scholarly journals STATE LIABILITY FOR MUTINOUS ACTS OF POLICE AND MILITARY OFFICERS: A CRITIQUE OF LESOTHO AND ZIMBABWE CASES IN LIGHT OF THE MODERN TEST FOR VICARIOUS LIABILITY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Obiter ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuks Okpaluba
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
Standard Test ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
High Court ◽  
Vicarious Liability ◽  
Dead End ◽  
State Liability

A mutiny by soldiers or police officers is no doubt, a serious criminal offence. So is the rape of a young girl or woman by police officers, or shooting someone by the police or military personnel without lawful authority, or supplying military hardware by a defence official charged with guarding the armoury to those who use them for armed robbery purposes? However, if the State as the employer is held vicariously liable for these acts of misconduct, why should it be absolved from liability for the wrongful acts of the soldiers or police officers for injuries caused in a situation of mutiny? It seems clear from the case law that an argument that the State is vicariously liable in such circumstances is bound to hit a dead end if it is based on the old “standard test” which contemplated only negligent, at most, reckless conduct of the employee. This was the beginning of the collapse of the arguments of the plaintiffs in the Lesotho Court of Appeal in Chabeli v Commissioner of Police; the High Court in Seoane v Attorney General; and the Harare High Court in Munengami v Minister of Defence, where the question of the liability of the State was canvassed on the basis of the old “standard test” for determining vicarious liability. It is submitted that if these cases were argued around the “close connection” test as enunciated by the Constitutional Court in K v Minister of Safety and Security and affirmed in F v Minister of Safety and Security, the outcomes might have been different. It seems compelling, therefore, that in analysing these Lesotho and Zimbabwean cases, one must do so with the hindsight of the modern test for determining vicarious liability in South Africa, where the conduct of the employee is not merely negligent in character but deliberate or dishonest in nature.

scholarly journals F v MINISTER OF SAFETY AND SECURITY: Vicarious liability and state accountability for the criminal acts of police officers

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Vicarious Liability ◽  
State Accountability ◽  
Normative Basis ◽  
The Law

The Constitutional Court judgement in F v Minister of Safety and Securityis a ground-breaking judgement in two important respects: firstly, it finally does away with the fiction that an employee acts within the course and scope of her employment in the so-called deviation cases in the law of vicarious liability, and secondly it clarifies the normative basis for holding the state vicariously liable for the criminal acts of police officers. In this latter respect it significantly promotes state accountability for the criminal acts of police officers.

Notes: ‘Observations’ on the State Capture judgment

2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-500
Author(s):  
Michael Tsele
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Controversial Issue ◽  
Court Decision ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
High Court ◽  
The Public ◽  
State Capture ◽  
The Law

This note concerns a controversial issue that has, surprisingly, received limited academic interrogation: whether the Public Protector has the power to instruct the President of South Africa to appoint a commission of inquiry. In this respect, I critique a high court decision which answered the question in the affirmative. I contend that the judgment contradicts prior case law, including Constitutional Court precedent. Thus, I argue that the court misconstrued the law on the President’s powers, particularly when it concluded that those powers are not purely discretionary but entail ‘responsibilities’ which are ‘coupled with a duty’. This reasoning led the court to conclude that the President thus has a constitutional ‘obligation’ to appoint a commission. In summary, I take issue with the court’s conclusion that the Public Protector has the power to instruct the President to appoint a commission of inquiry. I conclude that the decision caused uncertainty on the limitations of the Public Protector’s powers. I further say it is questionable whether the commission, better known as the ‘State Capture’ commission, was established lawfully.

scholarly journals What has the Constitutional Court Given Us? Afriforum v University of the Free State 2018 (4) BCLR 387 (CC)

Obiter ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mokgadi Margaret Mokgokong ◽  
Moses Retselisitsoe Phooko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Further Education ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Official Language ◽  
National Party ◽  
The Right ◽  
To Receive

