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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1968 |
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Whether repair-cost evidence can prove minimum damages for a motor-vehicle loss when salvage value is unproven.
Delict — damages to chattel — measures of patrimonial loss for damaged motor vehicle — difference between market values v. reasonable repair costs; pleadings and alternative methods; burden of proof; inadmissibility of insurer’s contract-fixed percentage as proof of particular salvage value.
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30 December 1968 |
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"Reckless" driving in the statute includes gross negligence; conviction and sentence for such driving upheld.
Traffic law – meaning of "reckless" in statutory provision – "reckless" includes gross negligence whether or not accompanied by conscious risk-awareness – conviction for reckless driving upheld where driver looked away and drifted onto wrong side.
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2 December 1968 |
| November 1968 |
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Whether an employer can, after contractor liquidation, validly pay nominated sub‑contractors and deduct those sums from amounts due to the contractor.
Company law/insolvency – concursus creditorum – effect of liquidation on creditors’ claims; Building contracts – nominated sub‑contractors – clause permitting employer to pay nominated sub‑contractors and deduct amounts from contractor’s payments; Whether post‑liquidation direct payments by employer to nominated sub‑contractors may lawfully reduce debt to contractor/liquidator.
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28 November 1968 |
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Insider participation who foresaw and was reckless as to a co-accused's threatened grievous bodily harm attracts aggravating circumstances; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Robbery with aggravating circumstances – meaning of "by the offender or an accomplice" – mens rea for aggravating circumstances – foresight and recklessness as test – sentencing discretion in gang robberies.
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28 November 1968 |
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Whether purchase price under a statutory pre-emptive sale is deemed to have accrued under s.24, and whether statutory depreciation contributions fall within s.24.
Tax law – accrual and receipt – section 24 Income Tax Act (deeming of amounts payable under agreements) – statutory pre-emptive purchase – distinction between contractual consideration and statutory depreciation contributions – timing of accrual for tax purposes.
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28 November 1968 |
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Whether retention of payments and related conduct constitutes affirmation of a settlement, barring pursuit of the original claim.
Civil procedure – settlement agreements – election to affirm or rescind – approbation and reprobation – whether retention of monetary benefits and conduct amount to affirmation – restitution/tender not always prerequisite to election.
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28 November 1968 |
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Sudden, unexpected pedestrian emergence left the driver no reasonable opportunity to avoid collision; no negligence proved.
Motor vehicle collision – sudden emergence of pedestrian from driveway – eyewitness and driver statements corroborative – reaction time and element of surprise – insufficient evidence of driver negligence; absolution from instance affirmed.
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26 November 1968 |
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Appeal dismissed: no negligence by railway servants; shunter's pre-coupling check and foreseeability of risk were adequate.
Workmen's Compensation Act s8(1)(b) – claim for indemnity; negligence in shunting operations – standard of care and foreseeability; Train Working Regulations (127) – duty to see line clear before causing movement; deference to trial court credibility findings; no breach where pre-coupling check was adequate.
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25 November 1968 |
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Appellant failed to prove respondent instigated malicious prosecution by supplying knowingly false information to police.
Malicious prosecution — elements: instigation/procurement, want of reasonable/probable cause, malice; causation test — mere provision of facts to police not actionable unless information is knowingly false or the informer actively procures prosecution; proof by inference — must be on balance of probabilities; failure to call investigating officer — no automatic adverse inference.
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19 November 1968 |
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Voluntary intoxication that does not cause mental disease generally does not excuse criminal liability, though it may mitigate sentence.
Criminal law – voluntariness of act – unconsciousness (sleepwalking/epilepsy) excusing liability – voluntary intoxication that does not produce mental disease is generally no defence but may mitigate sentence – actio libera in causa and precedent (Rex v Innes Grant).
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14 November 1968 |
| September 1968 |
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Section 11bis notice and the 60‑day suspension of prescription apply to owners liable under section 19(3).
Motor Vehicle Insurance Act — section 19(3) — owner of uninsured vehicle treated as registered company — application of section 11bis notice requirements and suspension of prescription under section 11(2)(a).
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30 September 1968 |
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Whether the respondent could deduct liquidated damages from interim payments before completion of the works.
Construction law – interpretation of contract – liquidated damages – clause entitling employer to require payment and deduct "from any monies due" permits deductions from interim certificates during progress; engineer's extension effective pending arbitration; deductions provisional and refundable; contractor's termination and removal unlawful; plant on site deemed employer's property (clause 53(2)).
