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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1983 |
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Possession of a stolen vehicle plus a false explanation justified conviction and a three-year prison sentence; co-accused acquitted.
Criminal law – motor theft – identification of stolen vehicle – owner’s marks and distinctive features – forensic evidence of altered chassis/engine numbers. Possession of stolen property and false explanation – allowable inference of involvement in theft. Burden of proof – State must satisfy court beyond reasonable doubt; accused entitled to discharge if alternative version reasonably possibly true. Sentence – antecedents and prevalence of offence relevant to custodial sentence.
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6 December 1983 |
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Transfer of hire‑purchase goods while title remains with the financier can constitute theft if accompanied by intent to appropriate.
Criminal law – Theft – Delivery/transfer of goods subject to hire‑purchase – Owner in financier; unlawful contrectatio by person without power to dispose. Criminal law – Dolus – Knowledge of hire‑purchase status and recipient’s undertaking do not negate intention to appropriate. Evidence – Credibility – Trial court entitled to reject inconsistent explanations about signed documents; guilty verdict upheld.
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6 December 1983 |
| November 1983 |
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Affidavit to Law Society accusing the applicant of fabricating a court notice was not privileged; malice established, damages awarded.
Defamation — publication to professional regulatory body — qualified privilege — malice vitiating privilege where respondent acted recklessly without reasonable enquiry — damages and costs (two counsel) awarded. |
30 November 1983 |
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An architect who merely approves and signs another's design is not the "bona fide author" under regulation 6.5.
Architects – regulation 6.5 – meaning of "bona fide author"; whether signing plans prepared by another makes architect the author; statutory interpretation – English versus Afrikaans text; role of special exceptions (member of firm, reg 6.10); vagueness challenge to professional regulation. |
29 November 1983 |
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Appellants' appeals against death sentences dismissed; trial court correctly found no mitigating circumstances.
Criminal law – Murder – Mitigating circumstances – Provocation, youth and lack of premeditation examined; credibility findings; appellate interference with trial fact-finding.
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29 November 1983 |
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Whether a hit-and-run at a marked pedestrian crossing established driver negligence on the balance of probabilities.
* Evidence — inference v. speculation — inference of negligence must be based on proved facts, not conjecture.* Motor-vehicle accidents — hit-and-run — proof of physical contact by unidentified vehicle and proof of driver’s negligence on balance of probabilities.* Pedestrian crossings — approach requires heightened care; proximity and nature of injuries may support inference of negligence but gaps in antecedent facts can preclude it.* Failure to stop — may be one of several explanations and does not automatically establish negligence. |
29 November 1983 |
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Submission to a multi‑stage contractual dispute procedure qualifies as arbitration and delays prescription under section 13(1)(f).
Prescription Act s13(1)(f) — dispute subjected to arbitration — multi‑stage contractual dispute clause (engineer, mediator, arbitrator) constitutes arbitration for prescription purposes; submission to such procedure delays completion of prescription. |
29 November 1983 |
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Whether resignation, alleged redundancy, or refusal to rehire excuses repayment of a scholarship loan.
Contract – scholarship/loan tied to compulsory service – interpretation of clauses B.1–B.5 – resignation versus rescission for breach – meaning of 'oortollig' (redundant) in service context – effect of employer's refusal to re-employ on repayment obligation. |
29 November 1983 |
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Conviction for murder affirmed but death sentences set aside due to youth, intoxication and coercion; determinate prison terms imposed.
Criminal law – murder as party to common purpose – foresight of fatal consequence and active assistance established. Criminal law – intoxication and duress – rejection of total absence of intent but acceptance of influence as mitigation. Sentencing – youth (19 years), intoxication and coercion as cumulative mitigating circumstances – death sentence set aside and substituted by determinate terms. Appeal – conviction upheld but sentences varied downward to concurrent terms of imprisonment.
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28 November 1983 |
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Lawful detention making compliance with Police Act s32 impossible suspends the six‑month peremptory period; special plea dismissed.
Police Act s32(1) — peremptory six‑month notice and institution period — accrual of cause of action — assaults during detention accrue at time of assault — impossibility (lex non cogit ad impossibilia) suspends running of peremptory period while lawful detention prevents compliance — Prescription Act not applicable to s32(1) period. |
25 November 1983 |
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Identity proved beyond reasonable doubt despite suggestive identification procedures and absence of an identification parade.
