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ENSight
BY Aslam Moosajee
Johannesburg High Court case flow times (July 2026)
The Acting Deputy Judge President of the Johannesburg High Court should be commended for being transparent and for publishing on 4 August 2026 a bulletin of lead times for the setting of matters down for hearing.
The lead times to set matters down are as follows:
- For opposed applications – 18 weeks from application for a date;
- For insolvency matters – 4 weeks from application for a date, with dates after 31 August 2026 being allocated;
- For special motion matters – one will wait four terms for the matter to be set down for hearing and currently dates after 23 November 2026 are being allocated;
- For unopposed motion matters – 9 weeks from the date of application for a set down date and currently dates after 12 October 2026 are being allocated;
- For the Special Trial Interlocutory Roll – two weeks from applying for a date with dates after 27 August 2026 being allocated;
- For unopposed divorces – 4 weeks from applying for a date, with dates after 4 September 2026 being allocated;
- For unopposed summary judgment applications – 4 weeks from applying for a date, with dates after 31 August 2026 being allocated;
- For opposed summary judgment applications – 4 weeks from applying for a date, with dates after 7 September 2026 being allocated;
- For matters against the Road Accident Fund, PRASA or the MEC – 2 months from the date of applying for a date, with dates after 6 October 2026 currently being allocated;
- In relation to cases against the Minister of Police – 2 months from the date of applying for a date, with dates after 6 October 2026 currently being allocated;
- For divorce matters – 2 months from applying for a date, with dates after 5 October 2026 currently being allocated;
- For Special Commercial Trial matters – 4 terms from date of applying, with the current dates that are being allocated, being after 15 February 2027;
- In relation to trials that are of long duration, 8 terms from applying, with current dates after 17 January 2028 currently being allocated;
- For Full Court civil appeals – 1 to 2 terms from applying and currently, the 4th term of 2026 is being allocated.
One possible way to address current court backlogs is for experienced legal practitioners to avail themselves for appointment as Acting Judges.
Aslam Moosajee
Executive
