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Magistrates' Courts Act, 1944 (Act No. 32 of 1944)

Part II : Civil Matters

Chapter VI : Civil Jurisdiction

28. Jurisdiction in respect of persons

 

(1) Saving any other jurisdiction assigned to a court by this Act or by any other law, the persons in respect of whom the court shall, subject to subsection (1A), have jurisdiction shall be the following and no other—
(a) any person who resides, carries on business or is employed within the district or regional division;
(b) any partnership which has business premises situated or any member whereof resides within the district or regional division;
(c) any person whatever, in respect of any proceedings incidental to any action or proceeding instituted in the court by such person himself or herself;
(d) any person, whether or not he or she resides, carries on business or is employed within the district or regional division, if the cause of action arose wholly within the district or regional division;
(e) any party to interpleader proceedings, if—
(i) the execution creditor and every claimant to the subject matter of the proceedings reside, carry on business, or are employed within the district or regional division; or
(ii) the subject-matter of the proceedings has been attached by process of the court; or
(iii) such proceedings are taken under section sixty-nine and the person therein referred to as the 'third party' resides, carries on business, or is employed within the district or regional division; or
(iv) all the parties consent to the jurisdiction of the court;
(f) any defendant (whether in convention or reconvention) who appears and takes no objection to the jurisdiction of the court;
(g) any person who owns immovable property within the district or regional division in actions in respect of such property or in respect of mortgage bonds thereon.

 

(1A) For the purposes of section 29(1B) a court for a regional division shall have jurisdiction if the parties are or if either of the parties is—
(i) domiciled in the area of jurisdiction of the court on the date on which proceedings are instituted; or
(ii) ordinarily resident in the area of jurisdiction of the court on the said date and has or have been ordinarily resident in the Republic for a period of not less than one year immediately prior to that date.

 

(2) 'Person' and 'defendant' in this section include the State.

 

[Section 28 substituted by section 6 of Act No. 31 of 2008]