Specialised Courts
A small number of South African courts are established by their own statute to hear one specific category of matter, rather than general civil or criminal jurisdiction. Several carry the same status as the High Court - meaning their judgments are appealable in the same way and their proceedings carry the same procedural weight - despite hearing only a narrow subject-matter range.
This category groups those bodies together: the Land Court (which took over the Land Claims Court's jurisdiction under the Land Court Act 6 of 2023, effective 5 April 2024), the Competition Appeal Court (competition law appeals), the Tax Court (disputes with the South African Revenue Service), and the Electoral Court (electoral disputes). Each has its own record in this directory with its specific jurisdiction and the matters it hears.
What unites this group is not subject matter but structure: each was created by its own Act of Parliament to solve a problem general courts were not well suited to - land reform disputes that need specialist knowledge of tenure and restitution law, tax disputes that need accounting and revenue-law expertise, competition disputes that need economic analysis, and electoral disputes that need to be resolved on a timeline elections themselves impose. A matter that fits none of these categories does not belong here - it goes to the ordinary High Court or Magistrate's Court structure instead.
Competition Appeal Court
Pretoria
Electoral Court of South Africa
Bloemfontein
Land Court of South Africa
Randburg
Tax Court
Frequently asked questions
What happened to the Land Claims Court?
It was abolished and its jurisdiction transferred to the newly established Land Court of South Africa under the Land Court Act 6 of 2023, effective 5 April 2024. Any reference to the 'Land Claims Court' today means the Land Court.
Are these courts open to individuals, or only companies and government?
It depends on the court - the Tax Court hears disputes an individual or a company can bring against SARS, for example, while others (like the Electoral Court) hear a narrower set of parties defined by their governing statute.
Do I need a specialist attorney for a matter at one of these courts?
It is strongly advisable. Each of these courts applies its own governing statute and body of precedent - an attorney who does not regularly practise in that specific area is starting from the same position a client would.