factum

Literal translation

act; deed; thing done

Legal meaning

In South African legal usage, a factum commonly refers to a written statement of a party’s argument, especially in appellate practice, where heads of argument or a factum are filed to set out the legal and factual basis of the case. The term can also retain its broader Roman-law sense of an act or deed, but in modern litigation it is most often associated with written submissions to the court. Its use is largely procedural and appears in practice directions and court processes rather than as a substantive rule of law.

Examples

• The appellant filed a factum setting out the grounds of appeal and the authorities relied upon.
• Counsel were directed to confine oral argument to the issues identified in their facta.
• The court considered the written factum together with the record before hearing argument.

• 🇿🇼 Shaun Evans and Paul Friendship v Yakub Surtee and Others
  Supreme Court
• 🇿🇦 Lucky Arthur Ndlovu v Santam Limited
  Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa· 2005-05-13· 550/2003

  THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA REPORTABLE CASE NO: 550/2003

• 🇿🇦 Road Traffic Management Corporation v Tasima (Pty) Ltd
• 🇿🇼 Claudious Nhemwa v Gerald Jailed Mujaji
  Other Courts
• 🇿🇦 Compensation Solutions (Pty) Ltd v The Compensation Commissioner
  Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa· 2016-04-13· 072/2015

  therein. These orders are couched in specific and imperative terms and are clearly ad factum praestandum (for the performance of or abstinence from performing specific acts). ___________________________________________________________________ ¹⁶ Slade v Slade

• 🇿🇦 Waterberg Boulevard (Pty) Ltd v Smulhoekie Tuisnywerheid (Pty) Ltd and Another
  Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa· 2025-11-04· 283/2024

  money (ad pecuniam solvendam), a claim for the performance of a positive act (ad factum praestandum); or a claim to enforce a negative obligation, for example, a restraint of trade

• 🇿🇦 N E Jayiya v Member of the Executive Council for Welfare, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
  Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa· 2003-03-31· 264/02

  pecuniam solvendam, in the same way as it would contempt of an order ad factum praestandum. [16] The State Liability Act prohibits execution against the State or a provincial government

• 🇿🇼 Nobert Njazi and Nobert Njazi N.O (In his capacity as the executor of E/L Margaret Njazi) v Tinarwo Chituza and Frank Rudolph and Sheriff for Zimbabwe N.O
  Other Courts
• 🇿🇼 Chimurenga Mining Syndicate and Nathan Tendai Manyuchi and Dauglas Mahiya v Nomatter Nyarugwe and Others
  High Court
• 🇿🇦 Kebble and Others v Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry
  Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa· 2007-09-21· 530/06

  are therefore inappropriate. It is only where performance of an act is ordered – ad factum praestandum – that conviction for contempt of court is permitted as a means of enforcing performance

Live search across the public SA + ZW case corpus. Results may include false positives where the same Latin lexeme appears in a different context.

Areas of law