Jose Pedro Morais Carneiro v The State

The appellant was convicted of murder in the Regional Court, Johannesburg in September 2006 and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. He successfully applied for leave to appeal and bail pending appeal. His appeal against conviction was dismissed by the Gauteng Local Division sitting as a court of appeal in December 2010. In December 2010 he lodged an application for leave to appeal against that dismissal. When the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 came into force in August 2013, this application was still pending. In April 2016, the High Court struck the application off the roll, holding that it lacked jurisdiction because, under the Superior Courts Act, an appeal against a decision of a Division sitting as a court of appeal required special leave from the Supreme Court of Appeal. The appellant appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal against that striking-off order.

The appeal was upheld. The High Court’s order striking the matter off the roll was set aside, and the High Court was directed to deal with the appellant’s application for leave to appeal in terms of the Supreme Court Act 59 of 1959.

The case clarifies the transitional application of the Superior Courts Act in criminal matters and confirms that the Act does not apply retrospectively to pending proceedings where it would prejudice accrued rights. It reinforces the principle that changes to appellate thresholds affect substantive rights and provides guidance on jurisdiction and procedure for leave to appeal in cases straddling the old and new legislative regimes.