Civil Procedure and Litigation Practice
Where the case must be started
The domain tests your ability to move a civil claim from demand to execution in the High Court (High Court Act 16 of 1990) and the lower courts (Magistrates' Courts Act 32 of 1944). First identify the cause of action, standing and jurisdiction. The lower courts are limited by the monetary and territorial limits in the Act; claims above the limit, or for relief such as specific performance of certain kinds, may require the High Court.
From summons to close of pleadings
A combined summons with particulars of claim must disclose material facts, not evidence. The defendant delivers a notice of intention to defend, then a plea; a counterclaim, replication and further pleadings follow until pleadings close. Special pleas - prescription, jurisdiction, lis pendens, res judicata - are raised separately and can dispose of the matter without evidence. Where there is no genuine dispute of fact, proceed by notice of motion supported by a founding affidavit, with answering and replying affidavits; if a real dispute emerges, the court may refer the matter to trial. Summary judgment, exception and striking out are early filters. Discovery, a pre-trial conference and judicial case management precede trial.
Worked example
A plaintiff sues for the price of goods delivered two years ago. The defendant's best defence is that the debt has prescribed. Prescription is not raised by the court of its own accord; it must be pleaded as a special plea. The plea admits the contract but asserts that the right to enforce it has been extinguished. The plaintiff may then rely on interruption of prescription, such as a summons served within the period. The reasoning matters: a special plea differs from a plea on the merits, and pleading it correctly avoids an automatic loss.
Traps
Launching motion proceedings where facts are genuinely disputed; pleading evidence instead of material facts; missing the dies for a notice of intention to defend; and citing the wrong party.