To provisionally enroll a trial matter in the Gauteng Division is a two tiered process. The first set is to obtain a certificate of trial readiness. Thereafter a party may apply for a provisional hearing date. Click on the relevant icons below to commence and finalize your application process.
You must distinguish between Category Y matters and all other matters when you bring your application. It is your responsibility to ensure that you use the correct application form at the right stage in the process.
STEP 1 - CERTIFICATE OF TRIAL READINESS
Use this form for certificates of trial readiness or applications for judicial case management of all trial matters in which the defendant is the Road Accident Fund or the MEC Health Gauteng, or PRASA.
Use this form for all other trial matters – “C” for commercial, “F” for family, “D” for Delictual and “P” for Public Law.
STEP 2 - TRIAL DATE APPLICATION
Before you can apply for a trial date in a matter in which the defendant is the Road Accident Fund or the MEC Health Gauteng, or PRASA is the defendant, the Registrar must issue a certificate of trial readiness.
This is the second step in the provisional enrolment process. Verify on CaseLines that a certificate of trial readiness is uploaded before you take this step.
Before you can apply for a trial date in all other trial matters – “C” for commercial, “F” for family, “D” for Delictual and “P” for Public Law, the Registrar must issue a certificate of trial readiness.
This is the second step in the provisional enrolment process. Verify on CaseLines that a certificate of trial readiness is uploaded before you take this step.
Learn more
As from 8 July 2019 enrolment of civil trials in the Gauteng Division of the High Court is regulated by Practice directive 2 of 2019.
You must read the directive together with Uniform Rules of Court 36, 37 and 37A as amended from time to time.
The directive applies to both the Pretoria and the Johannesburg divisions of the high court. The provisions of the directive enjoy precedence over any provision in the practice manual of either courts.
Even though the directive applies:
- it remains the primary responsibility of the parties and their legal representatives to prepare property for the trial
- to comply with all rules of court
- to comply with the practice manual and the directives
- to act professionally in expediting the matter towards trial and adjudication.
In the interest of justice, it is the objective of case judicial case management to alleviate congested trial rolls, and to address the problems which cause delays in the finalization of cases.
On 18 September 2020 the Judge President of the Gauteng Division supplemented the provisions of Practice Directive 2 of 2019.
The consolidated directive of this date explains the procedure to follow to upload the case on CaseLines and when to invite a specific Registrar to the case.
If your application does not comply with both Practice Directive 2 of 2019 and Consolidated directive of 18 September 2020, the Registrar will not allocate a trial date.
Special note
Attorneys should take special note of the warning contained in the directive.
Any failure by a party to adhere to these principles may be penalised by way of an adverse costs order on a punitive scale, de bonis propriis, and may further include an order disallowing fees to be charged to a litigant by that litigants own legal practitioners.
