The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), formerly known as the Appellate Division, is the second-highest

court of appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

below the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

. The country's apex court from 1910 to 1994, it no longer holds that position, having been displaced in constitutional matters by the Constitutional Court in 1994, and in all matters by 2013. It is located in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. Bloemfontein is often, and has been traditionally referred to, as the "judicial capital" of South Africa because of the court, although the Constitutional Court is based in Johannesburg.

History

On the creation of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

from four British colonies in 1910, the supreme courts of the colonies became provincial divisions of the new

Supreme Court of South Africa The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1997. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was th ...

, and the Appellate Division was created as a purely appellate court superior to the provincial divisions. It was the seat of some of the country's most outstanding judges including Innes CJ, Watermeyer CJ, Galgut JA, Wessels CJ and Schreiner JA. In 1994 the

Constitutional Court of South Africa The Constitutional Court of South Africa is the supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was first establ ...

was created with jurisdiction superior to the Appellate Division, but it could hear only in constitutional matters. The Appellate Division, therefore, remained the highest court in non-constitutional matters. In 1997 the Appellate Division became the Supreme Court of Appeal and was given constitutional jurisdiction, though the system of two

apex court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

s remained: the Constitutional Court was the country's highest court in constitutional matters, but the SCA was the highest court in non-constitutional matters. However, the Constitutional Court took a broad reading of its jurisdiction, and in August 2013 the position was regularised by an amendment to the

South African Constitution The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the human rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of th ...

which gave the Constitutional Court

general jurisdiction A court of general jurisdiction, in the law of the United States, is a court with authority to hear cases in law and in Equity (law), equity of all kinds – criminal law, criminal, civil law (common law), civil, family law, family, probate, and oth ...

Current judges

The court is composed of a President, a Deputy President, and the number of ordinary Judges of Appeal determined in terms of an Act of Parliament; at present there are 23 ordinary positions on the court. Cases before the court are generally heard by panels of five judges. Judges are appointed by the

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence F ...

on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. Judges of Appeal are cited in judgments with the surname of the judge followed by "JA". (The President and Deputy President are cited with a "P" and "DP" respectively, and acting judges are cited with "AJA".) , the Judges of Appeal were: * Mahube Molemela (President) * Dumisani Zondi (Deputy President) * Nathan Ponnan * Nambitha Dambuza * Baratang Mocumie * Tati Makgoka * Ashton Schippers * Fikile Mokgohloa * Caroline Nicholls * Yvonne Mbatha * Billy Mothle * Wendy Hughes * Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana * Piet Meyer * Keoagile Matojane * Sharise Weiner * Glenn Goosen * Daisy Molefe * Shane Kgoele * Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane * John Smith * Raylene Keightley * David Unterhalter

List of presidents

List of deputy presidents

List of judges of appeal

This is a list of all the judges who have served in the Supreme Court of Appeal since its inception in 1997. Appointments to the Appellate Division: The following judges were appointed to the Appellate Division but continued to serve on the bench in the Supreme Court of Appeal after 1997. * Hennie van Heerden (appointed in 1982, retired in 2001) * Joos Hefer (appointed in 1984, retired in 2001) * Ernie Grosskopf (appointed in 1985, retired in 1998) * John Smalberger (appointed in 1985, retired in 2002) * Werner Vivier (appointed in 1986, retired in 2003) * Frans Grosskopf (appointed in 1988, retired in 2001) * Peet Nienaber (appointed in 1990, retired in 2002) *

Louis Harms Georg Ludwig Detlef Theodor Harms (baptised as Ludwig, but called Louis during his life) (1808–1865) was a German Lutheran pastor who was nicknamed the "Reviver of the Heath" (''Erwecker der Heide''). One of the most significant Christian revi ...

(appointed in 1993, retired in 2008) * Craig Howie (appointed in 1993, retired in 2008) * Robin Marais (appointed in 1995, retired in 2004) * Pierre Olivier (appointed in 1995, died in 2003) * Peter Schutz (appointed in 1995, died in 2004) * Douglas Scott (appointed in 1995, retired in 2008) * Ralph Zulman (appointed in 1996, retired in 2007) * Chris Plewman (appointed in 1996, retired in 2000) Appointments by President

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

: * Ismail Mahomed (appointed in 1997, died in 2000) * Piet Streicher (appointed in 1997, retired in 2010) Appointments by President

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

: * Ian Farlam (appointed in 2000, retired in 2009) *

Edwin Cameron Edwin Cameron (born 15 February 1953 in Pretoria) is a retired judge who served as a Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He is well known for his HIV/AIDS and gay-rights activism and was hailed by Nelson Mandela as "one of Sou ...

