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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1956 |
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Circumstantial evidence and witness credibility supported a murder conviction absent an eyewitness.
Criminal law – Murder – Circumstantial evidence – Inferences to be drawn where no eyewitness – Credibility assessment of witnesses – Medical evidence of stab wound and intoxication.
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25 December 1956 |
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Unexplained recent possession of stolen property may justify a theft conviction if an adverse inference is reasonably open.
Criminal law – Evidence – possession of recently stolen property – admissible evidence but not presumption of law – inference of guilt a factual matter; recent, exclusive and unexplained possession as factors to be weighed. Sentence – appellate review – reduced sentence reasonable.
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15 December 1956 |
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Payments under director-service provisions are remuneration in nature, but the specific payment did not accrue to the deceased before death and was not taxable on him.
Company law – director remuneration – contractual provisions in memorandum and subsequent agreements substituting remuneration rights for permanent directors. Tax law – income v. capital – characterization of payments under director-service provisions as remuneration (gross income) versus proprietary contractual rights as capital. Accrual – whether a payment payable on death accrued to deceased before death or only to the estate. Representative taxpayer – limits on assessing a deceased person in respect of amounts that did not accrue to him during lifetime.
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13 December 1956 |
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Court interprets s.12(5) to mean payment in substance "in full," voids trustee election and orders costs against magistrate and trustee.
Statute construction – Farmers' Assistance Board Act s.12(5) – meaning of "not to be paid in full" – deferred or instalment payments that discharge claims are "paid in full"; voting rights at creditors' meeting; s.16 operation and validity of trustee election; peremption; costs against public officer and trustee.
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13 December 1956 |
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Accused convicted of theft for using his van to receive stolen goods; agency/conspiracy and false denials supported conviction.
Criminal law – Theft/receiving stolen goods – Evidence that van controlled and paid for by accused establishes possession and knowledge – Hearsay/res inter alios acta admissible where agency or conspiracy proved – False denials to police may indicate guilty mind – Immunity granted to accomplices who assist prosecution.
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13 December 1956 |
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Intoxication did not negate capacity; confession, admissions and forensic circumstantial evidence proved the accused guilty of murder.
Criminal law – murder – strangulation by ligature (stocking) – forensic marks and bloodstains linking accused to killing. Evidence – voluntariness and admissibility of confession to magistrate. Evidence – admissibility of extra‑judicial admissions by intoxicated accused; intoxication not automatically negating mens rea. Circumstantial evidence – possession and sale of deceased’s property as link to perpetrator.
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13 December 1956 |
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Prior convictions improperly admitted after conviction cannot be used to determine extenuating circumstances.
Criminal procedure – proof of previous convictions after verdict – sections 300–304 Criminal Procedure Act – relevance to extenuating circumstances in murder trials – previous convictions generally inadmissible when deciding extenuation unless defence puts character in issue or judge permits – improper post‑verdict admission may vitiate sentencing.
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13 December 1956 |
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Identification upheld despite inconsistencies; reasonable doubt rejected; death sentence affirmed; judge may decide mitigation alone.
Criminal law – murder – identification evidence – credibility of eyewitnesses – gaps in medical evidence – reasonable doubt – rejection of defendant's alibi – sentencing discretion where assessors differ on mitigation.
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13 December 1956 |
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Conviction for obtaining cash by false cheque; admission to police and bank evidence proved knowledge; accused declared a habitual criminal.
Criminal law – cheque fraud / false pretences – presenting a cheque purportedly drawn by another and obtaining cash. Mens rea – whether accused believed cheque to be genuine. Evidence – bank clerk’s account and failure to produce named drawer; admissibility and weight of admissions to police. Sentencing – declaration as habitual criminal and indeterminate sentence.
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13 December 1956 |
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Single‑witness inconsistencies with medical evidence vitiated a murder conviction; group common purpose warranted conviction for culpable homicide.
Criminal law – evidence – reliability of single eyewitness identification; need to assess vantage, lighting and corroboration (plans/sketches may be important). Criminal law – homicide – distinction between murder and culpable homicide; foreseeability and reckless indifference in common purpose cases. Criminal law – common purpose doctrine – participants in a joint violent attack may be guilty of culpable homicide where death was a foreseeable result.
