Civil Litigation

No, you can institute action against someone by approaching the relevant Court directly, however, it is advisable to appoint an attorney due to the complexity of the process and to ensure compliance with all the applicable rules and regulations.

If you want to defend or oppose action instituted against you, you are required to serve a Notice of Intention to Defend on the Plaintiff (person who instituted the action) within ten working days from the date on which the summons was served on you. Thereafter, you will have another twenty working days to serve your plea and counterclaim to the summons. A plea is essentially an answer to the statements contained in the summons and you are required to admit or deny all the allegations contained in the summons. A counterclaim sets out the claim that you have against the Plaintiff or the outcome that you desire to achieve, if any.

No, in South Africa on the National Prosecuting Authority can institute criminal proceedings. However, you can institute proceedings against a person for damages suffered by you due to their criminal actions. For example, you cannot institute proceedings against someone for stealing your car, however, you can institute proceedings against such person for the financial loss suffered as a result thereof.

It is important to consider whether you have proof enough to convince a Court, on a balance of probabilities, that your claim is valid and enforceable. Another factor to consider before instituting action, is that civil actions could take several years to reach a conclusion and are generally costly procedures.