Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison in July after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on appeal last December, in a case that has attracted worldwide interest.
Legal experts had expected the SCA to issue a ruling on whether prosecutors have the right to challenge the sentence but instead said both parties should first argue their case in court. The court did not set a date for the appeal hearing.
State prosecutors, led by advocate Gerrie Nel, say the sentence was too lenient as the jail term was less than half the 15-years they sought. In his arguments at the trial, Nel said Pistorius had shown no remorse for the 2013 shooting.
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Lawyers for the gold medallist, known as the "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, say he did not deliberately kill model and law graduate Steenkamp.
The athlete originally received a five-year sentence for a manslaughter conviction, that was upgraded to murder on appeal.
Trial Judge Thokozile Masipa, who sent Pistorius to the six-year jail term, dismissed a request by Nel to appeal Pistorius' sentence, saying she was not persuaded that there was a reasonable prospect of success at another court.
Nel then launched his case at the SCA, in Bloemfontein, 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.
(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia)
