Mary is Caught Shoplifting

Mary is caught shoplifting a dress in a shop. She will be arrested and charged in the criminal court of the ordinary Magistrate’s Court in the area where she shoplifted the dress. Shoplifting is stealing, and it is a criminal offence.

(See: Ordinary Magistrates’ Courts)

John is Charged With Raping a Woman

John will be charged in the Regional Magistrate’s Court or the High Court in the area where he committed the crime. Rape is a very serious criminal offence and cannot be heard in the ordinary Magistrate’s Court.

(See: Regional Magistrates’ Courts)

The woman that John raped can also sue John privately for damages in the civil court of the ordinary Magistrate’s Court. But if her claim is for more than R100 000, she will have to sue through the High Court.

(See: Criminal and civil actions)

Pedi Murders His Wife

Pedi will be charged with murder in the High Court in the province where he committed the murder. Murder is a very serious criminal offence and cannot be heard in the ordinary or regional Magistrate’s Court.

Mxolisi Buys a Faulty TV

Mxolisi buys a faulty second-hand TV from a shop in town. He pays R800 for the TV. When he gets home he finds after a day that it stops working. The shop refuses to refund his money.

Mxolisi has a private civil claim against the shop. If there is a Small Claims Court in this town then Mxolisi can use this because his claim is less than R15 000. If there is no Small Claims Court in the town, then Mxolisi must use the ordinary Magistrate’s Court to claim his money back from the shop. This is more expensive and takes longer than the Small Claims Court. (See: Small Claims Court)

Jeremy Buys a Car Which Breaks Down

Jeremy buys a car from a garage in Cape Town for R35 000. The car breaks down three days later. He will have to fit a reconditioned engine to the car to get it going again.

Jeremy has a private civil claim against the garage. He must sue the garage through the civil courts in the ordinary Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town.

Themba and Bheki Quarrel About Cows

Themba and Bheki live in a rural village in KwaZulu-Natal. They quarrel about who owns certain cows.

This is a civil dispute. They can use the Chief’s or Headman’s court in the area in which they live, or they can use the ordinary Magistrate’s Court.

(See: Community Courts and Courts for Chiefs and Headmen)

Cheryl is Dismissed For Being Late

Cheryl is dismissed from her job because she arrives late one morning. She says that this is unfair because she says this is the first time she has been late. But the employer refuses to reinstate her.

Cheryl can go to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration for help. If the CCMA cannot solve the problem, they will refer the matter to the Labour Court. (See: Solving disputes under the LRA)

Benny Is Not Satisfied With a Painter’s Work

Benny signs a contract with a painter to paint his house ‘to his own satisfaction’ for an agreed sum of money. When the painter has finished, he asks Benny to pay him. Benny refuses because he says that ‘any fool’ can see that the house needs another coat of paint before the job can be called complete. The painter refuses to paint another coat.

If both Benny and the painter agree then they can call in a third person to act as a mediator between them. It will be better if this third person is a professional person in the building trade. This will usually be the quickest and cheapest way to solve the problem. (See: Mediation)

But if this fails, then the painter can refer the civil claim to the Small Claims Court or the Magistrate’s Court to get his money from Benny.

High Rates – But no Running Water

The Civic Association in Kliptown is unhappy because there is no running water in a number of houses in the town. They say they are paying high rates and have a right to running water. The municipality keeps saying that it is doing something about this but nothing ever happens. The Civic Association should send a delegation to the Municipality and demand that the Municipality speak to them about their complaint. The two sides should enter into negotiations to try and sort out the problem. (See: Negotiation skills)