The money limit is the obvious boundary of the civil jurisdiction. The less obvious one is section 21(4), which removes whole categories of claim regardless of amount. A magistrate who hears one of them acts without jurisdiction, and the Magistrates’ Manual uses that as its example of a case in which a magistrate may be personally liable.
The list
A Court has no jurisdiction in the following cases: (a) where the validity or effect of a devise or bequest or a limitation under a will or settlement, or under a document in the nature of a settlement, is in dispute; or (b) the infringement of trade names; or (c) an action for or in the nature of slander of title; or (d) an action for illegal arrest, false imprisonment or malicious prosecution; or (e) for seduction or breach of promise to marry; or (f) when the title to land is bona fide in dispute.
Each exclusion in practice
| Exclusion | What it catches | What it does not catch |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Wills and settlements | Whether a gift in a will is valid; who takes under a trust deed; disputes about a deceased estate’s distribution | A debt owed by or to an estate where the will itself is not in dispute; the executor sues or is sued like anyone else |
| (b) Trade names | Passing off a business under another’s name; trade mark infringement | A debt between two businesses that happen to have similar names |
| (c) Slander of title | False statements disparaging a person’s title to property | Ordinary defamation of a person, which the Manual confirms is within jurisdiction |
| (d) Arrest, imprisonment, prosecution | Claims against police, security guards or private citizens for wrongful arrest or detention, and for bringing a prosecution maliciously | Assault or trespass to goods by the same officers, which may be sued on within the limit; and the specific statutory claim under Bail Act s 25, which may be brought in the District Court |
| (e) Seduction and breach of promise | The old common law actions | Adultery and enticement, which the 1988 Act sends to the District Court; child maintenance; bride price disputes, which are customary and may be Village Court matters |
| (f) Title to land | Any case in which who owns or holds the land is genuinely contested | Ejectment by a registered proprietor where no formal step has been taken to disturb the title: see land disputes |
Why these
The list is inherited from the English county court jurisdiction. Wills, trade names and land titles were thought to need a superior court’s record and expertise; false imprisonment and malicious prosecution involve the liberty of the subject and the conduct of public officers; seduction and breach of promise are archaic actions that Parliament chose not to modernise. What matters today is that the exclusions are absolute. Section 21(4) says the Court “has no jurisdiction”, and the parties cannot confer it by consent.
Matters excluded by other laws
| Matter | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Enforcement of constitutional rights and compensation under Constitution ss 57 and 58 | National Court; see enforcing a basic right |
| Judicial review of public decisions | National Court under Order 16; see judicial review |
| Matrimonial causes under the Matrimonial Causes Act | National Court; the District Court’s role is the customary marriage certificate under s 22A and the Family Court’s jurisdiction under the Lukautim Pikinini Act |
| Probate and administration | National Court under Order 19 |
| Customary land ownership | Local and Provincial Land Courts under the Land Disputes Settlement Act; see customary land disputes |
| Company winding up, insolvency | National Court |
| Claims above the money limit | National Court, or the District Court with the excess abandoned under s 38 |
Raising the objection
Because these are limits on jurisdiction, the objection can be taken at any stage, including on appeal, and the Court should take the point itself. But a defendant who sees that the claim is really about the validity of a will, or that the police officer is being sued for false imprisonment dressed up as trespass, should say so at the first appearance, before evidence is called. Section 150 gives a separate objection where the case should be in another District Court. The Manual’s advice to magistrates is that the presumption of jurisdiction in section 9 does not relieve them of the duty to check that the case is within section 21.
Mixed claims
A complaint sometimes joins a claim the Court can hear with one it cannot: unpaid rent together with a dispute about who owns the house. The Court may hear the rent claim if it can be decided without determining the excluded issue; where the two cannot be separated, the whole case is outside jurisdiction. In Ngan v Yai (2016) N6381 the National Court upheld a magistrate who dismissed a complaint for equitable relief as an abuse of process because its true nature was a claim to title to land.
The District Courts Act is not on PacLII; it is available on vLex.
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the District Courts Act (Chapter 40) and check for later amendments. The Act is not on PacLII; the figures and time limits quoted in this series come from the consolidation to No 8 of 2000, and the District Courts (Amendment) Act 2009 changes some of them once it is brought into operation. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.