High Court vs Regional Court- Where shall I get divorced?

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Not too long ago- I am talking about around 2015 our High Court began serving our community here in Mbombela. This Court did not yet have its own building and had its base of operations on the upper floors of our Magistrates' Court.

The attorneys of our city seemed very eager to make use of this new Court and soon we have found that this new Court received a tremendous in-flow of cases.

Among those cases were divorces. Soon afterward, however, this Court was made far less accessible with practice directives that seem designed to keep matters away from the court roll indefinitely.

With other matters we have an array of case management procedures that have to be followed before a matter is enrolled for hearing.

In the case of divorces where minor children are involved the High Court has brought in a requirement that seems to keep these matters off the roll indefinitely...

You see- When someone gets divorced out of the Regional Court on an unopposed basis the particulars of claim to the divorce summons, or where applicable, the settlement agreement, needs to be endorsed by the Family Advocate. This is a process that has taken us as short as 3 days or as long as a week to get done. The High Court had a similar requirement.

From around 2020, however, this was going to change...

The High Court now requires that all divorces that involve minor children, be they opposed or unopposed, to be investigated by the Family Advocate and that a report from the Family Advocate then be submitted before the matter can be enrolled for hearing...

This has lead to a large number of divorces that could have been finalised much sooner to be kept in limbo while the parties wait for the Family Advocate. The sad truth about the Family Advocate herein is that they already have a huge case load and an ever growing backlog. These divorces are expected to wait for a very long time unless they can be transferred to the Regional Court...

One has to remember that the High Court has to be used when the value of your claim exceeds R 400 000.

As for the Regional Court here- it has not been without its challenges, but is still one of the few courts that had kept on functioning without any interruptions during the level 4 state of alert last year. It is also still the most accessible Court for divorces and motions.

This is largely due to the dedication and efforts of the Registrars like Mr Terence Dipokoane and Magistrate Khumalo. 

I want to close this blog post with my heartfelt thanks to the Court Staff that assist us and also to the clients who support us.

Have a joyful Festive Season!


 


 



 





 





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