In the past Regional Magistrates’ Courts could only deal with criminal law cases. In order to make the courts more accessible to people it was decided to extend the jurisdiction of Regional Magistrates’ Courts to include civil matters.

Regional Courts may now hear the following matters

• Divorces and issues stemming from divorces
• Disputes over movable and immovable property between R100 000 to R300 000
• Credit agreements of between R100 000 to R300 000
• Road accident fund claims between R100 000 to R300 000

District Magistrates’ Courts can hear civil cases when the claims are for less than R100 000. They cannot deal with certain matters, such as:

• Divorce
• Arguments about a person’s will
• Matters where it is asked if a person is insane