Criminal law – identification evidence – brief/cursory visual observations; suggestive identification by confronting witnesses with handcuffed suspect without parade; corroboration by proximity of arrest, suspect’s appearance and conduct, and accused’s false testimony – identity established beyond reasonable doubt.
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25 November 1983 |
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Intoxication and provocation reduced culpability but did not negate responsibility; conviction and sentence upheld.
Criminal law – automatism – alleged sane automatism caused by intoxication – burden and sufficiency of proof. Criminal law – intoxication and provocation – diminished responsibility versus non‑responsibility. Evidence – weight of eyewitness behaviour before and after incident against defence expert opinion based on incomplete factual basis. Sentencing – appellate interference only where sentence is grossly inappropriate.
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24 November 1983 |
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The court substituted lesser sentences for appellants in a murder case after reassessing evidence and mitigating factors.
Criminal law – murder – identification of accused in group attack – sufficiency of evidence for direct participation – application of doctrine of common purpose – sentencing – taking into account mitigating circumstances in imposing sentence. |
22 November 1983 |
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Appellate court upheld murder conviction, finding trial judge properly rejected appellant's self‑defence plea on credibility grounds.
Criminal law – credibility assessment of eyewitnesses – contradictions and omissions in statements – when not fatal; self‑defence – improbability of accused's version; appellate review of trial judge's factual findings.
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22 November 1983 |
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A discretionary commutation of a dependant's pension is not recoverable "in consequence of" a member's death and thus not taxable gross income.
Income tax — Second Schedule para 3 — "lump sum benefit which becomes recoverable in consequence of or following upon the death of a member" — causation required; discretionary commutation by fund severs causal link — not gross income; not "remuneration" for Fourth Schedule withholding obligation. |
21 November 1983 |
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Appellant failed to prove on a balance of probabilities which vehicle was on the wrong side; appeal dismissed.
Road traffic collision – credibility of eyewitnesses – post-accident movement of vehicles affecting point-of-impact evidence; conflict of evidence resolved on demeanour and probabilities; absolution from instance appropriate where plaintiff fails to prove which vehicle was on wrong side. |
21 November 1983 |
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Police evidence of two linked journeys established accompaniment and triggered the s 10(1)(e) presumption of dealing; no condonation granted.
Criminal law – conviction for dealing in dagga – admissibility of evidence of prior outward journey as proof of concerted conduct – application of s 10(1)(e) presumption that accompanier dealt in illegal drugs – correction of trial record requires notice to presiding magistrate – condonation for late appeal refused where no reasonable prospects of success.
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21 November 1983 |
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Claims of self‑defence and intoxication were disbelieved; conviction and death sentence upheld.
Criminal law – Murder – Plea of private defence rejected on credibility – Mitigation: alleged prior incident and intoxication insufficient – Appeal against conviction and death sentence dismissed.
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10 November 1983 |
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An appellate court will not disturb a trial court’s finding of no extenuating circumstances absent misdirection or unreasonableness.
Criminal law – Murder – Intention to kill (dolus directus) – Deliberate opportunistic attack on a defenceless victim. Extenuating circumstances – Jealousy/relational passion – applicability of S v Meyer principle; factual distinction critical. Appellate review – discretionary factual findings and sentencing mitigation: interference only for misdirection, irregularity or unreasonable conclusions.
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10 November 1983 |
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Appeal dismissed: confession and identification accepted; intoxication did not mitigate culpability.
Criminal law – murder – conviction supported by extra‑judicial statement and corroborative witness evidence; identification by clothing and hairstyle admissible when credible. Criminal procedure – voluntariness of confession – statement held admissible and reliable. Sentencing – intoxication – voluntary intoxication did not negate subjective intention nor constitute sufficient mitigation. Appeal – appellate court will not disturb trial court findings unless no reasonable court could have reached same conclusion.
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9 November 1983 |
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Impulsive killing under dolus eventualis does not necessarily constitute extenuating circumstances; appeal against death sentence dismissed.
