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

13. Constitution of courts of provincial or local divisions
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(1)

(a)Save as provided in this Act or any other law, the court of a provincial or local division shall, when sitting as a court of first instance for the hearing of any civil matter, be constituted before a single judge of the division concerned: Provided that the judge president or, in the absence of both the judge president and the deputy judge president, the senior available judge of any division may at any time direct that any matter be heard by a full court consisting of so many judges as he may determine.
(b)A single judge of a division may at any time discontinue the hearing of any matter which is being heard before him and refer it for hearing to the full court of that division, constituted in accordance with the proviso to paragraph (a).

 

(2)
(a)The court of a provincial or local division shall, except where it is in terms of any law required or permitted to be otherwise constituted—
(i)for the hearing of any appeal against a judgment or order of an inferior court, be constituted before not less than two judges; and
(ii)for the hearing of any appeal against a judgment or order of a court of a provincial or local division constituted before a single judge of such provincial or local division, be constituted before three judges.
(b)No judge shall sit at the hearing of an appeal against a judgment or order given in a case which was heard before him.

 

(3)Whenever it appears to the judge president or, in his absence, the senior available judge of any division that any matter which is being heard before a court of that division should in view of its importance be heard before a court consisting of a larger number of judges, he may direct that the hearing be discontinued and commenced anew before a court consisting of so many judges as he may determine.

 

(4)For the hearing of any criminal case as a court of first instance, the court of a provincial or local division shall be constituted in the manner prescribed in the applicable law relating to procedure in criminal matters.

 

(5)During any period which may by rule of court be fixed as vacation of any division, one judge thereof shall, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law, but subject to the provisions of subsection (2) (a) (ii), be competent to exercise all the powers, jurisdiction and authority of a court of such division.