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30 September 1968 |
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Contemporaneous traffic officer notes corroborated his evidence; appellant's inconsistent account was rightly rejected and absolution upheld.
* Motor collisions – credibility of witnesses – contemporaneous notes and sketch can corroborate attending officer’s evidence and justify rejecting plaintiff’s later inconsistent testimony. * Civil procedure – adverse inference – failure to call a potential witness not per se grounds for an adverse inference where existing evidence sufficiently undermines plaintiff’s case. * Negligence – vehicle position and maneuvering – a gap left for passing and evidence of a turning manoeuvre may rebut negligence claim against driver. |
30 September 1968 |
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Whether an authorised trader (not the owner) on a trading site is liable to pay statutory rent under the Act.
Mining/trading-site law — trading site set apart under s5(5) — distinction between landowner’s right and authorised operator under s5(5) guater — construction of "holder of a right acquired under sub-section (5) or (5) guater" in s5(5) quinquies — sections 5(7) and 8 and Local Authorities Rating Ordinance relevant to statutory interpretation — authorised trader not liable for prescribed rent under s5(5) quinquies.
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30 September 1968 |
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Appellate court set aside trial sentencing error for misassessed psychiatric evidence and substituted suspended custodial sentences.
Criminal law – sentencing – assessment and weight of psychiatric evidence (‘psychic infection’) – diminished responsibility and sentencing; appellate substitution of sentence where trial court misdirects; institutional safeguards for psychotherapeutic treatment by prison staff.
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30 September 1968 |
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Appeal allowed: Hillman driver negligent and caused obstructing collision; first respondent liable, second respondent not.
Civil procedure – piecemeal trial and appealability of interlocutory rulings; Rule 33(4) Uniform Rules of Court; negligence and causation in successive-collision cases; joinder of defendants and apportionment of costs under Rule 10.
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23 September 1968 |
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Appellate court upheld murder conviction, refused to find extenuating circumstances or to reopen trial for belated alcohol evidence.
Criminal law — murder conviction — appellate deference to trial court credibility findings — minor discrepancies insufficient to overturn verdict; extenuating circumstances chiefly for trial court to determine; reopening of concluded criminal trials permitted only in exceptional cases — post‑verdict unsworn statements insufficient to justify reopening.
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23 September 1968 |
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Appellant's negligent driving caused one death but not the other; deferred commencement of licence suspension was invalid.
Criminal law — Culpable homicide by negligent driving — causation and novus actus — foreseeability of subsequent collision — intoxication as aggravating negligence; Administrative law — suspension of driving licence — commencement under Transvaal Ordinance No. 21 of 1966.
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19 September 1968 |
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17 September 1968 |
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Tokens supplied in packaged goods constituted "trade coupons" and their supply contravened s.2(1)(b) of Act 18 of 1935.
Trade Coupons Act (Act 18 of 1935) – definition of "trade coupon" – tokens supplied in packaged goods – singular includes plural (Interpretation Act s.6(b)) – tokens (alone or together with other things/acts or facsimiles) entitle participation – supply contravenes s.2(1)(b) – prior decision distinguished.
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16 September 1968 |
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Confessions obtained amid police-induced misapprehension and inadequately investigated assault allegations were not shown to be voluntary.
Criminal law – confession admissibility – voluntariness and undue influence – s.244(1) of the Code – police confrontation with co-accused's statement – magistrate's duty to enquire about prior statements and reasons – adequacy of State's rebuttal of assault allegations.
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16 September 1968 |
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Co‑accused's confession inadmissible; without it the State failed to prove appellants' guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – admissibility of co-accused confession (s246) – preparatory examination evidence (s156(1), s284(1)) – misdirection and irregularity – circumstantial and identification evidence – standard: proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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13 September 1968 |
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Appeal against quantum of general damages dismissed; trial judge's assessment, including disfigurement allowance, upheld.
Damages — Assessment of general damages for personal injury — appellate review of quantum — comparison with prior awards instructive but not decisive; trial judge’s observations (including visible scarring) admissible in assessing loss of amenities; appellate interference only where award is manifestly excessive or discretion misapplied.
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6 September 1968 |
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Conviction cannot rest solely on an unconfirmed confession; a s.284(1) admission does not constitute competent confirming evidence.
Criminal law – Confession – s.258(2) Criminal Procedure Act 56 of 1955 – confession must be confirmed by other evidence or actual commission proved by competent evidence – admission in terms of s.284(1) not competent evidence – remittal for further evidence sparingly ordered.
