify each party by registered letter of the date of hearing.
A registered letter forwarded to a party's last-known address shall be deemed to be sufficient notice of the date of the hearing.
If the applicant or appellant fails to appear at the date thus notified, the application or appeal shall be dismissed for non-prosecution, unless the Court otherwise directs.
if enrolment may clash with religious holidays which any of the legal representatives or parties in the case wish to observe.
by the insertion before subrule (2) of the following subheading: "Language".
"(4) Any party dissatisfied with a ruling of the registrar under this rule may apply to the [Chief Justice] President for a revision in chambers.".
Subject to this rule, any person interested in any matter before the Court may, with the written consent of all the parties in the matter before the Court given not later than the time specified in subrule (5), be admitted therein as an amicus curiae upon such terms and conditions and with such rights and privileges as may be agreed upon in writing with all the parties before the Court or as may be directed by the [Chief Justice] President in terms of subrule (3).
The written consent referred to in subrule (1) shall, within 10 days of it having been obtained, be lodged with the registrar and the amicus curiae shall, in addition to any other provision, comply with the times agreed upon for the lodging of written argument.
The [Chief Justice] President may amend the terms, conditions, rights and privileges agreed upon in terms of subrule (1).
If the written consent referred to in subrule (1) has not been secured, any person who has an interest in any matter before the Court may apply to the [Chief Justice] President to be admitted therein as an amicus curiae, and the [Chief Justice] President may grant such application upon such terms and conditions and with such rights and privileges as he or she may determine.
An application pursuant to the provisions of subrule (4) shall be made within one month after the record has been lodged with the registrar.
set out the submissions to be advanced by the amicus curiae, their relevance to the proceedings and his or her reasons for believing that the submissions will be useful to the Court and different from those of the other parties.
(a) An amicus curiae shall have the right to lodge written argument, provided that such written argument does not repeat any matter set forth in the argument of the other parties and raises new contentions which may be useful to the Court.
The heads of argument of an amicus curiae shall not exceed 20 pages unless a judge, on request, otherwise orders.
An amicus curiae shall be limited to the record on appeal and may not add thereto and, unless otherwise ordered by the Court, shall not present oral argument.
An order granting leave to be admitted as an amicus curiae shall specify the date of lodging the written argument of the amicus curiae or any other relevant matter.
An order of the Court dealing with costs may make provision for the payment of costs incurred by or as a result of the intervention of the amicus curiae.
16A. (1) The appellant shall inform the registrar immediately it becomes known that an appeal is to be postponed or has been settled.
An attorney who wishes to withdraw as attorney of record must comply with the procedure prescribed by Uniform rule 16(4).
The costs incurred in any appeal or application shall be taxed by the registrar who, when exercising this function, shall be called the taxing master, but his or her taxation shall be subject to review [of the court] in terms of subrule (3).
Value-added tax may be added to all costs, fees, disbursements and tariffs in respect of which value-added tax is chargeable.
Any party dissatisfied with the ruling of the taxing master as to any item or part of an item which was objected to or disallowed mero motu by the taxing master may within 20 days of the allocatur require the taxing master to state a case for the decision of the [court] President, which case shall set out each item or part of an item together with the grounds of objection advanced at the taxation, and shall embody any relevant findings of facts by the taxing master.
The taxing master shall supply a copy of the stated case to each of the parties who may within 15 days of receipt of the copy submit contentions in writing thereon, including grounds of objection not advanced at the taxation, in respect of any item or part of an item which was objected to before the taxing master or disallowed mero motu by the taxing master.
refer the case for decision to the Court.
Any further information to be supplied by the taxing master to the judge or judges must also be supplied to the parties who may within 10 days after receipt thereof, make written submissions thereon to the taxing master, who shall forthwith lay such information together with any submissions of the parties thereon before the judge or judges.
The judge, judges or court deciding the matter may make such order as to costs of the case as deemed fit, including an order that the unsuccessful party pay to the successful party the costs of review in a sum fixed by the judge, judges or Court.
These rules shall come into operation on 24 December 2010.