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11 December 1956 |
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Statements by a co‑conspirator to third parties identifying the accused are admissible if made in furtherance of a common criminal purpose.
Criminal law — Conspiracy/common purpose — Admissibility of statements and acts of one alleged conspirator in furtherance of a common object against others — Hearsay objection and corroboration of accomplice evidence. |
11 December 1956 |
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Appeal allowed: accused’s use of force in darkness after prior assaults and threats could be lawful self-defence; conviction set aside.
Criminal law – Self-defence – Whether accused exceeded bounds of lawful defence when he stabbed deceased twice after prior assaults and threats in darkness – assessment of accused’s reasonable belief of danger; burden on Crown to disprove justification beyond reasonable doubt.
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11 December 1956 |
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Whether a union’s executive committee could validly transfer shares after a branch’s members moved to another union.
Trade union law – capacity to hold and alienate property under Industrial Conciliation Act s.5; scope of a union executive committee’s management powers under its constitution and rules; intra vires v. ultra vires transactions; distinction between members leaving and company‑style amalgamation; applicability of Turquand/Prinsloo to third parties dealing with internal officers.
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10 December 1956 |
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Familiar-witness identification in dim light and rejected alibis upheld convictions and confirmed death sentences for murder.
Criminal law – identification evidence at night – effect of poor light and brief observation; credibility of witnesses; alibi and adverse inferences from false testimony; common purpose and joint liability in murder; intention/recklessness inferred from firing at close range; extenuating circumstances and sentence.
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10 December 1956 |
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Autrefois acquit requires substantial identity of offences; hypothetical amendments do not create prior jeopardy.
Criminal law – autrefois acquit – plea that accused was already acquitted – identity of offences and ‘substantial identity’ – accused must have been in legal jeopardy in first trial for the later offence – hypothetical amendment of indictment or judge’s willingness to amend cannot create jeopardy – s.169(2)(d) and s.180 of Act 56 of 1955. |
6 December 1956 |
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Whether company debts contracted while insolvent were entered into without reasonable expectation of repayment.
Insolvency Act s.135(3)(a) — contracting company debts when liabilities exceed assets — onus to prove reasonable expectation of discharge; Companies Act s.90(3) — book‑keeping offence limited to specified officers; Criminal Procedure Act general deeming provision does not extend s.90(3) liability to ordinary servants; appellate review of convictions and sentence proportionality.
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6 December 1956 |
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Whether a subnormal ward had testamentary capacity and whether his curator’s influence vitiated the will.
Testamentary capacity — intellectual subnormality — sufficiency of understanding; Undue influence/artes captatoriae — curator–pupil relationship not prima facie proof; burden of proof; Plakkaat (1540) — limited application; costs.
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5 December 1956 |
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Section 177(1) does not require automatic exclusion of evidence pointing to a different date; trial court must itself consider possible prejudice.
Criminal procedure – s.177(1) Criminal Procedure Act – alibi defence – whether trial court must, mero motu and despite absence of objection, reject proof that offence occurred on a different date – appellate review where no objection taken – discretion and requirement that trial court consider possible prejudice. |
4 December 1956 |
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Appellant's bribery conviction upheld; trial credibility and co-accused corroboration supported the guilty verdict.
Criminal law – Bribery – Contravention of s.2(b) Prevention of Corruption Act – whether money was bribe or loan; corroboration by co-accused's list (Exhibit B). Evidence – credibility findings of trial court – appellate approach to disturbing findings of fact and credibility. Evidence – tape-recorded interview and transcript – admissibility issues not dispositive where independent corroboration exists. Procedure – complaint of restricted cross-examination – whether prejudice established.
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3 December 1956 |
| November 1956 |
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A grant describing the boundary as the river’s inner bank excludes the riverbed; ad medium filum presumption does not apply to measured grants.
Deeds and boundaries – interpretation of deed and annexed diagram – where grant describes boundary as 'inner bank' that expression governs and excludes riverbed; Riparian boundaries – rule ad medium filum fluminis is a rebuttable rule of construction applicable primarily to ager non limitatus (grants by lump), not to measured grants (ager limitatus); Pleadings – admission of entitlement to alluvion does not fix legal boundary.
