Chapter 5
What is a review?
A higher court can also be used for a review. If you think proceedings in a Magistrate’s Court or High Court were unfair (for example, the magistrate or judge was biased), or not done according to the law, you can take the case on review to
a higher court.
AUTOMATIC REVIEW
An automatic review – where you don’t ask for the review – takes place in the following circumstances:
In a criminal case, a judge will review your case automatically if you do not have an attorney and the sentence is more than 6 months in prison or a fine of more than R12 000. That means the judge will decide if the magistrate made the right judgment according to the law.
If you do not have an attorney in a criminal case, and your sentence is more than 3 months in prison or a fine of more than R6 000, AND you are sentenced by a magistrate who has worked for less than seven years as a magistrate, then your case will also automatically be reviewed by a judge.
ASKING FOR A REVIEW
If you think things did not happen in the right way in the court, then you yourself can ask for a review. This means you can ask for a review if you think that the court procedures were unfair or irregular. For example:
- You may think that the magistrate or the judge did not give you a proper chance to explain yourself clearly
- You may think that the judge or the magistrate was against you even before the case was finished.
If you ask for a review, your attorney must give papers to the courts to show why you feel the judgment should be reviewed.
OUTCOME OF THE REVIEW
The higher court may change the judgment, or may correct the procedures, or may say that there must be a new trial.