Criminal law – Murder – Sentence – Extenuating circumstances – Whether impulsive, non-premeditated act or dolus eventualis constitutes mitigation – Deliberate conduct and awareness negate extenuation.
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5 November 1983 |
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A procedural dismissal of a rescission application is not final unless the magistrate decided the merits.
Procedure — Magistrate’s dismissal of rescission application — Rule 49(2) affidavit requirements — dismissal not final if merits not considered — Rule 49(9) effect only when decision on merits; Condonation — consent under Rule 16(5) not invariably fatal; remittal to magistrate.
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4 November 1983 |
| October 1983 |
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Conviction for possession of dagga upheld despite contradictions in a single police witness’s evidence, corroborated by other evidence.
Criminal law – Possession of dagga – Credibility of single police witness – Contradictions and poor demeanour – Corroboration and probabilities – Failure to call available witness a neutral factor – Sentencing triad and effect of prior suspended sentence.
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8 October 1983 |
| September 1983 |
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Conviction based on uncorroborated accomplice testimony and inferences was unsafe and quashed.
Criminal law – murder – conviction based on accomplice evidence – requirement of caution and corroboration; inferences from threats and motive insufficient alone to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; acquittal of co-accused can materially weaken accomplice testimony; unsafe conviction set aside. |
29 September 1983 |
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Reported
An acceptance phrased "subject to" conflicting tender documents is ambiguous and does not create a contract.
Contract formation – acceptance – requirement of clarity and unequivocality; ambiguity caused by phrase "subject to all the conditions and terms embodied in the relative official tender documents" where tender and official documents conflict on completion period; objective test of reasonable tenderer; effect of qualified tenders and subsequent formal agreement (PW 54). |
29 September 1983 |
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Appellate court affirms bakkie driver’s negligence; car driver not negligent; appeal dismissed with costs.
Road traffic — collision at junction — assessment of probabilities — eyewitness and police track evidence — driver on wrong side — negligence of bakkie driver upheld; entering vehicle not negligent.
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29 September 1983 |
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Appeal allowed: the applicant's conviction unsafe due to unreliable child eyewitness likely influenced, creating reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – identification and credibility – juvenile eyewitness testimony – assessment and dangers of suggestion; influence by interested third party; corroboration requirement for unreliable or vulnerable witness; appellate review of trial court credibility findings; conflict in corroborative witnesses' accounts and impact on safety of conviction.
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29 September 1983 |
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Reported
An option to buy included in a lease must be exercised during the lease; it lapses on termination absent clear contrary intention.
Lease and option — option to purchase contained in lease — where no exercise period stated, option prima facie to be exercised during lease — option does not survive termination of lease absent clear contrary intention — monthly tacit relocation after expiry does not revive untimely exercise. |
27 September 1983 |
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Whether scene markings and probabilities justify inferring contributory negligence by the Mazda driver — appeal dismissed.
* Road traffic – head-on collision – inference of contributory negligence from scene markings (glass, mud, scrape mark) – evaluation on balance of probabilities. Evidentiary issues – reliability of post-collision scene evidence and witness measurements. Burden of proof – competing hypotheses assessed by overall probabilities; sudden swerve hypothesis not equally probable. |
27 September 1983 |
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Reported
A fidelity-fund's articles can be a public offer and a claimant's written notice may constitute acceptance creating contractual liability.
* Company law – articles of association as offer to public – fidelity fund articles creating a public offer to reimburse losses for member theft. Contract law – acceptance – implied acceptance and objective test – written correspondence constituting acceptance. Contract law – notice requirements in constitutive documents – sufficiency of notice to enable investigation under Article 177. Remedies – fidelity fund liability where member's liquidation yields no dividend. |
27 September 1983 |
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Whether appellants' confessions, some taken by police or via police interpreters, were voluntary and admissible under s 217(1).
Criminal procedure - admissibility of confessions - voluntariness under s 217(1) - police officers as confessing officers or interpreters - investigating officer taking confession - individual assessment of confessions despite general pattern of investigative irregularities.
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26 September 1983 |
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Applicant’s conviction for murder as a participant in a common purpose is upheld; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Common purpose liability – Participation in pursuit and cornering of victim as evidence of sharing murderous common purpose – Disassociation from common purpose must be reasonably established; mere possibility insufficient.
