Urgent Applications and the Interpretation of Rule 6(12) in South African Courts
Urgent applications are a critical component of South African civil procedure, enabling litigants to approach the courts for immediate relief in circumstances where the ordinary procedural timelines would render justice ineffective or moot. Rule 6(12) of the Uniform Rules of Court governs the procedure for bringing such applications, and its interpretation by the courts reflects a careful balancing of the right to urgent relief and the need to prevent abuse of process.
Rule 6(12) provides as follows:
"(a) In urgent applications the court or a judge may dispense with the forms and service provided for in these rules and may dispose of such matter at such time and place and in such manner and in accordance with such procedure (which shall as far as practicable be in terms of these rules) as it deems fit.
(b) In every affidavit filed in support of any application under paragraph (a) of this subrule, the applicant shall set forth explicitly the circumstances which he avers render the matter urgent and the reasons why he claims that he could not be afforded substantial redress at a hearing in due course."
Key Elements of Rule 6(12)
There are two key elements that an applicant must satisfy for an urgent application to be entertained:
- Urgency: The applicant must demonstrate that the matter is genuinely urgent.
- Lack of Substantial Redress: The applicant must show that he or she will not obtain substantial redress in due course if the matter were to proceed in the ordinary way.
Courts require these elements to be clearly and explicitly set out in the founding affidavit. The mere assertion of urgency, or inconvenience caused by delay, is not sufficient.
Judicial Interpretation
South African courts have developed guiding principles to interpret and apply Rule 6(12). A few notable cases illustrate the approach:
Luna Meubel Vervaardigers v Makin and Another 1977 (4) SA 135 (W)
This seminal case by Coetzee J remains a cornerstone in interpreting urgency. The court warned against the misuse of urgent applications and emphasized that the rules should not be circumvented lightly. It held that:
“Practitioners must carefully analyse the facts to determine whether a case really deserves the court's urgent attention.”
The court distinguished between real urgency (such as imminent harm) and self-created urgency, where a litigant delays and then invokes urgency to fast-track relief.
East Rock Trading 7 (Pty) Ltd v Eagle Valley Granite (Pty) Ltd 2012 JDR 1836 (GSJ)
Here, the court reiterated that urgency must be assessed objectively and warned that self-created urgency will not justify departure from the rules. An applicant who sits on their hands and then seeks urgent relief faces dismissal on procedural grounds.
Caledon Street Restaurants CC v Monica D'Aviera 1998 (4) SA 10 (C)
This case clarified that the test is not merely whether the matter is urgent, but whether the applicant cannot obtain substantial redress at a hearing in due course. If eventual relief can still be meaningful, the matter should follow normal timelines.
Misuse and Judicial Scrutiny
Given the risk of procedural abuse, courts often deal with Rule 6(12) applications critically. Applicants must:
- Show diligence,
- Act promptly upon learning of the facts giving rise to the urgency,
- Provide full and frank disclosure,
- Avoid creating urgency through tactical delay.
Failure to meet these standards may result in the application being struck off the roll or punitive costs orders.
Conclusion
Rule 6(12) serves a vital function in protecting litigants’ rights in time-sensitive matters. However, the threshold is high: urgency must be real, not contrived, and applicants must convincingly show that waiting for the normal court process would result in injustice. Courts continue to interpret the rule with caution to ensure that it remains a remedy for exceptional circumstances—not a procedural shortcut.
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