The history of South Africa is an unpleasant one. It was a society based on racial segregation with the promotion of Afrikaner culture and the Afrikaans language above all other languages. This can be traced to the architect of apartheid, the Afrikaner National Party, which introduced apartheid. Afrikaans-speaking people, through the Afrikaner National Party, dominated South Africa politically. Their language too, was promoted above all other languages. For example, Afrikaans enjoyed more privileges than other languages in that it was used for drafting laws, as the language of record in the courts and was also the only compulsory subject for learning. The apartheid government, through its racial policies, used the Afrikaans language as a tool to control Black South Africans in almost all spheres of life, including education, which had to be undertaken in Afrikaans. It is therefore no surprise that there were five universities that offered education mainly in Afrikaans. These are Stellenbosch University, University of the Free State, University of Pretoria, Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (now North-West University) and Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit (now University of Johannesburg). The use of the Afrikaans language as an instrument for social control was not sustainable. The new constitutional dispensation ushered in an era wherein respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms is at the top of the South African agenda. The right to further education is constitutionally recognised in section 29(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Section 29(2) of the Constitution further recognises and embraces the diversity of South African society and provides that “everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public education institutions where that education is reasonably practicable” (s 29(b) of the Constitution). The State has an obligation to take reasonable measures on a progressive basis to ensure that further education is available and accessible (s 29(1)(b) of the Constitution). In ensuring “effective access to and implementation” of the right to further education, It is notable that, in its endeavour to make further education available and accessible, the State is required to consider several factors such as language policies. In an effort to facilitate the realisation of the right to further education, the Higher Education Act (101 of 1997) was enacted in order inter alia to “redress past discrimination and ensure representivity and equal access to higher education institutions” (preamble to the Act).In the UFS case (CC), the Constitutional Court applied section 29(1)(b) of the Constitution, which provides for the right to further education and the “right to receive education in the official language or languages of [one’s] choice”. This note centres on this decision and seeks to critically discuss and analyse both the majority and minority decisions of the Constitutional Court. The question presented is whether the Constitutional Court has given the public a solution to the issue surrounding the use of either Afrikaans or English as a language medium of instruction in the higher education sector and what the effect of this has been on the development of other languages. The case note is divided into five sections. The facts of the case, the issues put before the court for consideration and the finding of the court are discussed in part 2. Part 3 contains an analysis of the minority and majority judgments. Part 4 considers whether the court has given us any solutions. Part 5 sets out the authors’ recommendations and their conclusions.

Intermediaries for Child Witnesses: Old Problems, New Solutions and Judicial Differences in South Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Noel Zaal ◽  
Carmel R. Matthias
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Child Witnesses ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The South ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
High Court ◽  
African Experience ◽  
Implementation Problems

AbstractSouth Africa has utilised intermediaries to protect child witnesses and assist their communication in criminal proceedings in the magistrates' courts since 1993. is article examines some lessons to be learned from the South African experience. It provides an overview and assessment of attempts to overcome implementation problems and develop the legislation providing for intermediaries. It reviews contradictory solutions for improvement of the law recently put forward by the high court and constitutional court. Applying both the South African history and international standards, we argue that the high court offered a better way forward. We suggest some additional reforms which may also be relevant for advocates of the intermediary system in other jurisdictions.

scholarly journals Modderklip Revisited: Can Courts Compel the State to Expropriate Property where the Eviction of Unlawful Occupiers is not Just and Equitable?

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Jackie Dugard
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
The State ◽  
Court Case ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Republic