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26 September 1983 |
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Accomplice testimony, corroborated by strong circumstantial evidence, upheld murder and robbery convictions; appeals dismissed.
Criminal law — accomplice evidence — prior inconsistent statements do not automatically invalidate trial testimony; cautionary rule applies strictly but conviction may stand if corroborated; circumstantial corroboration (possession of victim’s property, concealed coins, blood evidence) sufficient to support murder and robbery convictions; absence of mitigating circumstances upheld.
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26 September 1983 |
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Agent entitled to commission where its introduction remained the effective cause of a later, related sale despite initial financing failure.
Agency and commission – effect of purchaser’s initial inability to obtain finance – whether introduction remains effective cause when sale later concludes on different but related terms; liability where sellers refuse third‑party security requiring suretyship; assessment of purchaser's ability and timing for commission entitlement; interest a tempore morae payable from demand/placement in mora.
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20 September 1983 |
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Appeal dismissed: reliable single-witness identifications and corroborative evidence upheld convictions.
Criminal law – identification evidence – single eyewitness identification – cautionary approach – corroboration by medical/photographic evidence – credibility of accused’s alibi.
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16 September 1983 |
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A negotiated settlement applied and acted on can bind parties and operate like an arbitral award; agent inferred for the dormant contracting company.
Agency – inference of mandate where holding company controls dormant subsidiary and performs its contractual obligations – agency may be inferred without express board resolution. Contract – variation and settlement – a negotiated transactio resolving a dispute can be binding and operate as res judicata, akin to an arbitral award. Contract formalities – requirement for written signed variation does not preclude binding settlement reached by negotiation and acted upon. Arbitration – disputes referred to or reserved for arbitration may be finally disposed of by consensual settlement.
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14 September 1983 |
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Confession taken by a police‑attached officer/interpreter admissible if voluntary and corroborated; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – robbery with aggravating circumstances – admissibility of confession; desirability but not automatic exclusion where confession taken by justice of the peace attached to investigating unit and interpreter from same unit. Voluntariness – allegations of assault must be proved; mere allegation insufficient. Corroboration – confession may suffice where supported by aliunde evidence (s 209, Act 51 of 1977). Sentence – appellate court will not interfere absent misdirection or manifest excessiveness.
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9 September 1983 |
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No reasonable prospects of success: trial court properly found death in custody to be suicide and refused leave to appeal.
Police detention – death in custody – whether death was suicide or caused by police assault; authenticity of suicide note – handwriting expert evidence; evaluation of lay witness credibility; application for leave to appeal in forma pauperis – prospects of success. |
2 September 1983 |
| August 1983 |
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Rulings refusing absolution and allowing re-opening of a case during trial are procedural and not appealable as final orders; appeal struck off the roll.
Civil procedure – Appealability – Whether refusal of absolution from the instance at close of plaintiff's case or grant to re-open that case are appealable as a "judgment or order" under ss 20 and 21 of the Supreme Court Act – Rulings in the course of a trial which do not finally determine issues are not appealable in the manner pursued – protection against piecemeal appeals.
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30 August 1983 |
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Arrest without warrant unlawful where a peace officer lacked objective reasonable grounds and failed to follow required procedures; R500 awarded.
* Delict/Damages – wrongful arrest and detention – legality of arrest without warrant by peace officer – reasonable grounds required for suspicion of driving under the influence. Burden of proof – disputed whether applicant or respondent bears onus to prove illegality/legality of arrest; court proceeds on assumption applicant bears onus but finds unlawfulness nonetheless. Procedural obligations – informing arrested person of grounds and taking for medical examination relevant to lawfulness. Quantum – assessment and award of R500 for unlawful arrest and detention. |
19 August 1983 |
| July 1983 |
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Plea of guilty to possession allowed magistrate questioning; accused failed to rebut presumption of dealing, so conviction affirmed.