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6 September 1968 |
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Appeal dismissed: trial judge’s credibility findings and conclusion that an inciting meeting occurred were upheld, convictions confirmed.
Criminal law – Sabotage and incitement – Proof of meeting and words alleged to incite violence – evaluation of witness credibility on conflicting testimony – inconsistencies and improbabilities considered but not necessarily fatal – role of political publications in assessing motive and context.
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4 September 1968 |
| August 1968 |
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Promissory-note liability established on balance of probabilities by signature comparison and circumstantial evidence.
Civil procedure – proof of execution of negotiable instrument – disputed signature – court may compare disputed signature with admitted signatures and rely on circumstantial evidence; forgery allegation must be probable to succeed; burden on plaintiff to prove on balance of probabilities.
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26 August 1968 |
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Appeal dismissed: driver not negligent; sudden swerve by cyclist and failure to hoot not shown to be negligent.
Motor-vehicle collision – credibility and evaluation of evidence – sudden swerve by cyclist – assessment of road marks and point of impact – overtaking duty to signal/hoot not per se negligence; circumstantial determination of liability.
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26 August 1968 |
| July 1968 |
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Wife’s persistent hostile conduct, known to risk ending cohabitation, amounted to constructive desertion; husband entitled to restoration order.
Family law — Constructive (malicious) desertion — animus deserendi — inference of intent from conduct and warnings — burden of proof on balance of probabilities — presumption of intended natural consequences to be applied cautiously — restoration of matrimonial rights ordered.
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16 July 1968 |
| June 1968 |
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A pleading based on an implied agency must plead the facts or conduct giving rise to the implication with sufficient particularity.
Civil procedure – Pleadings – Exception for vagueness and embarrassment – Implied contract/agency – Under Uniform Rules (Rule 18(4), 18(6), 18(7)) an implied contract must be supported by pleaded facts or conduct from which the implication arises – prior practice permitting bald allegations of implied contracts curtailed – Relief: exception allowed, impugned paragraph and further particulars struck out, leave to amend under Rule 28.
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3 June 1968 |
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A witness’s mental instability required competency inquiry, but excluding his evidence did not overturn convictions; first appellant’s offence and sentence reduced.
Criminal evidence — competency of witnesses (mental instability) — s.225 Criminal Procedure Act — irregular admission of evidence — weeding out incompetent testimony — sufficiency of remaining evidence to uphold convictions — mens rea: intent to rob v. intent to steal — appellate modification of convictions and sentence reduction.
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3 June 1968 |
| May 1968 |
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Whether a proclamation-amended Rents Act permits renewal of a dwelling lease at rent higher than the fixed date.
Rents Act — extension by Proclamation under s.33(1A) — construction of 'shall be construed as if it provided as follows' — effect on proviso to s.2(1)(a) — renewal of residential lease at higher rent invalid; restitution claim inoperative.
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21 May 1968 |
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Intoxication, influence, youth and spontaneity held mitigating; sentence set aside and remitted for re‑sentencing.
Criminal law — Murder — Mitigating circumstances — Intoxication, influence by co‑accused, youth, spontaneity — Trial court misdirection where mitigation tested against crime's severity — Sentence remitted for re‑consideration.
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21 May 1968 |
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A court may assist when consent to cancel or alter a township plan is impracticable, but it cannot adjudicate merits against a registered owner’s servitude.
Townships and town‑planning — alteration or partial cancellation of general plan — Land Survey Act s.30(2),(4) and Townships Ordinance s.26(4) — praedial servitudes and their immutability — role of Court limited to assisting where consent impracticable, not to adjudicate merits of objections — provincial regulation of Administrator’s powers not repugnant to Land Survey Act.
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10 May 1968 |
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A secondary participant who actively joins a group assault may be convicted of murder where conduct and statements show active association and contribution.
Criminal law – Murder – Common purpose – Liability of secondary participant who assaults victim with fists while another stabs – Knowledge of weapon not strictly necessary if presence, conduct, failure to explain and post-offence remarks permit inference of active association and foresight – Proper drawing of adverse inferences from accused's false or unconvincing testimony.
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10 May 1968 |
| March 1968 |
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Whether a statutory reference to South West Africa includes the Rehoboth Gebiet despite a 1923 local‑government agreement.
Constitutional/territorial interpretation — statutory territorial clauses — whether reference to 'South West Africa' includes Rehoboth Gebiet; effect of Proc. 28/1923 on Parliamentary competence; ordinary meaning of territorial words; limits of precedent (Universal Distributors v Dickson).
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26 March 1968 |
