Court proceedings are deliberate by design. Deadlines are measured in weeks and months, ensuring each party has time to prepare. But some disputes cannot wait. If a landlord is about to change the locks, if a bank is set to freeze an account, or if assets are being moved beyond reach — ordinary timeframes leave a litigant without real protection.

This is where the law provides for the urgent application: a fast-tracked procedure that allows a matter to be heard almost immediately. But urgency is not simply a label. Courts apply strict criteria before departing from normal rules, and a weak application risks being dismissed before the merits are even considered.

What Is an Urgent Court Application?

An urgent court application is a procedure that asks the court to hear a matter sooner than the ordinary timetable allows. It exists to prevent harm that would occur if the case followed standard timeframes. Instead of weeks for notice and exchange of papers, the matter can be placed before a judge within days — or even hours — if the circumstances demand it.

What sets urgent applications apart is not only speed but the court’s willingness to relax its usual rules when justice requires it. The court decides whether the matter truly warrants acceleration. If urgency is established, the case is given priority on the urgent roll and heard immediately; if not, it is struck off and must proceed in the ordinary course.

In short, an urgent application is the law’s recognition that some disputes cannot wait. It provides a legal doorway to swift relief — but only where the applicant can show that delay would make ordinary justice meaningless.

Grounds for Urgent Application

Urgent applications are reserved for circumstances where ordinary litigation timeframes would cause justice to become hollow. The court’s starting point is scepticism: urgency must be proven, not assumed. That is why the grounds for urgent application must be set out with clarity, supported by facts, and tailored to the specific circumstances of the case.

• Imminent unlawful action: Courts will hear matters urgently where a party is about to act outside the law and waiting would allow that conduct to cause irreversible consequences. Examples include an employer threatening to dismiss an employee without following proper procedure, a municipality about to disconnect services unlawfully, or a landlord attempting a lockout without an eviction order.
• Risk of irreparable harm: This applies where financial, reputational, or personal damage cannot be undone through later compensation. For instance, if a competitor begins using confidential information in breach of a restraint of trade, allowing them to continue may permanently erode a business’s market share before trial is complete.
• Violation of constitutional or contractual rights: When rights are directly under threat, delay could render legal remedies meaningless. Examples include denial of access to property, infringement of freedom of expression, or unlawful interference with contractually protected interests.
• Timing as the essence of the remedy: Some remedies lose their value unless granted immediately. A classic example is an interim interdict to prevent the destruction of perishable goods or to preserve electronic records before they are deleted.

The key theme is immediacy. Courts distinguish between inconvenience and genuine urgency. Inconvenience is never enough; urgency arises where the delay would permanently alter the legal position of the parties.

Requirements for Urgent Application

Once grounds have been identified, the applicant must show that the case satisfies the requirements for urgent application under Rule 6(12) of the Uniform Rules of Court. These requirements are strict because urgency is the exception, not the rule.

1. Genuine urgency, not self-created: Courts frequently strike matters where applicants delay and then attempt to invoke urgency at the last minute. The affidavit must explain why the matter cannot wait, and why the applicant acted immediately upon learning of the threat.
2. Absence of alternative remedies: The court will not grant urgent relief if ordinary procedures or other legal mechanisms would suffice. This ensures the urgent roll is preserved for matters that truly cannot be dealt with otherwise.
3. Balance of prejudice: The court considers whether the accelerated procedure would unfairly prejudice the respondent. The affidavit must persuade the judge that urgency is justified despite the compressed timeframe.
4. Link between urgency and relief sought: Urgent status applies only to relief that requires immediate attention. Ancillary claims are deferred to the ordinary process.

Failure to establish any of these requirements is fatal. Courts are clear: urgent relief is a privilege, not a right. Weak or poorly drafted applications risk being struck from the roll with adverse cost orders, often leaving the applicant in a worse position than before.

The Urgent Application Procedure

Ordinary court applications follow a set timetable: notices must be filed, opposing papers exchanged, and heads of argument prepared over weeks or months. An urgent application disrupts this sequence under Rule 6(12) of the Uniform Rules of Court, allowing timeframes to be shortened — sometimes drastically — if the judge is convinced urgency exists.

How the procedure works:

1. Notice of Motion and Founding Affidavit: The affidavit is central — it must set out the grounds of urgency, explain why ordinary procedures are inadequate, and specify the exact relief sought.
2. Shortened Timeframes for Service: Instead of the usual days or weeks, the applicant may give the respondent hours — or even same-day notice — to file opposing papers. This is justified only where the risk of harm is immediate.
3. Judicial Discretion: The judge decides whether urgency has been established. If not, the matter may be struck from the roll, with costs against the applicant.
4. Hearing on the Urgent Roll: Urgent applications are typically heard on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the High Court, though truly urgent matters can be heard outside these days. Relief may be interim or final depending on the case.

The urgent application procedure is strict because of its potential for abuse. Allowing one party to shortcut the process places the other at a disadvantage. Courts therefore demand scrupulous compliance: affidavits must be clear, evidence compelling, and relief narrowly tailored to the urgency alleged. Misuse can lead to dismissal and punitive costs.

Why Most Urgent Applications Fail

Urgent applications disrupt the ordinary timetable and put pressure on the opposing party. Judges therefore scrutinise them closely. Many urgent matters are struck from the roll not because the underlying dispute lacks merit, but because urgency has not been properly demonstrated.

• Self-created urgency: Courts reject urgency where applicants delay and then attempt to leapfrog the queue.
• Vague or exaggerated harm: Allegations without evidence — such as “serious prejudice” — are dismissed as rhetoric.
• Over-broad relief: Bundling ordinary claims with urgent ones risks refusal of the entire application.
• Failure to balance prejudice: Judges limit or deny relief where respondents are unfairly deprived of time to prepare a defence.

Judicial discretion is decisive. Even if the applicant believes the matter is urgent, the judge has the final word. Applicants who underestimate this threshold often leave court not only without relief but with a cost order for abusing urgency.

When to Bring in Litigation Attorneys

An urgent application is a high-stakes tool. It can secure immediate protection of rights, but only if drafted with precision and argued with authority. A weak application, by contrast, can collapse before it begins. This is why legal guidance is a necessity.

Experienced litigators add value in several ways:

• Assessing urgency before acting
• Framing evidence persuasively
• Tailoring relief to fit the urgency
• Strategic timing of filings
• Managing risk of adverse costs

The urgent roll is not a place for experimentation. Success depends on sharp legal judgment, persuasive evidence, and tactical restraint — qualities that seasoned litigation attorneys bring to the table.

VDM Attorneys — Civil Litigation Attorneys

Urgency is the sharpest instrument in litigation. Used correctly, it can stop unlawful conduct in its tracks, protect assets from vanishing, and enforce rights before harm becomes permanent. Used carelessly, it backfires — cases are struck from the roll, costs are wasted, and clients are left exposed.

At VDM Attorneys, we know the difference. Our litigators act only when urgency is genuine, and when it is, we build applications that withstand judicial scrutiny. From assessing whether the grounds exist, to drafting affidavits that prove urgency beyond doubt, to arguing persuasively in court — our team ensures that urgency becomes an advantage, not a liability.

If your rights are under immediate threat, do not waste time on guesswork. Speak to our team of civil litigation attorneys at VDM Attorneys. We act with the precision urgency demands and the authority the High Court expects.