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26 November 1956 |
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Whether the respondent-driver could reasonably have avoided collision with the applicant’s child crossing into his path.
Motor-vehicle collision; contributory negligence; causation — whether driver could, with reasonable care and available reaction time, have avoided collision with negligently crossing child; evidentiary weight of eyewitness distance/speed estimates; standard of care for child cyclist; effect of an unconditional settlement tender on costs.
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26 November 1956 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction set aside where trial court improperly inferred guilt from silence at arrest and identification evidence was unreliable.
Criminal law — reliance on silence after arrest — caution required before drawing adverse inference from accused's failure to state an alibi; Identification and circumstantial evidence — inconsistencies, timing, visibility and witness credibility may render conviction unsafe; Misdirection by trial court in assessing alibi and identification may warrant setting aside conviction.
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23 November 1956 |
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Transfer duty is payable on the aggregate contractual consideration for an indivisible acquisition, not separately per registered erf.
Transfer duty — statutory interpretation — whether duty is calculated per separately registered erf or on aggregate consideration for an indivisible transaction — meaning of "property" and "acquired" under Transfer Duty Act; valuation under s.5(1)(a) and s.5(6).
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23 November 1956 |
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A municipality is not liable for flood damage from lawful roadmaking absent proof of negligent failure to adopt reasonably practicable drainage measures.
Local government – road construction – alteration of natural drainage – liability only if municipality negligently failed to adopt reasonably practicable measures considering total resources; temporary drainage obligations assessed in wider municipal context; plaintiff must prove negligent failure to lessen interference.
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22 November 1956 |
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Civil court finds seller liable for selling a stolen title deed based on credibility and balance of probabilities.
Theft/Conversion – sale of stolen title deed; Fraud – civil liability on balance of probabilities; Identification evidence and witness credibility; Weight of prior criminal acquittal and delayed identification in civil proceedings.
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19 November 1956 |
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A licensing board’s unreasonable refusal to adjourn, preventing statutory quota compliance, renders a subsequent new licence grant reviewable and null.
Licensing boards – Adjournment of annual meeting – Implied power to adjourn – Procedural fairness – Review for gross unreasonableness – Section 24 (order of business), section 31(2)(d) (form of application), section 63(1) (quota) – Locus standi of renewal applicants to review subsequent grants.
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19 November 1956 |
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Clause 6 of the 1906 will applies only to the testator's children, not to remoter descendants.
Will construction – meaning of "children" in fideicommissary clauses – strict construction; revoked provisions cannot be used to qualify unrevoked clauses; forfeiture clause applies to children (income‑entitled) not remoter issue (capital‑entitled).
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19 November 1956 |
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Whether the respondent’s plate‑making constitutes lithography and is of sufficient magnitude to bring it within the Printing and Newspaper Industry.
Industrial law – definition of "industry" and "undertaking" – whether seller of multilith machines who processes photo‑lithographic plates is an "employer" in Printing and Newspaper Industry; ancillary activities and question of degree; competence of Attorney‑General to appeal Provincial Division decision on a question of law. |
12 November 1956 |
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Single-witness identification and preparatory-examination record admissibility upheld; murder convictions and sentences affirmed.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – Single-witness identification; Criminal procedure – Preparatory-examination records – Crown may admit correctness absent challenge; Credibility – inconsistencies from translation and detail assessed; Common purpose – inference of murderous intent upheld; Appeal – appellate deference to trial court findings on credibility and alibi. |
12 November 1956 |
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Two accused convicted of murder on reliable eyewitness identification; third acquitted for unreliable identification.
Criminal law – murder – identification evidence – reliability and demeanour of witnesses; alibi — credibility assessment and rejection where contradicted by police evidence; factional motive relevant only to intention, not to membership of attacking party; premeditation — no extenuating circumstances.
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12 November 1956 |
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Whether attorneys performing customary agency/trust functions are exempt from broker/agent licensing under the statute.
Taxation/licensing — interpretation of statutory exemption for "practising attorneys when acting in their professional capacity" — whether agency, trusteeship and receipt of trust monies by attorneys require broker/agent licences — onus of proof on claimant — ambiguous statutory language and relevance of long-standing administrative practice.
