No one wants to have a presumably urgent application dismissed due to a lack of urgency. Not only do you not receive the desired outcome, but you have to pay your opponent’s legal costs as well as your own.

South African courts have prescribed rules regarding the manner in which legal proceedings are commenced and adjudicated. Motions are brought before a court where there are no anticipated disputes of fact and the court can make a determination based on the affidavits, without the need for oral evidence.

Usually, the parties afford each other time for the filing of notices and affidavits as per the Rules of Court. However, there are disputes that give rise to grave prejudice towards a party, if the party were to follow the normal time periods. Time is a crucial factor in such circumstances and the aggrieved party cannot follow the normal time periods due to the harm it will suffer, were it to do so.

In launching such an application, the applicant must request condonation from the Honourable Court for its non-compliance with the rules of Court. The Court will be called upon to give preference to the Applicant to prevent the prejudice and harm that may occur due to the Respondent’s behaviour. The Applicant must clearly demonstrate to the Honourable Court why the matter is urgent and why it warrants to be heard of such.

The urgency of a matter will be determined by the court on a case-by-case basis, not every matter which is urgent to a client will be considered to be urgent by the court. Matters which are generally considered by the Court to be urgent is a case of spoliation and injury to minor children.