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Supreme Court Act, 1959 (Act No. 59 of 1959)

20. Appeals to Supreme Court in general

 

(1) An appeal from a judgment or order of the court of a provincial or local division in any civil proceedings or against any judgment or order of such a court given on appeal shall be heard by the appellate division or a full court, as the case may be.

 

(2)

(a) If leave is granted under subsection (4) (b) to appeal against a judgment or order, in any civil proceedings, of a court constituted before a single judge, the court against whose judgment or order the appeal is to be made or the appellate division, according to whether leave is granted by that court or the appellate division, shall direct that the appeal be heard by a full court, unless it is satisfied that the questions of law and of fact and the other considerations involved in the appeal are of such a nature that the appeal requires the attention of the appellate division, in which case it shall be directed that the appeal be heard by the appellate division.
(b) Any direction in terms of paragraph (a), by the court of a provincial or local division, may be set aside by the appellate division on application made to it by any interested party within 21 days, or such longer period as may on good cause be allowed, after the direction was given, and may be replaced by another direction in terms of paragraph (a).
(c) Any application to the appellate division under paragraph (b) shall be submitted by petition addressed to the Chief Justice, and the provisions of section 21 (3) (b), (c) and (d) shall mutatis mutandis apply in respect thereof.

 

(3) An appeal which is to be heard by a full court in terms of a direction under subsection (2), shall be heard—
(a) in the case of an appeal against a judgment or order of a provincial division, by the full court of the provincial division concerned;
(b) in the case of an appeal against a judgment or order of a local division other than the Witwatersrand local division, by the full court of the provincial division which exercises concurrent jurisdiction in the area of jurisdiction of the local division concerned;
(c) in the case of an appeal against a judgment or order of the Witwatersrand local division—
(i) by the full court of the Transvaal provincial division, unless a direction by the judge president of that provincial division under subparagraph (ii) applies to it; or
(ii) by the full court of the said local division, if the said judge president has so directed in the particular instance.

 

(4) No appeal shall lie against a judgment or order of the court of a provincial or local division in any civil proceedings or against any judgment or order of that court given on appeal to it except—
(a) in the case of a judgment or order given in any civil proceedings by the full court of such a division on appeal to it in terms of subsection (3), with the special leave of the appellate division;
(b) in any other case, with the leave of the court against whose judgment or order the appeal is to be made or, where such leave has been refused, with the leave of the appellate division.

 

(5)

(a) Any leave required in terms of subsection (4) for an appeal against a judgment or order of a court given on appeal to it, may be granted subject to such conditions as the court concerned or the appellate division, according to whether leave is granted by that court or the appellate division, may determine, and such conditions may include a condition that the applicant shall pay the costs of the appeal.
(b) If such leave to appeal is granted in any civil proceedings, the court granting the leave may order the applicant to find the security for the costs of the appeal in such an amount as the registrar may determine, and may fix the time within which the security is to be found.
(c) If the leave to appeal required in terms of subsection (4) (b) has been refused by the court of a provincial or local division but is granted by the appellate division, the appellate division may vary any order as to costs made by the court concerned in refusing leave.

 

(6) The power to grant leave to appeal as contemplated in this section—
(a) shall not be limited by reason only of the value of the matter in dispute or the amount claimed or awarded in the suit or by reason only of the fact that the matter in dispute is incapable of being valued in money; and
(b) shall be subject to the provisions of any other law which specifically limits it or specifically grants, limits or excludes any right of appeal.

 

(7) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law contained, no appeal shall lie from a judgment or order of the court of a provincial or local division in proceedings in connection with an application—
(a) by one spouse against the other for maintenance pendente lite;
(b) for contribution towards the costs of a pending matrimonial action;
(c) for the interim custody of a child when a matrimonial action between its parents is pending or is about to be instituted; or
(d) by one parent against the other for interim access to a child when a matrimonial action between the parents is pending or is about to be instituted.