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10 November 1956 |
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Indunas are not 'peace officers' under the statute; confessions to them were admissible and appeals dismissed.
Criminal law – admissibility of confessions – whether statements to indunas (chief’s deputies) are 'confessions' to 'peace officers' under s.1 and s.244(1) of Act 56 of 1955; Native Administration Act, regulations and Natal Code – scope of 'chief', 'headman' and 'acting chief' – distinction between delegation of duties and formal appointment as acting chief; voluntariness of confessions; appellate review of factual findings.
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5 November 1956 |
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Conviction reduced to culpable homicide where provocation and loss of self-control meant intent to kill was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Murder v. culpable homicide – Self-defence, provocation and loss of self-control – Whether the accused formed intention to kill where the deceased may have been first aggressor with a knife – Inference of intent from number and nature of stab wounds – Extenuating circumstances and sentence reduction.
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5 November 1956 |
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Court convicted the accused of rape, accepting the complainant's credible evidence of penetration despite limited medical corroboration.
Criminal law – Rape – Proof of penetration – Slight degree of penetration sufficient; absence of seminal stains or definite medical signs not dispositive. Evidence – Credibility and demeanour of complainant and discovery of garments as corroborative circumstantial evidence. Medical evidence – Lack of specific sexual injury does not necessarily negate penetration. Circumstantial corroboration – Position and discovery of clothing and footwear may strengthen complainant’s account.
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5 November 1956 |
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Suspension under Regulation 4(1) requires prior opportunity to be heard; suspension without hearing is unlawful.
Administrative law – school discipline – suspension of pupil under Regulation 4(1) – audi alteram partem applies – suspension without prior opportunity to be heard unlawful; Director’s joint defence renders him liable for costs.
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5 November 1956 |
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Deliberate or habitual non‑observance of mandatory safety regulations by a carrier’s servant can constitute wilful misconduct under an owner’s‑risk clause.
Owner's‑risk clause — carrier exemption unless loss occasioned by wilful misconduct or malfeasance of servants — wilful misconduct may be established by deliberate or habitual non‑observance of safety regulations (Reg.137(1)); vacuum‑brake testing requirements; customary practice does not excuse deliberate disregard of regulations.
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1 November 1956 |
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Appellate court affirmed murder conviction and death sentence: insults and youth did not constitute extenuating circumstances.
Criminal law – Murder – Extenuating circumstances – whether prior insults and challenge and appellant’s youth amount to mitigation – appellate review restricted to cases where trial finding is unreasonable (Rex v Taylor). Evidence – Fatal stab wound penetrating to heart and use of dangerous weapon as proof of dolus. Procedure – Appellate standard for interfering with triers of fact on mitigation.
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1 November 1956 |
| October 1956 |
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Accused acquitted of rape for lack of proof of non-consent but convicted of unlawful intercourse under section 1, Act 5 of 1927, as amended.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Rape – Requirement of corroboration and caution in trials involving young complainants – distinct assessment of consent and statutory interracial intercourse offence. Evidence – Medical evidence (spermatozoa) as proof of recent intercourse; identification parade procedures and composition. Evidence – Alibi, flight and false statements as indicators undermining accused’s credibility.
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23 October 1956 |
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Exemptions in section 10(1) do not limit section 23(1)(h) or the application of Regulation 17; appeal dismissed.
Statutory interpretation – Natives (Urban Areas) Act – construction of sections 10(1) and 23(1)(h) – whether exemptions in s.10(1) limit regulatory powers under s.23(1)(h). Administrative/regulatory law – Regulation 17 (under s.38(1)(e)) – requirement for male natives in proclaimed areas to carry and produce registration certificates. Principle – reading statutes together; generalia specialibus non derogant where no necessary conflict exists.
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23 October 1956 |
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Appeal allowed: stabbing was reasonably explained as self-defence; conviction and sentence set aside.
Criminal law – self-defence – juvenile accused – credibility assessment – corroboration of appellant’s account (injury and presence of weapons) – sufficiency of evidence for culpable homicide conviction.
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2 October 1956 |
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A postman’s retention of mail and unexplained possession of government stationery justify convictions for interference and theft.
