The Constitutional Court has considered the court papers filed for Jacob Zuma by email as insufficient according to court rules, an official said on Tuesday.

The ANC president's Durban-based attorney missed the 3.30pm deadline for filing the papers in Johannesburg on Monday, but subsequently sent copies by electronic mail.

"We only received papers by e-mail, but e-mail doesn't count. We want hard copies. So the application is not before the judges," the official explained.

The court rules stipulate that 25 hard copies plus one electronic copy must be filed.

Late filing can be remedied by an application for the judges to condone this.

The Constitutional Court application, if successful, would give Zuma a chance to appeal the recent Supreme Court of Appeal judgment that had the effect of allowing the National Prosecuting Authority to continue pursuing its corruption case against him.

Zuma's lawyers and the NPA will be back in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday as the NPA revived its court action against Zuma.

Zuma's attorney Michael Hulley was not immediately available to comment.