100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
jurisprudence - Courts, judicial precedent and case law R133,00
Add to cart

Class notes

jurisprudence - Courts, judicial precedent and case law

 24 views  0 purchase

Define and understand the hierarchy of the courts, understand what jurisdiction means and investigate the three factors that influence a court’s jurisdiction, apply these factors to the various courts, understand and explain the court structure, define a number of words and concepts, define the d...

[Show more]

Preview 2 out of 12  pages

  • January 14, 2022
  • 12
  • 2021/2022
  • Class notes
  • Multiple
  • All classes
book image

Book Title:

Author(s):

  • Edition:
  • ISBN:
  • Edition:
All documents for this subject (15)
avatar-seller
MBanks
JURISPRUDENCE 110
Unit 9
Courts, judicial precedent and case law

Learning outcomes
- Define and understand the hierarchy of the courts.
- Understand what jurisdiction means and investigate the three factors that influence a court’s jurisdiction.
- Apply these factors to the various courts.
- Understand and explain the court structures
- Define a number of words and concepts
- Define the doctrine of judicial precedent
- Investigate where judgements can be found and which part of the judgement sets precedent by distinguishing
between reported and unreported cases and ratio decidendi versus obiter dictum.
- Investigate the application of the doctrine of precedent
- Explain the value of judicial precedent and discuss some pros and cons
- Dissect the five components of a case citation
- Understand and explain what the name of a case means
- Explain the year and volume
- Explain which series of aw reports the case was published
- Explain the page number on which the case report starts
- Investigate which court heard the matter

Definitions
Stare decisis
- To stand by previous decisions
- Principle we inherited from the English law.
- Previous judgements create binding precedents that must be followed by the lower courts as well as by the
courts themselves.
- The legal principle of determining points in litigation to precedent

Like cases treated alike
- The law that was applied to a specific factual situation should be applied to all similar situations

Material facts
- Those facts that are essential in deciding a case or making a judgement
- Facts that may alter or change a person's decisions.
- E.G.
o Road was wet & therefore slippery
▪ Drivers should reduce speed
- Sometimes called salient facts

Analogous
- Cases are analogous when the facts before the court are materially the same/similar to a previous case and
decision the existing precedent needs to be followed
- So if the facts are analogous to a previous case, the decision made in previous case should be followed.

Distinguishable
- Although there may be some similarities between the case before the court and a previous case, the facts
before the court are not materially the same as in the previous case and the court does not have to apply the
precedent to the facts before it.




1

, Hierarchy of courts
- The system of judicial precedent means that lower courts are bound (must follow) by the decisions of higher
courts.
o This implies that there is a hierarchy of lower and superior courts
- s.166 of the Constitution
o Lists the courts in order of authority or the hierarchy of the court:
▪ Judicial system
• The courts are –
o The Constitutional Court;
o The Supreme Court of Appeal;
o The High Court of South Africa and any high court of appeal that may be
established by an Act of Parliament to hear appeals from any court of a
status similar to the High Court of South Africa;
o The Magistrates’ Courts; and
o Any other court established or recognised in terms of an Act of Parliament,
including any court of a status similar to either the High Court of South Africa
or the Magistrates’ Courts’.
- Constitutional court is the highest court
o What kind of case are brought before the Constitutional Court?
o Can it be a court of first instance only?
o Is the Supreme Court of Appeal only an appeal court or can it also serve as a court of first
instance/court a quo?
o Is there a difference between a single judge’s decision in the High Court and that of the full bench
(three judges)?
▪ Answers depend on the jurisdiction of the various courts
- Constitutional Court – Johannesburg
- Supreme Court of Appeal – Bloemfontein
- High Court – per province (2 in Johannesburg)
- Magistrate’s Court – District & regional (criminal & civil)
- Special Courts
o Labour
o Tax
o Labour Appeals
o Land Claims
o Competition Appeal
▪ Lots of legislation - Judge needs to have specified knowledge
Jurisdiction
- The official power to make legal decisions & judgements
- Court’s jurisdiction refers to its competence to hear a specific case or a court’s power to hear a specific case
o Depends on 3 factors
1. Geographical area
▪ What connects person before court to specific court’s geographical jurisdiction?
▪ Factors that may influence which in court geographical area may have jurisdiction over the
dispute
• Where the crime has been committed
o or the place where the cause of action arose or the defendant’s domicile
• Where one is domiciled – in more detail; look at civil procedure
2. Type of case
▪ Is it a criminal case, a civil case or constitutional matter
3. Whether the case is appearing
▪ For the first time
• Court a quo/ of first instance
▪ On appeal
• Court made a mistake in its decision
▪ On review
• Irregularity in proceedings
2

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through EFT, credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying this summary from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller MBanks. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy this summary for R133,00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

52355 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy summaries for 14 years now

Start selling
R133,00
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added