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As a result of the expansion of the population in the interior a second court of heemrade, similar but subordinate to that at Stellenbosch-Drakenstein, was established with a deputy landdrost as secretary. The new area, known as the Outlying Districts, stretched from the Bree River to past Mossel Bay and relieved the heemrade of Stellenbosch of many of their burdens.

Of the four elected heemrade, one was to hand in a report every three months. Once every two years two heemrade would resign and successors elected. In January 1744 JT Rhenius was appointed as the first deputy landdrost of the Outlying Districts.

Within months discord arose between the deputy landdrost and heemrade as a result of uncertainty regarding rank. This led to a clearer definition of their duties especially with regard to times of meetings, the deputy landdrost’s position at meetings and the reference of cases not settled out of court to the court of the landdrost and heemrade at Stellenbosch.

These measures were, however, unsatisfactory and in August 1745 it was decide to establish a completely independent magistracy with Rhenius as “absolute landdrost” of the Outlying Districts. The same instructions as those for Stellenbosch-Drakenstein were applicable. The jurisdiction of each district with regard to communal matters was to be decided upon jointly. The new district covered the whole area under the Company’s control to the north and east of the Stellenbosch-Drakenstein district and the limits of its jurisdiction were clearly defined.

In 1746 the request by the landdrost and heemrade for land along the Koornland River to build a drostdy and the necessary buildings, was granted. In October 1747 the district was named Swellendam after the governor and his wife, Hendrik Swellengrebel and Helena Wilhelmina ten Damme.

The creation of the new magisterial district of Graaff-Reinet in 1786 limited the jurisdiction of the landdrost of Swellendam to the Swartberg in the north and the Gamtoos River in the east.

In June 1795 the inhabitants of Swellendam rebelled against the government of the Company. Landdrost Faure, the secretary and messenger were forced to hand the drostdy to the burghers, who appointed a National College (“Collegie Nasionaal“) under the leadership of Hermanus Steyn.

After the British occupation of the Cape, peace was restored and the drostdy handed back to Faure in November 1795.

With the revision of the judicial system in 1827 the college of landdrost and heemrade was abolished and replaced with a civil commissioner and resident magistrate. H Rivers and CM Lind were appointed to these positions respectively. In 1834 the positions were united and Rivers appointed.

With the revision of the district boundaries of Swellendam and Stellenbosch and the secession of the George district in 1811, the area to the east of the Hottentots-Holland mountains was added to Swellendam. A sub-drostdy under JH Frouenfelder with the seat of magistracy at the Swartberg Bath was established in the new area.

Like the deputy landdrost of Clainwilliam, in the Tulbagh district, Frouenfelder received his instructions from the landdrost of the main district and reported to him or, where necessary, to the Colonial Secretary. He was assisted by a clerk, a messenger, a constable and two justice officials while personally acting as vendu master of the sub-district.

In December 1813 the sub-district was named after the former governor Lord Caledon.

In October 1822 the sub-district was abolished as a measure of economy, and placed under the supervision of a special Heemraad, assisted by a clerk, a messenger, deputy sheriff, two constables and two justice officials. With the revision of the judicial system in 1827 the position of Special Heemraad was abolished and the duties transferred to the Justice of the Peace.

In 1839 Caledon became an independent district with its own Resident Magistrate.

In 1671 the ship "Isselsteijn" anchored in False Bay to take in provisions. In search of a suitable harbour for Company ships, Simon van der Stel made a survey of the peninsula's coastline in1687 and isolated the bay which he considered had been the one at which the "Isselsteijn" had anchored as the most suitable and called Simon's Bay.

In 1742 the Lords LVII ordered that buildings be erected in False Bay for storing anchors, ropes and other provisions for ships which would anchor in the bay annually between mid-May and mid-August. After Baron van Imhoff personally visited False Bay in 1743, he instructed that a storehouse, a hospital and living quarters for officials be erected in Simon's Bay. Sergeant J Plas (Blas) was appointed as Post Holder and in 1745 promoted to Signal Bearer to give greater authority to the position.

Since the duties connected with the position concerned mainly the supply of ships provisions and therefore comprised largely clerical rather than military duties, the title Standard Bearer and Post Holder was altered in 1762 to Sub-Purchaser and Post Holder.

