Book Review: Herbstein & Van Winsen: The Civil Practice of the High Courts of South Africa and the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Pages: 141-142
• Date: 25 May 2019
• Citation: (2010) 22 SA Merc LJ 141
• Published date: 25 May 2019
• Author: Fawzia Cassim

Book Reviews

Herbstein & Van Winsen: The Civil Practice of the High Courts of South

Africa and the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. ByAndries C

Cilliers, Cheryl Loots & Hendrik C Nel. Cape Town: Juta & Co Ltd. Fifth

edition. 2009. Volumes 1 and 2; 2000 pages. Price: R1895 (hard cover).

ISBN: 9780702179334.

Herbstein & Van Winsen: The Civil Practice of the High Courts of South

Africa and the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa is the def‌initive text

on civil procedure in the High Courts and Supreme Court of Appeal in South

Africa. Since its f‌irst edition in 1954, it has established itself as a prime

reference source on South African civil procedure. Over the years, the work

has been enriched by the contributions and insights of various authors who

have carried the work forward by updating and expanding it in view of new

developments in this area of the law.

The f‌ifth edition has been comprehensively revised to incorporate new

legislation, the 1996 Constitution and case law since the previous edition in

1997. The book offers a comprehensive discussion and analysis of civil

proceedings in the High Courts and the Supreme Court of Appeal in South

Africa. The book has expanded into two volumes because of the incorporation

of the many court decisions since 1995 and important statutes since 1994.

Volume 1 comprises 35 chapters and volume 2 comprises 14, and they cover

key areas of the law of civil procedure.

An important question in view of the rather long time-lapse between the

current and previous editions of this work is whether the new one merely

updates them or amounts to something more. Its structure resembles its

predecessors’, tried-and-trusted. But in many ways the book has been

improved: its style and language, logical lay-out and comprehensive sources

of reference make it a very accessible source. The use of subheadings at the

beginning of each chapter provides an overview of the contents, and this

format is user-friendly and informative. The use of legal terminology

throughout the book is consistent and its practical approach to gender

acceptable. Further improvements are the references to the recent journal

articles and other research that have enriched this area of law. The value of the

book is enhanced by the comprehensive table of statutes, rules of court and

the CD-ROM (which includes Acts, Rules and Practice Notes on the various

High Courts). The book contains all the relevant information, including recent

case law.

Since the previous (fourth) edition of the book appeared in 1997, the

inception of the new constitutional dispensation has inf‌luenced all areas of our

law, among them some important aspects of civil procedural law. Conse-

quently, new developments have been discussed throughout the book. Afew

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(2010) 22 SA Merc LJ 141

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