In November 1977 a High Court was established at
Mmabatho (now a suburb of Mahikeng) to take over the jurisdiction of the provincial divisions of the
Supreme Court of South Africa in the
bantustan of
Bophuthatswana. A month later Bophuthatswana achieved nominal independence from
South Africa and the High Court became the Supreme Court of Bophuthatswana. At first its decisions could be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa, but in 1982 a separate Appellate Division was established within the Bophuthatswana court. When Bophuthatswana was reincorporated in South Africa on 27 April 1994, the court remained in existence, but three months later the Appellate Division was abolished and its jurisdiction transferred to the South African Appellate Division. When the final
Constitution came into force in 1997 the remaining General Division of the Supreme Court of Bophuthatswana became one of the High Courts of South Africa. In 2001 the
magisterial districts of
Vryburg,
Lichtenburg,
Coligny,
Zeerust,
Groot Marico,
Swartruggens,
Koster,
Rustenburg and
Delareyville were added to its jurisdiction. It was known as the Bophuthatswana Division until 2009, when it was renamed the North West High Court by the
Renaming of High Courts Act. In 2013, in the restructuring brought about by the
Superior Courts Act, it became the North West Division of the High Court of South Africa. ==References==