(appointed in 2000, elevated in 2008) * Mahomed Navsa (appointed in 2000, retired in 2022) * Lex Mpati (appointed in 2000, retired in 2016) * Kenneth Mthiyane (appointed in 2001, retired in 2014) * Fritz Brand (appointed in 2001, retired in 2015) * Robert Nugent (appointed in 2002, retired in 2013) * Johan Conradie (appointed in 2002, retired in 2007) * Tom Cloete (appointed in 2003, retired in 2012) * Carole Lewis (appointed in 2003, retired in 2019) * John Heher (appointed in 2003, retired in 2012) * Belinda van Heerden (appointed in 2004, retired in 2013) * Nathan Ponnan (appointed in 2004) * Chris Jafta (appointed in 2005, elevated in 2009) * Dunstan Mlambo (appointed in 2005, transferred in 2010) * Mandisa Maya (appointed in 2005, elevated in 2022) * Peter Carl Combrinck (appointed in 2007, retired in 2008) * Azhar Cachalia (appointed in 2007, retired in 2021) Appointments by President

Kgalema Motlanthe Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe (; born 19 July 1949) is a South African politician who served as the 3rd president of South Africa from 25 September 2008 to 9 May 2009, following the resignation of Thabo Mbeki. Thereafter, he was deputy president und ...

: * Suretta Snyders (appointed in 2008, died in 2014) * Nonkosi Mhlantla (appointed in 2008, elevated in 2015) Appointments by President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

: * Frans Malan (appointed in 2009, retired in 2013) * Ronnie Bosielo (appointed in 2009, died in 2018) * Jeremiah Shongwe (appointed in 2009, retired in 2018) * Eric Leach (appointed in 2009, retired in 2020) * Zukisa Tshiqi (appointed in 2009, elevated in 2019) * Leona Theron (appointed in 2010, elevated in 2017) * Steven Majiedt (appointed in 2010, elevated in 2019) * Willie Seriti (appointed in 2010, retired in 2019) * Malcolm Wallis (appointed in 2011, retired in 2021) * Xola Petse (appointed in 2012, retired in 2024) * Nigel Willis (appointed in 2013, retired in 2018) * Halima Saldulker (appointed in 2013, retired in 2023) * Kevin Swain (appointed in 2014, retired in 2020) *

Boissie Mbha Boissie Henry Mbha (born 31 July 1952) is a retired South African judge who served in the Supreme Court of Appeal (South Africa), Supreme Court of Appeal from June 2014 to August 2022. He was also the chairperson of the Electoral Court of South ...

(appointed in 2014, retired in 2022) * Dumisani Zondi (appointed in 2014) * Nambitha Dambuza (appointed in 2015) * Rammaka Mathopo (appointed in 2015, elevated in 2021) * Ian van der Merwe (appointed in 2016, retired in 2023) * Connie Mocumie (appointed in 2016) Appointments by President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

: * Tati Makgoka (appointed in 2018) * Mahube Molemela (appointed in 2018) * Ashton Schippers (appointed in 2018) * Fikile Mokgohloa (appointed in 2019) * Clive Plasket (appointed in 2019, retired in 2022) * Daniel Dlodlo (appointed in 2019, retired in 2022) * Caroline Nicholls (appointed in 2019) * Thokozile Mbatha (appointed in 2019) *

Trevor Gorven Trevor Richard Gorven (born 21 April 1954) is a South African retired judge who served in the Supreme Court of Appeal (South Africa), Supreme Court of Appeal between July 2021 and April 2024. Before his elevation to that court, he served in th ...

(appointed in 2021, retired in 2024) *

Zeenat Carelse Zeenat Carelse (born 16 October 1966) is a South African judge who became the inaugural president of the Land Claims Court in 2024. She was formerly a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal (South Africa), Supreme Court of Appeal between 2021 and ...

(appointed in 2021, elevated in 2024) * Billy Mothle (appointed in 2021) * Wendy Hughes (appointed in 2021) * Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana (appointed in 2021) * Piet Meyer (appointed in 2022) * Elias Matojane (appointed in 2022) * Sharise Weiner (appointed in 2022) * Glenn Goosen (appointed in 2022) * Daisy Molefe (appointed in 2022) * Shane Kgoele (appointed in 2023) * Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane (appointed in 2023) * John Smith (appointed in 2024) * Raylene Keightley (appointed in 2024) * David Unterhalter (appointed in 2024)

References

External links

Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa official websiteDatabase of judgments from the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Supreme Court Of Appeal Of South Africa Courts of South Africa

Buildings and structures in Bloemfontein 1910 establishments in South Africa Courts and tribunals established in 1910 fr:Droit sud-africain#Cour suprême d'appel