Postal law – Section 99, Post Office Act 10 of 1911 – "interferes with conveyance" includes act or neglect by the postman; failure to deliver may constitute interference. Theft – unexplained possession of government-marked stationery used in official offices supports inference of dishonest possession. Evidence – where prima facie case exists, accused’s failure/inadequacy of explanation may justify conviction.
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1 October 1956 |
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Judge alone decides admissibility; appellant's voluntary confession (even if partially recanted) established murder, appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – admissibility of accused's statement – judge's sole function to decide admissibility; voluntariness and inducement by police; statements implicating accomplices; common purpose and murder liability.
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1 October 1956 |
| September 1956 |
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Provocation and disproportionate defensive force reduced a murder conviction to culpable homicide where intent to kill was unproven.
Criminal law – Murder v. culpable homicide – provocation and self‑defence – whether provocation or disproportionate defence reduces murder to culpable homicide; evidentiary weight of contradictory eyewitness testimony; requirement to prove intention to kill beyond reasonable doubt. |
28 September 1956 |
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Whether profits from sale of company land were income or capital; court held they were income and dismissed the appeal.
• Income tax — classification of gains as income or capital — profits on sale of improved township properties held to be income.
• Stated case procedure — stated case must set out facts found or admitted; inclusion of evidential snippets is improper and to be disregarded.
• Appellate review under s.81 — factual findings of Special Court are final unless unsupported by any evidence or unreasonable.
• Company law — construction of memorandum of association; powers to hold, improve, let and sell land support finding of land-trading.
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28 September 1956 |
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Whether a notarial water agreement, 1942 correspondence or prescription extinguished applicants’ river water rights.
Water law – Interpretation of notarial contract dividing river waters – Whether contract or later correspondence effected abandonment of rights – Prescription and negative servitudes; necessity of an opposing legal act (operis novi/ equivalent) to found acquisitive prescription – Burden of proof on party asserting loss of rights.
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28 September 1956 |
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Appellate court allowed murder appeal: trial court erred in drawing adverse inference from silence and misassessing conflicting identification evidence.
Criminal law — Murder conviction based on circumstantial and identification evidence — Adverse inference from accused's silence after caution — Credibility and inconsistencies in witness testimony — Appellate intervention where trial court misdirects and reasonable doubt remains.
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28 September 1956 |
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When intoxication is pleaded the Crown must prove intent; misdirection on onus not fatal if evidence establishes intent.
Criminal law – Intoxication as defence – Onus of proof: where intoxication is relied upon, the Crown must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was capable of forming and did form the requisite intent; misdirection as to onus will not vitiate conviction unless it caused a failure of justice; assessment of intent from instrument used, wound location, demeanour and post-offence admissions.
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28 September 1956 |
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Appellant’s intoxicated, close high‑speed pass of a parked car caused fatality; conviction and sentence for culpable homicide upheld.
Criminal law – culpable homicide – passing a stationary vehicle with a person standing beside it at high speed – negligent/reckless driving as proximate cause of death. Evidence – credibility – weight of eyewitness observation vs accused’s account; judge’s active examination of witnesses and appellate review. Sentencing – relevance of driver’s intoxication and failure to stop after accident to sentence severity.
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28 September 1956 |
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Discredited accomplice testimony and mere presence insufficient to sustain murder conviction; appeal allowed.
Criminal law – accomplice evidence – corroboration – accomplice’s inconsistent statements wholly discrediting his testimony – insufficient corroboration where only proves presence. Criminal law – common purpose – absence of prior common purpose; impulsive attack requires proof of actual participation. Criminal law – accessory after the fact – mere silence or false post-arrest statements do not establish accessoryship. Evidence – presence and minor conduct (striking matches) insufficient to establish participation in violent crime.
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26 September 1956 |
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Whether members' requisitioned special meeting may authorise legal enquiries into alleged illegal Board payments.
Friendly-society constitution — construction of written rules — powers of Board of Management vs powers of general meeting (annual and special) — Rule 79 special general meeting requisitioned by members — ultra vires resolutions — authority to obtain legal advice and to pursue recovery of allegedly illegal payments — limits on member inspection and rule amendments (Rules 71, 75, 83, 84, 93).
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25 September 1956 |
