Primary briefing · Gazette
high impact 54935 · 7648 · 2026-07-02
All High Court Division boundaries re-determined — Government Notice 7648 of 2 July 2026
Effective from
01 Jul 2026
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, acting under section 6(3)(a) and (c) of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013, has withdrawn Government Notices 1266 of 2015, 408 of 2018, and 615 of 2019 and replaced them with a single comprehensive Schedule determining the jurisdictional areas of the main and local seats of all nine High Court Divisions — Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, and Western Cape — effective 1 July 2026. Magisterial districts have been realigned between Divisions, notably affecting Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West, and the Limpopo Division's local seat shifts from Lephalale to Thohoyandou. A transitional provision ensures that proceedings already on the court roll but not concluded before commencement must be concluded as if the notice had not been published.
Who is affected
Litigation attorneys and advocates nationallyIn-house counsel responsible for instituting or defending High Court proceedingsCommercial litigants across all sectorsIndividuals and entities subject to High Court proceedings in realigned magisterial districts What this means for practitioners
Immediately verify the correct Division and seat for any new High Court proceedings using the revised Schedule — filing in the wrong Division could be jurisdictionally fatal.
Review pending matters: proceedings already on the court roll before 1 July 2026 continue under the previous jurisdictional determinations and need not be transferred.
Update internal jurisdiction-lookup tools, templates, and filing protocols to reflect the new magisterial district allocations.
Brief clients in affected areas (particularly Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West) on any change to the Division in which their matters must now be filed.