“The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.”

Those that have experienced litigation are all too familiar with the time-consuming nature of the exercise. Litigious matters can easily drag on for years. However, in certain limited circumstances one can approach a court on an urgent basis.

Urgent Application in Court

An Urgent Court Application, a.k.a Urgent Application, entails approaching a Court on an urgent basis to obtain a court order.

Urgent Applications can take a matter of days or weeks, as opposed to waiting months or years. However, approaching a Court on an urgent basis is only available in limited circumstances. As a general rule, “commercial urgency” or a demand for payment is not recognised by South Africa Courts as a dispute that will be heard on an urgent basis.

Ergo, before you rush off to court to seek urgent relief, it is vitally important that you ensure you have met the requirements for urgent relief.

Requirements for Urgent Interim Relief

Before a matter will be considered urgent, the certain minimum requirements have to be met. Each Court application will be determined carefully on a case-by-case basis and on it own merits. The person bringing the court application is known as the “Applicant”.

1.       A Prima Facie Right

The Applicant must convince the Court that the Applicant has a legal right that needs to be protected. An Applicant wishing to bring the application must have some sort of right that it is wishing to protect or enforce.

Generally, this could be a right to safety and security or a right as the owner of a property or a right arising out of a contract or agreement of sorts.

2.       A Well-Grounded Apprehension of Irreparable Harm

The Applicant must convince the Court that the Applicant will suffer irreparable harm should the Court not intervene in the matter.

This can be irreparable harm to the intellectual property of a business or irreparable harm to property.

3.       Balance of Convenience

The Applicant will need to convince the Court that the right the Applicant is seeking to enforce is worth protecting and moreover, that protecting the right outweighs the restriction of rights or implication caused by the granting of the judgment.

4.       No Alternative Remedy

The Applicant needs to show that the Applicant has explored alternative remedies before approaching the Court and that no alternative legal remedies exist. Therefore, the Applicant must show that approaching the Court is the only remedy the Applicant has to seek the order or relief that the Applicant requires.

5. Grounds for Urgency

There must be grounds that exist that make the matter urgent. If an Applicant has waited for several weeks before bringing an urgent application, the Applicant by his/her/its own tardy conduct could have negated the grounds for urgency.

The above does not constitute an exhaustive list of the factors a Court will consider before determining an urgent application. We highly recommend approaching an attorney before seeking to bring an urgent application. Our offices have extensive experience with urgent applications.

If you need assistance with a litigation matter or dispute, contact our offices today to schedule a consultation with one of our specialist litigation attorneys.