- High Court scraps government’s attempt to redraw Gauteng’s judicial boundaries after legal challenge.
- Legal bodies argued the changes threatened hundreds of pending cases and created widespread confusion.
- Previous jurisdiction rules are now back in effect, resolving uncertainty for lawyers and litigants.
A wave of confusion swept through Gauteng’s legal community after the government attempted to change the province’s High Court boundaries, putting hundreds of ongoing cases at risk. This uncertainty has now been resolved after the High Court in Pretoria set aside the changes and reinstated the old jurisdiction system.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development’s determination of new areas of jurisdiction for the main and local seats of the High Court created immediate uncertainty for practitioners and litigants in Gauteng.
Government Notice 7648 was published in Government Gazette 54935 on 2 July 2026 under Section 6(3)(a) of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013. The determination changed the geographical areas of jurisdiction of the Gauteng Division’s main seat in Pretoria and local seat in Johannesburg.
Before the determination, Pretoria and Johannesburg exercised concurrent jurisdiction. Under the new arrangement, Pretoria, as the main seat, was allocated the Tshwane Magisterial District, while Johannesburg was allocated the Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Sedibeng and West Rand magisterial districts.
The change meant that the geographical area in which a matter arose would determine which seat of the Gauteng Division had jurisdiction to deal with it. The notice also contained transitional arrangements for proceedings already placed on the court roll for trial but not yet concluded.
The difficulty was that the notice did not expressly address matters that had already been instituted but had not yet been enrolled. That created uncertainty about how those cases should be managed under the new jurisdiction arrangements and became a central issue in the challenge brought by the Pretoria Society of Advocates and Pretoria Attorneys’ Association.
Pretoria legal bodies challenge the Notice
The Pretoria Society of Advocates and Pretoria Attorneys’ Association challenged the Minister’s determination, with the dispute placing the new Gauteng jurisdiction arrangements before the High Court.
The challenge therefore concerned more than the geographical allocation of new cases. It also raised the consequences of the new arrangement for proceedings already instituted under the previous jurisdiction framework but not yet enrolled.
The Minister was cited as the first respondent, with the Judicial Service Commission and Office of the Chief Justice also cited as respondents.
Judge sets aside new jurisdiction determination
On 28 September 2026, Judge B Neukircher made a consent order reviewing and setting aside the Minister’s determination insofar as it relates to areas of jurisdiction falling under the Gauteng Division of the High Court.
The order confirms that Government Notice 30, published in Government Gazette 39061 on 15 January 2016, as amended by Government Notice 408, published in Government Gazette 41552 on 29 March 2018, continues to apply and govern the areas of jurisdiction of the main seat and local seat of the Gauteng Division. The July determination therefore no longer governs those geographical areas of jurisdiction.
Minister ordered to pay costs
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development was ordered to pay the applicants’ party-and-party costs, including the costs of two counsel where employed on Scale B.
The matter was heard in chambers by way of a remote hearing.
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