Criminal procedure — plea of guilty to alternative charge — magistrate entitled to question accused to clarify plea; s115(2)/S v Evans formalities immaterial if no failure of justice. Criminal law — possession of prohibited substance (Methaqualone) raises presumption of dealing — accused bears onus to rebut; inadequate/extravagant explanation insufficient. Appeal — procedural irregularity requires demonstration of failure of justice to succeed.
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1 July 1983 |
| May 1983 |
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A right-turning driver may reasonably assume a following vehicle abandoned overtaking after seeing signals and a solid white line.
Road traffic — Right-hand turn — Duty to ensure safe to turn by full and careful observation — Reasonable assumption that following vehicle abandoned overtaking after seeing signals and solid white line — Reversal of negligence finding.
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30 May 1983 |
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Whether applicant proved statutory pre-action notice was received; appeal dismissed for failure to discharge the onus.
Limitation of Legal Proceedings Act s2(1)(a) — statutory pre-action notice — proof of service/receipt — onus on claimant — assessment of conflicting credible witness testimony — appellate deference to trial court credibility findings. |
30 May 1983 |
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Seller’s liability on warranty against eviction requires proof each intermediate link would have had no defence; applicant failed to prove this.
Sale of goods – implied (ex lege) warranty against eviction – seller’s liability only to immediate purchaser – proof required in chain of successive sales that each intermediate purchaser/seller would have had no defence and would have claimed repayment – onus to prove intermediary conduct and defences – threat leading to payment not sufficient absent proof of incontestable claims upstream. |
30 May 1983 |
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Paid annual leave and successive one‑year attested contracts did not defeat a ten‑year uninterrupted service under s10(1)(b).
s10(1)(b) Act 25 of 1945 – continuity of work for one employer over requisite period – formal contract vs substantive uninterrupted activity Successive one‑year attested contracts and paid annual leave – short absences do not necessarily break statutory continuity Bantu labour regulations (reg 13(1)(d)) – attestation regime does not automatically invalidate understood continuation of employment Administrative law – complexity of regulations warrants careful drafting
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30 May 1983 |
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Whether the respondent’s minor son was contributorily negligent when struck by an overtaking vehicle.
Motor law – negligence – overtaking manoeuvre – driver’s duty to ensure safe overtaking and to use dipped headlights; Contributory negligence – pedestrian obligations – foreseeability and reasonable precautions; Standard of care: reasonably prudent person test as to foreseeability of harm.
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30 May 1983 |
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Remittal orders are appealable; remittal unjustified when the respondent deliberately fails to cure evidentiary defects.
Criminal procedure – appealability – order remitting criminal matter by a provincial division to magistrate for further evidence is a "decision" under s 21(1) and appealable; Remittal for further evidence – sparing exercise – permitted only where omitted evidence is formal/technical, omission is inadvertent, remedyable without delay and satisfactory explanation exists; Evidentiary formalities – defective affidavit failing to prove certification of measuring bar fatal to State’s case; Prosecutorial conduct – deliberate failure to re-open case precludes remittal. |
30 May 1983 |
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Board has jurisdiction to attach quotas after mill closure and must afford affected parties a hearing before deciding accommodation.
Administrative law – statutory agreement governing industry – Board’s jurisdiction to re-attach quotas on mill closure – accommodation decisions constitute alterations of allocations under clause 32(1)(b) – clause 32(6) requires opportunity to be heard – audi alteram partem applies; emergency circumstances do not automatically displace hearing requirement. |
30 May 1983 |
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Trial court’s rejection of accuseds’ versions and finding of no extenuating circumstances upheld; death sentences confirmed.
* Criminal law – Murder – Circumstantial and forensic evidence supporting strangulation by ligature – inference of direct intent to kill to prevent identification. Criminal law – Extenuating circumstances – appellate review limited; trial court’s value judgment respected unless misdirection or irrationality shown. Evidence – credibility findings where accuseds’ accounts rejected as fabricated. Sentencing – mandatory death sentence upheld where no extenuating circumstances proved. |
30 May 1983 |
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Whether dolus eventualis exists where death results from an apparently accidental discharge during a resisted armed robbery.
Criminal law – dolus eventualis – subjective foresight of possible death in armed robbery – whether foresight must extend to the specific causal chain – murder v. culpable homicide – joint enterprise and attribution of foresight.
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30 May 1983 |
