Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa

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The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a court headquartered in Pretoria . Its jurisdiction extends to the South African provinces of Gauteng and Mpumalanga and parts of the province of North West .

history

In 1877 the High Court of the South African Republic was established in Pretoria . In 1902 it was renamed the Supreme Court of the Transvaal ; subordinate to him was the High Court of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg . When the Union of South Africa was founded in 1910, the courts were renamed the Transvaal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa and Witwatersrand Local Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa . In 1997, the new constitution of 1996 brought about an institutional reform of the state, according to which all divisions were designated as part of the High Court (abstract basis see Article 166). In 2009, the courts in Pretoria and Johannesburg were named North Gauteng High Court and South Gauteng High Court , respectively. In 2014, according to the Superior Courts Act, enacted in 2013, a nationwide High Court was established and the court was renamed the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa .

Since 2012, Dunstan Mlambo , appointed by President Jacob Zuma , has served as Judge President and thus as the court president of this judicial institution.

In 2016, the Limpopo Division of the High Court , based in Polokwane and courts of law in Thohoyandou and Lephalale, was established and thus separated from the Gauteng Division. In 2017, President Zuma promised the early completion of the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court. In February 2018, the building in Mbombela had not yet opened.

Decisions (selection)

In 2015 the court ordered the arrest of the then Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir , against whom an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court was pending. Al-Bashir had recently left South Africa with the help of the police .

Jurisdiction

The court is responsible for the provinces of Gauteng and Mpumalanga and the east of the province of Northwest, the sub-authority in Johannesburg specifically for the south of Gauteng. The establishment of an independent Mpumalanga division in Mbombela is planned. So-called circuit courts are currently meeting in the Mpumalanga province in Mbombela and Middelburg .

Higher authorities are the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa for appeals and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa for constitutional issues .

The courthouse in Pretoria

The Palace of Justice in Pretoria

The construction of the Palace of Justice (German: "Justizpalast") in Pretoria began in 1897 in the presence of President Paul Kruger . The architect was Sytze Wierda from the Netherlands. The Rivonia Trial took place there from 1963 to 1964 , in which eight opposition members, including Nelson Mandela , were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Known judges (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ South African History Online: South African Constitution 1996 . at www.sahistory.org.za, accessed on February 10, 2018
  2. ↑ Republic of South Africa: Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act No. 108 of 1996 . In: National Gazette No. 17678, December 18, 1996 , online at www.westerncape.gov.za, accessed February 10, 2018
  3. ^ Pat Ellis: A short story of the North and South Gauteng High Courts. In: General Council of the Bar of South Africa (Ed.): Advocate , April 2010, Vol. 23. No. 1, pp. 48–49 (English; PDF), accessed on February 8, 2018
  4. ^ Announcement of the renaming in the Government Gazette on February 28, 2014 (PDF), accessed on February 8, 2018
  5. ↑ Portrait at laf.org.tw (English; PDF), accessed on February 7, 2018
  6. ^ Limpopo High Court launched. (English), accessed February 9, 2018
  7. ↑ Kate Wilkinson, Ina Skosana: Zuma's broken promise: Mpumalanga high court in South Africa not yet completed. africacheck.org, February 5, 2018, accessed February 9, 2018
  8. ↑ Wanted Sudan leader Bashir avoids South Africa arrest. bbc.com of June 15, 2015 (English), accessed on February 8, 2018
  9. ↑ South African courts in justice.gov.za (English), accessed on February 8, 2018
  10. ↑ Description at artefacts.co.za (English), accessed on February 6, 2018
  11. ^ Foundation releases photos of graffiti in the holding cells at the Palace of Justice. nelsonmandela.org, accessed February 7, 2018

Coordinates: 25 ° 44 ′ 44 ″  S , 28 ° 11 ′ 15 ″  E