Pleading stage of proceedings The documents used by a party to proceedings to formulate his case in preparation for the hearing are called ‘pleadings’. The following documents are pleadings: Particulars of claim Declaration Counterclaim Third party claim Interpleader claim Plea, with or without special plea Further pleadings such as rejoinder, […]
Legal Practitioners
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Action proceedings Introduction and overview Action proceedings are used when a real and substantial dispute of fact needs to be decided by a court of law. This is done during a trial before a judge or magistrate who must consider not only the balance of probabilities of facts but also […]
Hearing of applications Preparation Competent and confident Motion Court advocacy is the product of systematic preparation. Preparation is the key to success! The general principles and sources for preparation is found in – The rules of court The law (statutes, decided cases and textbooks) The practice directives of the […]
Set-down of applications Unopposed applications If the Respondent does not, on or before the day mentioned for that purpose in a notice of motion, notify the Applicant of his or her intention to oppose, the Applicant may place the matter on the roll for hearing, by giving the registrar […]
Answering and Replying affidavits Answering affidavit The Respondent has the right to answer the allegations in the Applicant’s founding affidavit. This is done by way of the Respondent’s answering affidavit (aka opposing affidavit) that is made by the Respondent personally, or duly authorised person if the Respondent is not a […]
Opposition to applications Ex parte applications In High Court matters, any person having an interest that may be affected by a decision on an application being brought ex parte, may deliver notice of an application for leave to oppose, supported by an affidavit setting forth the nature of such […]
Service When legal proceedings are instituted the process must be brought to the notice of the party against whom it is instituted by serving a copy of the process and any annexures on the party as directed by the rules. 1. Personal service Service shall be effected personally on […]
Filing of applications Once the notice of motion and founding affidavit have been drawn up and duly signed and attested, the application must be filed with the registrar or clerk of the court. The application must be accepted by the registrar or clerk of the court and it is for […]
Types of applications Ex parte applications An ex parte application is brought without notice to anyone, either because – no relief of a final nature is sought against any person, or notice might defeat the object of the application, or the matter is one of extreme emergency. The notice […]
Contents of affidavits All the mentioned affidavits should contain the following: The case heading. The title of the document, e.g. “FOUNDING AFFIDAVIT OF JOE SOAP” “APPLICANT’S FOUNDING AFFIDAVIT” “REPLYING AFFIDAVIT OF JANE DOE” “RESPONDENT’S OPPOSING AFFIDAVIT”, etc. The commencement, e.g. “I, Joe Soap, state under oath:” or “I, Jane Doe, […]