This article examines whether, to give effect to the section 26 constitutional right to adequate housing, courts can (or should) compel the state to expropriate property in instances when it is not just and equitable to evict unlawful occupiers from privately-owned land (unfeasible eviction). This question was first raised in the Modderklip case, where both the Supreme Court of Appeal (Modder East Squatters v Modderklip Boerdery (Pty) Ltd; President of the Republic of South Africa v Modderklip Boerdery (Pty) Ltd 2004 3 All SA 169 (SCA)) and Constitutional Court (President of the Republic of South Africa v Modderklip Boerdery (Pty) Ltd 2005 5 SA 3 (CC)). dodged the question, opting instead to award constitutional damages to the property owner for the long-term occupation of its property by unlawful occupiers. It is clear from cases such as Ekurhuleni Municipality v Dada 2009 4 SA 463 (SCA), that, mindful of separation of powers concerns, courts have until very recently been unwilling to order the state to expropriate property in such circumstances. At the same time, it is increasingly evident that the state has failed to fulfil its constitutional obligations to provide alternative accommodation for poor communities. In this context, this article argues that there is a growing need for the judiciary to consider, as part of its role to craft effective remedies for constitutional rights violations, the issue of judicial expropriation. It does so, first, through an analysis of the relevant jurisprudence on evictions sought by private landowners and, second, through an in-depth engagement of the recent Western Cape High Court case, Fischer v Persons Listed on Annexure X to the Notice of Motion and those Persons whose Identity are Unknown to the Applicant and who are Unlawfully Occupying or Attempting to Occupy Erf 150 (Remaining Extent) Phillipi, Cape Division, Province of the Western Cape; Stock v Persons Unlawfully Occupying Erven 145, 152, 156, 418, 3107, Phillipi & Portion 0 Farm 597, Cape Rd; Copper Moon Trading 203 (Pty) Ltd v Persons whose Identities are to the Applicant Unknown and who are Unlawfully Occupying Remainder Erf 149, Phillipi, Cape Town 2018 2 SA 228 (WCC).    

scholarly journals CASE NOTE: Illegal sales of alcohol and asset forfeiture

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karabo Ngidi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
Case Note ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
High Court ◽  
Legal Limit ◽  
Asset Forfeiture ◽  
National Director ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
The Impact

The Constitutional Court recently confirmed an order for the forfeiture of a house from which an unlawful shebeen had been run for years (Van der Burg and Another v National Director of Public Prosecutions).In deciding whether to confirm the order of the full bench of  the High Court, Justice van der Westhuizen, writing for a unanimous court, addressed the following questions: whether the house was an instrumentality of an offence; whether the illegal sale of alcohol is an organised crime; the proportionality of the crime to the forfeiture under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (the POCA); as well as the impact of the forfeiture on the rights of the children that lived in the house. This judgment comes at a time where issues such as the proposal for the reduction of the legal limit of alcohol for drivers to 0%2 are topical, and seems to point to a tougher stance towards the sale and consumption of alcohol in South Africa. The judgment may therefore be seen as a warning that the illegal sale of alcohol and running of a shebeen will no longer be seen as business as usual in cases where the seller does not heed the call to desist such business.

scholarly journals Dawn of a new era for permanent life partners: from Volks v Robinson to Bwanya v Master of the High Court

De Jure ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Court Case ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Sex Partners ◽  
New Era ◽  
High Court ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Marital Union

SUMMARY The laws in South Africa pertaining to marital affairs have for a long time developed from a conservative form to a non-conservative one. This can be denoted from the passing of legislation such as the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998, affording women in customary marriages the same protection as those in civil marriages as well as the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006, allowing same-sex partners to formalise their union. Since the advent of the Constitution it can therefore be concluded that the courts and legislature have worked relentlessly to ensure the equal enjoyment of rights to all South African people. Regardless of the immense efforts to develop this area of law, certain groups still remain unprotected and often rely on piece-meal protection often derived from court decisions. Such groups include heterosexual parties to a permanent life partnership. Although such permanent life partnerships are acknowledged in South Africa, there is no legislative protection with regards to maintenance or inheritance at the dissolution of the union. This is different to formalised unions such as marriage and civil unions with extensive legislation concerning the aftermath of such unions. A plethora of cases suggests that, this position has been challenged many times to no avail. In 2005, the Constitutional Court in Volks v Robinson, held that the distinction between married and unmarried couples could not be held to be unfair as a marriage encompassed legal reciprocal duties which were not present in a non-marital union. Effectively, permanent life partners could not claim maintenance or inheritance from the estate of their deceased partner. In a recent welcomed decision by the High Court, a heterosexual permanent life partner was permitted to inherit from the estate of her deceased partner. This article discusses the Constitutional Court case and the recent High Court case to elicit that South Africa is headed towards positive development with regard to marital unions and those akin to such unions.

