Republic of South Africa

South Africa, also referred to as Republic of South Africa is one of the countries in the African Continent. Located at the southern edge of the continent, the country lies in 29.046 degrees south of equator and 25.063 degrees east of Green meridian. It spans a coastline of 2.798 kilometers to the Atlantic and IndianOceans. Its neighboring countries are Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and it surrounds Lesotho. It is distinguishing feature is cultural and linguistic diversity with eleven languages recognized in the constitution.

The judicial system in South Africa consists of a body of judges and magistrates who preside over South African courts. It is very independent wing of the government constitutionally. Its functions are to interpret the laws enacted by the South African Parliament and also interpret explanatory statements as stipulated by legislature upon enactment (Van der Merwe, 2004). Its structure is defined in chapter 8 of the Constitution of South Africa which guarantees the courts independence alongside requiring other organs of the state to facilitate court protection.

Judicial system in South Africa was established in the earliest period of colonialism but has undergone drastic changes since attainment of independence by Republic of South Africa. According to Van der Merwe (2004) currently the Court system is as follows:

Constitutional Court

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Supreme Court 

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    High court 

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Magistrate Court

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Other simplified courts (special income tax courts, land claims courts, community courts, children courts, sexual offences courts and other).Generally this makes South Africa judicial system simple and accessible.