In 1785 the Sub-Purchaser and Post Holder, C Brand, was appointed to the Court of Justice although he was unable to attend the meetings and in February 1786 he was promoted to Purchaser and Post Holder.

To remove doubt as to the importance of the position, especially from foreign nations, and to grant it greater authority, Brand's title changed to Resident and Post Holder in May 1786, which it remained until the First British Occupation in 1795.

In April 1796 the town, already known as Simon's Town, was occupied by British forces and the commanding officer, apart from his duties as military commandant, was also made responsible for the general welfare of the district.

In 1799 Simon's Town was declared a ward under a sole wardmaster as an aid to the military commandant in preserving the peace. The wardmaster was chiefly responsible for compiling lists of inhabitants, their occupations and especially strangers in the ward. Suspicious persons were to be reported to the commanding officer and murders, thefts, etc to the fiscal. He was also responsible for the supervision of roads and the abattoir.

During the Batavian administration the military commandant and wardmaster were still responsible for the military and civil supervision of the area.

After the Second British Occupation in 1806 Major Tucker was appointed Commandant and wardmaster Roselt Adjunct-Fiscal. The Commandant was to assist the Adjunct-Fiscal in preserving the peace and interfere as little as possible except in cases of obvious neglect of duty or corruption which had to be reported to the Governor. He was also to assist in receiving public revenue and report to the Governor concerning shipping and ships' passengers and roads and buildings.

In 1814 the area south of the line from Muizenberg to Noordhoek was ceded to the Cape district and the district of Simon's Town, under a Government Resident, established. The Resident had the same powers as a landdrost and had to report to the commandant. The district consisted of two field-cornetcies and Simon's Town itself was divided into two wards, each under a wardmaster with the same duties as the wardmasters in Cape Town. The solemnisation of marriages and trial of criminal and civil cases of the district were still, however, the responsibility of the various courts in Cape Town. In 1824 two heemrade were appointed. Together with the Resident they formed a matrimonial court as well as a court for trying cases, making Simon's Town a full-fledged magistracy.

With the revision of the judicial system in 1827 the court of the Resident and Heemrade at Simon's Town was abolished and a magistrate appointed. No civil commissioner was appointed and for fiscal purposes the district fell under the Civil Commissioner of Cape Town. The resident magistrate would form a matrimonial court together with his clerk.

In 1834 the court and office of the Resident Magistrate of Simon's Town was abolished and the district incorporated with the district of Cape Town. A police court under a justice of the peace still functioned in Simon's Town but only in cases punishable by not more than thirty-nine strokes, fourteen days imprisonment or forty shillings fine and complaints in minor criminal cases.

In 1848 the court of the resident magistrate for the district of Simon's Town was re-established. Fiscal independence was only granted in 1879 when Simon's Town was declared a separate division.

The first form of administration in the area, which later constituted the Graaff-Reinet district, was an official appointed in October 1780 as "Commandant of the Lands in the East".

After numerous petitions to the Council of Policy a magistrate was eventually appointed for the Graaff-Reinet district on 13 December 1785.

The magistrate acted as chairman of the Slave Office, Clerk of the Peace, representative of the Orphan Chamber, chairman of the matrimonial court, etc.

A few weeks after assuming duty as Commander at the Cape, on 12 October 1679, Simon van der Stel undertook a tour of inspection into the interior where he discovered the fertile valley which he called the Stellenbosch (“Stel en Bosch”).

The particularly advantageous conditions for land ownership encouraged settlement in the valley and by May 1680 eight families were already settled there.

To settle disputes between the burghers of the new district over matters like farm boundaries and roads, a Court of Heemraden consisting of four inhabitants of the district, was established on 31 August 1682. The court, which had to report to Government, was an unofficial body without clearly defined powers.

On April 1685 Commissioner HA van Reede arrived at the Cape as the head of a Commission of Enquiry into Company matters. He made numerous changes in the local administration at the Cape. A landdrost was appointed at Stellenbosch who, as chairman of the Heemraden, acted as a court to settle disputes over boundaries, roads, etc and try cases not exceeding the sum of 50 rixdollars. Appeals could be made against decisions of the College of Heemraden except in minor cases and disputes not exceeding 25 guilders. The landdrost’s duties also include social matters.

