The Western Cape High Court (officially the Western Cape High Court, Cape Town, previously the Cape Provincial Division, and often referred to as the Cape High Court) is one of the High Courts of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. It is located in Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

 and has general jurisdiction

General jurisdiction

A court of general jurisdiction is one that has the authority to hear cases of all kinds - criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth.-Courts of general jurisdiction in the United States:All federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Many U.S...

 over the Western Cape

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

 province. The court consists of 31 judges, led by Judge President John Hlophe

John Hlophe

John Mandlakayise Hlophe is Judge President of the Western Cape High Court.-Background and career:...

.

History

The origins of the Western Cape High Court lie in the Supreme Court of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope

Cape Colony

The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...

, which was established on 1 January 1828 as the highest court of the Cape Colony. It was created by the First Charter of Justice, letters patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 issued by George IV

George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...

 on 24 August 1827. Upon the creation of the Union of South Africa

Union of South Africa

The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...

 in 1910, the Supreme Court of the Cape Colony was transformed by the South Africa Act 1909

South Africa Act 1909

The South Africa Act 1909 was an Act of the British Parliament which created the Union of South Africa from the British Colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal Colony. The Act also made provisions for admitting Rhodesia as a fifth province of the Union in...

 into the Cape of Good Hope Provincial Division of the new Supreme Court of South Africa

Supreme Court of South Africa

The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1996. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was the highest appellate court in the country...

.

Originally the Cape Division had jurisdiction over the whole of the Cape Province

Cape Province

The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...

, although concurrently with the Eastern Cape (Grahamstown

Grahamstown

Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...

) and Griqualand West (Kimberley

Kimberley, Northern Cape

Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...

) Local Divisions in their areas of jurisdiction. However, in 1957 the Eastern Cape division was elevated to a Provincial Division, and in 1969 the Griqualand West division was similarly elevated, becoming the Northern Cape Provincial Division. Upon elevation these divisions became independent from the Cape Division.

When the final Constitution of South Africa

Constitution of South Africa

The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was...

 came into force in 1997, the Cape of Good Hope Division of the Supreme Court became the Cape of Good Hope Division of the High Court of South Africa

High Court of South Africa

The High Courts are superior courts of law in South Africa. The courts were created in 1996 on the adoption of the Constitution of South Africa, and inherited the jurisdiction of the provincial and local divisions of the former Supreme Court of South Africa...

. In 2003, in terms of the Interim Rationalisation of Jurisdiction of High Courts Act, 2001, the area of jurisdiction of the Cape High Court was modified to coincide with the boundaries of the Western Cape

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

 province. The Renaming of High Courts Act, 2008 renamed it to the "Western Cape High Court, Cape Town".

Judges

Judge President: The Honourable Mr Justice MJ Hlophe

John Hlophe

John Mandlakayise Hlophe is Judge President of the Western Cape High Court.-Background and career:...

Deputy Judge President: The Honourable Mrs Justice JHM Traverso

Puisne Judges:

• The Honourable Mr Justice S Desai
• The Honourable Mr Justice WJ Louw
• The Honourable Mr Justice RB Cleaver
• The Honourable Mr Justice AP Blignault
• The Honourable Mr Justice BM Griesel
• The Honourable Mr Justice DM Davis
• The Honourable Mr Justice NC Erasmus
• The Honourable Mr Justice AH Veldhuizen
• The Honourable Mr Justice NJ Yekiso
• The Honourable Mr Justice LJ Bozalek
• The Honourable Ms Justice YS Meer
• The Honourable Ms Justice R Allie
• The Honourable Mr Justice PB Fourie
• The Honourable Mr Justice B Waglay
• The Honourable Mr Justice DV Dlodlo
• The Honourable Ms Justice TC Ndita
• The Honourable Ms Justice PL Goliath
• The Honourable Mr Justice DH Zondi
• The Honourable Mr Justice A Le Grange
• The Honourable Mr Justice VC Saldanha
• The Honourable Ms Justice ED Baartman
• The Honourable Mr Justice AG Binns-Ward
• The Honourable Mrs Justice E Steyn
• The Honourable Mr Justice PAL Gamble
• The Honourable Mrs Justice C Fortuin
• The Honourable Mr Justice M Samela
• The Honourable Mr Justice MB Smit
• There are currently two vacant seats on the Bench