S v Mngonyama

• Jurisdiction: South Africa

S v Mngonyama
1995 (1) SACR 516 (TK)

1995 (1) SACR p516

Citation	1995 (1) SACR 516 (TK)
Court	Transkei Supreme Court
Judge	Beck JP
Heard	March 16, 1995
Judgment	March 16, 1995
Counsel	M Nonkonyana for the applicants at the request of the Court; N J de Plessis for the State

Flynote : Sleutelwoorde

B Appeal — To which court — From conviction in Transkei Supreme Court — Effect of s 241(1A)(b) of Constitution Act 200 of 1993 — Jurisdiction of Transkei Supreme Court similar to that of a Provincial or Local Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa — Full Bench of Transkei Supreme C Court now has jurisdiction to hear appeal in criminal case from a decision of a single Judge.

Headnote : Kopnota

Since the coming into effect of s 241(1A)(b) of the Constitution Act 200 of 1993, the Full Bench of the Transkei Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals in both civil and criminal cases from decisions of single Judges. It is clearly desirable that the Transkei Supreme Court should be D entitled to hear such appeals. There is a sufficient complement of Judges for such appeals to be heard by a Full Court and it would be both costly for the parties to have to take their cases to the Appellate Division in Bloemfontein and cumbersome for the Appellate Division to have to deal with all such appeals without the prior filtering mechanism of appeals to a Full Court of the Provincial Division in appropriate cases. E

Case Information

Application for leave to appeal from convictions in the Transkei Supreme Court.

M Nonkonyana for the applicants at the request of the Court.

N J du Plessis for the State.

Judgment

Beck JP:

This is an application for leave to appeal against both conviction and sentence. Counsel for the applicants was initially unable to indicate to which Court an appeal from a judgment in a criminal trial before the General Division of the Transkei Supreme Court now falls to be directed. He has however, subsequently submitted that s 3(1)(a) of the Transkeian Supreme Court Act 35 of 1983, confers upon the Transkei Supreme G Court the jurisdiction to hear appeals by a Full Bench of three Judges, by reason of the following proviso in that section: F

'Provided that the Chief Justice, or, in his absence, the senior available Judge of the General Division, may at any time direct that any matter be heard by a Full Court consisting of so many Judges as he may H determine.'

The submission is untenable. Section 3(1)(a) of the Transkei Supreme Court Act deals only with a Court of the General Division sitting as a Court of first instance and has nothing whatsoever...