In 1688 and the subsequent years the white population at the Cape increased as a result of the arrival of the Huguenots who established themselves mainly in the Stellenbosch and Drakenstein district, as the district of Stellenbosch was then known. Since 1697 the Drakenstein area formed an almost separate administrative unit with its own heemraad.

The district of Stellenbosch initially comprised the entire interior of the settlement at the Cape. As the boundaries of the district expanded, a need was felt to establish a new magistracy in the far interior to attend to the needs of the burghers. This resulted in the establishment of the district of Swellendam in August 1745 and the revision of the limits of Stellenbosch and the area of jurisdiction of the Landdrost and Heemraden of Stellenbosch and Drakenstein.

The settlement at the Cape continued to expand and the boundaries of the districts had to be altered continually. In 1803 the settlement consisted of four districts, ie Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Swellendam and Graaff-Reinet. The wide-spread nature of each district caused inconvenience to the outlying farmers and Commissioner De Mist recommended the subdivision of the existing districts. The district of Stellenbosch was divided in July 1804 whereby a new district named after Governor Tulbagh was created. By September 1804 the arrangements for the division were completed and the boundary between the two districts established.

In 1805 the duties and powers of the Landdrost and Heemraden were clearly defined and matters relating to land, vendue and finance placed within their jurisdiction.

In February 1808 the boundaries of the districts of Tulbagh and Stellenbosch were redefined.

The Court of Justice at the Cape was established in 1656. Prior to this date judicial matters were dealt with by the Council of Policy but by a resolution of 28 October 1656 the latter body decided that when it sat as a court of justice and as a military court it was to consist of the commander, five members and a secretary. In 1657 the free burghers obtained representation in the court in cases in which burghers were concerned. In 1685 provision was made for the court to consist of the governor, vice- governor and eight members, the secretary having no voice in the proceedings. Initially, two of the members were burgher councillors. Until 1734 the governor acted as president of the court. In 1786 the composition of the court was altered by having six company servants and six burgher councillors under the presidency of a member of the Council of Policy. In 1792 the secretaries of the Council of Policy and Court of Justice were respectively appointed notaries public, from which date notaries were regularly admitted by the government to practice before the court until 1858 when they were admitted by authority of the Supreme Court. In 1797 Lord McCartney decreed that the court should consist of a president, the fiscal and five ordinary members. The title of president was changed to chief justice in 1812.

Until 1795 the Court of Justice was an appeal court to the inferior courts and appeal from its sentences had to be made to the Court of Justice at Batavia. This ceased at the first British Occupation until 1797 when the governor was vested with an appellate jurisdiction in cases exceeding £200 in dispute. A further appeal lay to the King-in-council where the amount was over £500. In 1803 appeals had to be carried to the National Supreme Court at The Hague and after 1806 the same procedure was re-established as in 1797. From the members of the court, commissioners (Heeren Gecommitteerden) were appointed before whom all transfers of landed property, mortgage bonds, etc were passed. This body also acted in civil cases by taking evidence, making investigations and attempting to solve cases before bringing it before the full court.

When the court was remodeled in 1786 a board called the College of Commissioners of the Court of Justice (Commissarissen uit den Raad van Justisie) was established. This board replaced the Burgher Council and generally the commissioners’ duties were of a municipal nature. On 31 January 1796 the college was abolished, its duties being assigned to a new body, the Burgher Senate.

Until 1811, Cape Town was the only seat of the criminal court but in this year a Circuit Court was establishes to try cases in the country districts.

The Archives:
The records in civil and criminal cases are fairly complete, commencing prior to the establishment of the Court of Justice and containing the minutes of the court, papers presented to the members, petitions, affidavits and papers connected with each case. The series Notarial and other documents prepared before or received by the Court of Justice includes wills, inventories, powers of attorney, contracts, declarations, attestations, certificates and inspections of persons who died suddenly, who were wounded or drowned. The documents of the Court of Appeal, 1807 – 1827 originally described with the archives of the Court of Justice, have been transferred to the archives of the Governor, the new reference numbers being indicated in the inventory. The archives of the Fiscal, such as exist, are to be found described together with the archives of the Attorney-General of the Cape (inventory 1/19).