Esheria South Africa Case Law
Sign in
South Africa Source-linked decisions Coverage checked

South Africa Case Law

Search judgments by proposition, citation, court, judge or legal topic, then move directly into the source-grounded case analysis.

Courts on this page
3 court collections
Last checked

Search and filter South Africa case law

Results update automatically as you type.

South Africa decisions

Decisions matching the current search

Clear filters
Criminal Law [2025] ZAGPJHC 410

S v Ephraim and Others (SS70/2021)

S v Ephraim and Others (SS70/2021) [2025] ZAGPJHC 410 (14 April 2025)

Court
South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
Case number
SS70/2021
Judge
D Dosio

The court finds that crimes against humanity, including apartheid-era murders, are not subject to statutory limitation under South African law. Section 232 of the Constitution incorporates customary international law, which recognises such crimes as imprescriptible and prosecutable regardless of when committed. The principle of legality is not violated, as these crimes were recognised under international law at the time of commission. The ICC Act does not preclude prosecution for acts committed before its enactment, as section 232 provides an independent legal basis. Alleged political interfe…

Source excerpt

  • Customary International Law
  • Crime Against Humanity
  • Apartheid
  • Statute Of Limitations
  • Principle Of Legality
  • Section 232 Constitution
Read case analysis
Criminal Law [2024] ZASCA 77

Schultz v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others (76/2023)

Schultz v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others (76/2023) [2024] ZASCA 77; 2024 (2) SACR 294 (SCA) (23 May 2024)

Court
Supreme Court of Appeal
Case number
76/2023
Judges
Mothle, Hughes, Mabindla-Boqwana, Seegobin, Keightley

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that the power to make an extradition request to a foreign State, specifically the United States, vests exclusively in the Minister of Justice as a member of the national executive. This conclusion is supported by the Constitution, the Extradition Act, and customary international law. The Court reasoned that extradition requests are acts of sovereignty between States and inherently implicate foreign relations, which are the preserve of the executive. The absence of express provisions in the Extradition Act regarding outgoing requests does not negate the Minist…

Source excerpt

  • Extradition Act
  • Executive Powers
  • Separation Of Powers
  • Customary International Law
  • Ministerial Discretion
  • Prosecutorial Independence
Read case analysis
Administrative Law [2018] ZAGPPHC 534

Democratic Alliance v Minister of International Relations and Co-operation and Others; Engels and Another v Minister of International Relations and Co-operation and Another (58755/17)

Democratic Alliance v Minister of International Relations and Co-operation and Others; Engels and Another v Minister of International Relations and Co-operation and Another (58755/17) [2018] ZAGPPHC 534; [2018] 4 All SA 131 (GP); 2018 (6) SA 109 (GP); 2018 (2) SACR 654 (GP) (30 July 2018)

Court
North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
Case number
58755/17
Judge
Vally

The court found that there is no settled customary international law norm granting automatic immunity rationae personae to the spouse of a head of state. Even if such immunity existed under international law, South African law, through the Foreign States Immunities Act, specifically excludes immunity in cases involving personal injury. The Minister's decision to confer or recognise immunity on Dr Mugabe was not supported by law, was inconsistent with the Constitution, and was therefore unlawful. The administrative act conferring immunity remains valid until set aside, but must be reviewed and…

Source excerpt

  • Diplomatic Immunity
  • Customary International Law
  • Promotion Of Administrative Justice Act
  • Constitutional Supremacy
  • Gender Based Violence
  • Judicial Review
Read case analysis
Constitutional Law [2016] ZASCA 17

Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Southern African Litigation Centre and Others (867/15)

Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Southern African Litigation Centre and Others (867/15) [2016] ZASCA 17; 2016 (4) BCLR 487 (SCA); [2016] 2 All SA 365 (SCA); 2016 (3) SA 317 (SCA) (15 March 2016)

Court
Supreme Court of Appeal
Case number
867/15
Judges
Lewis, Ponnan, Shongwe, Majiedt, Wallis

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that the Implementation Act, which incorporates South Africa's obligations under the Rome Statute, expressly excludes head of state immunity as a bar to arrest and surrender in relation to ICC warrants. Section 4(2) and section 10(9) of the Implementation Act override any immunity conferred by customary international law or the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act (DIPA) in this context. The hosting agreement and ministerial proclamation did not confer immunity on President Al Bashir, as they applied only to AU officials and not to heads of state. The cour…

Source excerpt

  • Rome Statute Implementation
  • Head Of State Immunity
  • Customary International Law
  • Diplomatic Immunities And Privileges Act
  • Judicial Cooperation With Icc
  • Statutory Interpretation
Read case analysis

About this LexChat collection

South Africa decisions are organised by court, judge, legal area and indexed issue so a practitioner can move from a proposition to a citable authority with the surrounding context intact.

Source links and collection timestamps are retained alongside the indexed records.