Asked by the Customer on 16-12-2015 07:23:48
Question posted in the Family Law category relating to Gauteng
Question posted in the Family Law category relating to Gauteng
If a person resident in Durban RSA or Los Angeles USA sues a person resident in Johannesburg for harassment, in which jurisdiction will the case be heard?
Message from the Attorney
Posted by Att. Patrick on 16-12-2015 09:24:10
Hi there and thank you for your question,
The south african courts will hear any matter in which the court has jurisdiction.
The question is "what is jurisdiction?"
In your instance, the court will hear the matter if the defendant (the person being sued) is domiciled within the geographic area of the court. So, if the person you intend suing lives in Johannesburg, then the Gauteng Division of the High Court, based in Johannesburg, will have jurisdiction.
That does not change just because you live somewhere else. e.g. Durban, Los Angeles, Cape Town, England, wherever...
If there is a part of the answer which you need more advice on, or clarity please continue in this same thread instead of opening a new question.
Att. Patrick
Please remember this is a dialog if you have follow up questions please use the REPLY button and ask. If I did not answer the question you thought you were asking, please respond with the specific question you wanted answered. I hope you found my answer helpful, and you have finished asking your questions, please click on the GREEN ACCEPT button in order to mark the question as closed.
The south african courts will hear any matter in which the court has jurisdiction.
The question is "what is jurisdiction?"
In your instance, the court will hear the matter if the defendant (the person being sued) is domiciled within the geographic area of the court. So, if the person you intend suing lives in Johannesburg, then the Gauteng Division of the High Court, based in Johannesburg, will have jurisdiction.
That does not change just because you live somewhere else. e.g. Durban, Los Angeles, Cape Town, England, wherever...
If there is a part of the answer which you need more advice on, or clarity please continue in this same thread instead of opening a new question.
Att. Patrick
Please remember this is a dialog if you have follow up questions please use the REPLY button and ask. If I did not answer the question you thought you were asking, please respond with the specific question you wanted answered. I hope you found my answer helpful, and you have finished asking your questions, please click on the GREEN ACCEPT button in order to mark the question as closed.
Message from the Customer
Does the same rule apply to magistrate courts in the RSA?
Message from the Attorney
Posted by Att. Patrick on 19-12-2015 13:05:19
Hi there,
Yes, the same rules of court apply to the Magistrates Court, except they are even stricter!
Yes, the same rules of court apply to the Magistrates Court, except they are even stricter!
Message from the Customer
Stricter in what sense?
Message from the Attorney
Posted by Att. Patrick on 20-12-2015 10:19:24
Take for example a thief, who steals something in Cape Town, is caught in Johannesburg, but lives in Durban.
The High Court will hear the case in either Cape Town, Johannesburg or Durban - because the crime was committed in Cape Town, the thief was caughts in Johannesburg, and he lives in Durban.
The Magistrates court won't hear the case in Cape Town because he wasn't caught in the same jurisdiction as he stole, but the Johannesburg court will. Also the Durban court because that's where he lives.
If this doesn't help you, maybe you can explain what actually happened in your situation and then I can explain in terms of that reference? Otherwise this is all theory, and the rules can get quite complicated. It's difficult to explain in a vacuum.
The High Court will hear the case in either Cape Town, Johannesburg or Durban - because the crime was committed in Cape Town, the thief was caughts in Johannesburg, and he lives in Durban.
The Magistrates court won't hear the case in Cape Town because he wasn't caught in the same jurisdiction as he stole, but the Johannesburg court will. Also the Durban court because that's where he lives.
If this doesn't help you, maybe you can explain what actually happened in your situation and then I can explain in terms of that reference? Otherwise this is all theory, and the rules can get quite complicated. It's difficult to explain in a vacuum.
Answer Accepted
This answer was accepted on 21-12-2015 07:11:31
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