Alternativas para superar el hacinamiento carcelario en Colombia con enfoque en derechos humanos

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (13) ◽  
pp. 176-189
Author(s):  
Fernando Gómez Forero
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Full Compliance ◽  
Derechos Humanos ◽  
El Alto ◽  
State Liability ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Relationship

El presente artículo sobre la situación actual de las cárce- les, se ocupa específicamente de lo relacionado con el ha- cinamiento y las posibles alternativas para su superación. El objetivo es hacer un análisis crítico sobre el verdadero nivel de hacinamiento en que se encuentran ahora los cen- tros penitenciarios, y la relación que existe con la protec- ción de los derechos humanos por parte del Estado, como un imperativo que requiere de su pleno cumplimiento. Esta problemática es una situación permanente, recurren- te y con tendencia a profundizarse, lo que ha ocasiona- do una crisis en materia del derecho internacional de los derechos humanos, que ha supuesto necesariamente una responsabilidad del Estado, producto sin duda del estado de cosas inconstitucional que fue establecido por la Corte Constitucional a través de la sentencia T-153 de 1998. Las conclusiones reflejan en su conjunto el alto nivel de inefi- ciencia con la que se ha actuado por parte del ejecutivo y el legislativo en la solución de la crisis de hacinamiento car- celario y la necesidad de emprender acciones afirmativas, libres del discurso propositivo, que no hace otra cosa que simplificar el problema pero no solucionarlo.This article, about the current situation of prisons, spe- cifically related to prison overcrowding and alternatives to overcome them, are part of the goal to make a critical analysis of the true level of overcrowding in which are now centers prisons and the relationship with the protec- tion of Human Rights by the State as an imperative that requires full compliance, this is a permanent, recurrent and tend to deepen situation, which has caused a crisis in the International Law of Human Rights (HR), which has necessarily meant a state liability in this situation, as a re- sult without question of “Unconstitutional Things in the State” established by the Constitutional Court through the final desition T-153 of 1998. The closures as a whole reflect of the high level of inefficiency with which action has been taken by the Executive and legislative branches in the solution of the overcrowding crisis in prisons and the need to undertake purposeful assertive speech affir- mative action, which does nothing to simplify the problem but not in solving it. 

From the Campbell Case to a Recent Ruling of the Constitutional Court of South Africa: Is There Any Hope to Revive the Tribunal of the Southern African Development Community?

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. 110-137
Author(s):  
Francesca Mussi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Legal Reasoning ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Constitutional Development ◽  
High Court ◽  
Legal Structure ◽  
The Republic

This article provides a critical analysis of the judgments delivered by the Regional High Court of Pretoria in the case Law Society of South Africa et al. v. President of the Republic of South Africa, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation and the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Law Society of South Africa and Others v. President of the Republic of South Africa and Others in order to investigate to what extent they can contribute to discuss the revival of the SADC Tribunal with all its original powers. After providing an overview of the SADC Tribunal's legal structure and the judgment delivered in 2008 in the Mike Campbell v. Zimbabwe case, the present contribution will consider the legal reasoning of the Regional High Court of Pretoria and the Constitutional Court of South Africa respectively. It will also develop some considerations of the role played by civil society groups in other SADC member states.

Notes: Splitting hairs? Bwanya v The Master of the High Court

2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
pp. 521-534
Author(s):  
Fatima Osman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Sex Partners ◽  
Stare Decisis ◽  
High Court ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
To Come ◽  
Near Future

In Bwanya v The Master of the High Court 2021 (1) SA 138 (WCC), the Western Cape High Court ordered that the applicant, a partner in an opposite-sex partnership, was entitled to inherit from her deceased partner’s estate by ordering an amendment of the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987 to cater for unmarried opposite-sex partners. The court distinguished the case from Volks NO v Robinson 2005 (5) BCLR 446 (CC) — which precludes an unmarried partner from claiming maintenance from the deceased partner’s estate — on the basis that the case involved an inheritance claim as opposed to maintenance. The note argues that the failure of the court to deal with the central argument in Volks in respect of inheritance rights undermines the strength of the judgment. The Constitutional Court in confirmation proceedings should address this matter, and consider a softening of the doctrine of stare decisis to overrule the Volks case. Furthermore, the case opens the door to claims by other unmarried partners in polygamous relationships. While such claims involve policy considerations that are best addressed by the legislature, they are likely to come before the courts in the near future. Courts should recognise such claims in acknowledgment of the diversity in family formations in South Africa.

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