A contested divorce can take a year or longer to reach trial, and life does not pause while the lawyers argue. The bond instalment still goes off every month, school fees fall due, groceries must be bought, and legal bills mount — often while one spouse controls the family finances and the other is left stranded. South African law has a purpose-built answer to this problem. Rule 43 of the Uniform Rules of Court allows a spouse in a pending High Court divorce to obtain interim relief quickly and affordably, so that neither party is starved into an unfair settlement before the case is ever heard.
What Rule 43 Is For
Rule 43 exists because justice delayed in a divorce is often justice denied. It provides an expedited, simplified procedure for matrimonial matters, designed to be faster and far cheaper than an ordinary court application. The relief granted is pendente lite — meaning it operates only while the litigation is pending — and it is intended to hold the position fairly until the divorce court makes final decisions at trial. A Rule 43 order is therefore not a preview of the final outcome: it is a temporary bridge, decided on affidavit without oral evidence in the ordinary course.
Rule 43 applies in the High Court. Divorces in the regional divisions of the magistrates' courts have an equivalent mechanism in Rule 58 of the Magistrates' Courts Rules, which serves the same purpose.
The Four Kinds of Interim Relief
A spouse may apply under Rule 43 for one or more of the following:
- Maintenance pendente lite — interim maintenance for a spouse and for children, typically covering housing, food, transport, medical costs, insurance and school fees until the divorce is finalised;
- A contribution towards costs — an order that the financially stronger spouse contribute towards the other's legal costs in the pending matrimonial action;
- Interim care — an order regulating with whom the children live and who cares for them day to day while the divorce runs its course; and
- Interim contact — an order regulating the other parent's contact with the children in the interim.
The contribution towards costs deserves special mention. Divorce litigation is expensive, and where one spouse holds the purse strings, the other can be priced out of a fair fight. The courts use the costs contribution to preserve what is often called equality of arms: both spouses must be able to present their cases properly. Where circumstances change, or an initial contribution proves inadequate as the trial approaches, the rule allows the court to revisit it.
How a Rule 43 Application Works
The procedure is deliberately streamlined. The applicant delivers a sworn statement — in the nature of a declaration — setting out the relief claimed and the grounds for it, together with a prescribed notice to the respondent. The respondent then has ten days to deliver a sworn reply, in the nature of a plea. Once the papers are in, the registrar places the matter before a judge for a summary hearing, and the court makes an order it considers just, having regard to the parties' respective means, needs and the children's requirements.
Two practical features of the procedure matter enormously. First, brevity is required: Rule 43 papers must be succinct, and courts have repeatedly criticised — and even penalised — parties who file lengthy, argumentative affidavits in what is meant to be a summary procedure. Second, honesty about money is non-negotiable. In the Gauteng Division (which serves Pretoria), practice directives require parties to complete a comprehensive sworn financial disclosure form. A party who hides income or inflates expenses risks both credibility and costs.
Because the enquiry is interim, the court applies a practical yardstick: the applicant is entitled to reasonable interim maintenance measured against the standard of living the parties enjoyed, balanced against the respondent's actual ability to pay. Extravagant claims and implausible poverty are both quickly identified.
Can a Rule 43 Order Be Appealed?
No. Section 16(3) of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 expressly bars appeals against orders of this kind, and in S v S and Another [2019] ZACC 22; 2019 (6) SA 1 (CC) the Constitutional Court held that this bar is constitutionally sound. The Court reasoned that allowing appeals would delay relief that is by definition urgent and interim, undermining the very purpose of the rule and harming the interests of children and vulnerable spouses.
That does not leave an aggrieved party without options. Rule 43(6) allows the court to vary its order if a material change occurs in the circumstances of either party or of a child, or if a contribution towards costs proves inadequate. And every Rule 43 order expires when the divorce itself is finalised, at which point the trial court decides maintenance, care, contact and the division of the estate afresh on full evidence.
Preparing a Strong Application
In our experience, Rule 43 outcomes are won and lost on preparation. The essentials:
- Prepare a realistic, itemised monthly budget — for yourself and the children — and support it with proof wherever possible;
- Disclose your finances fully and honestly; courts deal harshly with parties who are caught understating income or overstating need;
- Gather the documents early: bank statements, payslips, bond and vehicle statements, school fee accounts and medical aid schedules;
- Keep the papers focused — a concise, credible affidavit carries more weight than a lengthy accusatory one; and
- Move promptly. The relief only operates from the order onwards, so delay simply prolongs hardship.
It is also worth remembering that a sensible Rule 43 order often sets a constructive tone for the rest of the divorce. Once interim maintenance and child arrangements are stabilised, parties frequently find it easier to negotiate a final settlement.
Key Takeaways
- Rule 43 provides fast, affordable interim relief in pending High Court divorces; Rule 58 is the equivalent in the regional magistrates' courts.
- The available relief is interim maintenance for a spouse and children, a contribution towards legal costs, and interim care of and contact with children.
- The procedure is summary: a concise sworn statement, a sworn reply within ten days, and a hearing on the papers.
- Rule 43 orders cannot be appealed — the Constitutional Court confirmed this in S v S (2019) — but they can be varied under Rule 43(6) if circumstances materially change.
- Full and honest financial disclosure is essential; in Gauteng a sworn financial disclosure form is required.
- A Rule 43 order lasts only until the divorce is finalised, when the trial court decides all issues afresh.
If you are facing a divorce and worry about how you and your children will manage until it is finalised — or if you have been served with a Rule 43 application — we can help. Interim relief forms part of our family law services, and we approach these applications with both urgency and care. Please contact us to discuss your situation.
