South african criminal law and procedure common-law crimes pdf

Criminal law and procedure 01 introduction page 4 of 19 a formal rules logical, formal reasoning. Many of the general principles of our law come from the common law, eg the criminal law that says that murder and robbery are crimes. Reading any act is on its own rather dry and uninteresting. Criminal law sexual offences and related matters amendment act 32 of 2007.

Abduction consists in unlawfully taking a minor out of the control of his or her custodian with the intention of enabling someone to marry or. Our criminal procedure is codified in the criminal procedure act 51 of 1977. Our statute law is always changing as new crimes are created and as old acts are repealed scrapped. Criminal law in south africa is based on common law, case law, and legislation. Section 59 of the criminal procedure act, 1977, is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection 1 for paragraph a of the following paragraph. Criminal law amendment act 105 of 1997 south african.

Common law offences still applicable within the south african legal system are defined below. It will then use the constituent elements of the principle of legality to analyze the divergence of south african criminal liability from that of other common law jurisdictions. This is played out, unfortunately, in political elections worldwide. The text addresses the general principles of criminal law, as well as the elements of specific common law. Legislatures often create statutes out of former commonlaw crimes. The sources of south african criminal law are to be found in the common law, in case law and in legislation. Criminal law which is to be distinguished from its civil counterpart forms part of the public law of south africa, as well as of the substantive law as opposed to the procedural. It forms part of procedural or adjectival law, and describes the means by which its substantive counterpart, south african criminal law, is applied. South african criminal law and procedure volume iii. Constitutionally, criminal law is a generally matter for the states but there is federal. He is the author of the law of defamation in south africa, personality rights and freedom of expression, principles of delict, and south african criminal law and procedure. This text will show that, to a very large extent, south african criminal law maps onto most ordinary intuitions about what. In south africa, any person charged with a crime has the right to be presumed innocent. It also looks at the emerging culture of human rights and freedoms which has begun to generate a significant shift in perceptions of the boni mores of a.

Criminal law in south africa criminal law in south africa. Active euthanasia amounts to suicide and suicide is not illegal john milton south african criminal law and procedure. Fraud originated from two different crimes in roman law, namely, stellionatus fraud and crimina falsi fraudulent crime. In jurisdictions where the provisions of the aarto act do not apply, the criminal procedure act, 1977 act 51 of 1977 is used to prosecute road traffic infringements and offences. In south africa, sentencing is considered the primary prerogative of trial courts. The united states is considered a commonlaw country. A used car salesmans dirty tricks have finally caught up with him, his wife and an associate. Juta south african criminal law and procedure volume ii. Supreme court of appeal in recent years on criminal law, procedure. Ncjrs abstract national criminal justice reference service. Understanding fraud and white collar crime the origin. Criminal procedure in south africa refers to the adjudication process of that countrys criminal law.

Sources of criminal law victoria common law jurisdiction. Grant extracts and collate s the principles that can sometimes be complex, in a way that allows for a clear understanding of the current law. See also john dugard, south african criminal law and procedure. The criminal law sexual offences amendment act called the act in this booklet has been in effect since 16 december 2007 and affects the punishment of sexual crimes committed after this date. Criminal liability, public policy, and the principle of legality in the. Criminal law and criminal procedure act amendment act 39 of 1989. Our criminal law comes from common law and from statute law. In south africa, any person charged with a crime has the right to be presumed.

A number of aggravating factors relating to the crime may be considered. These provisions are largely interpreted by referring to common law principles. Justifies substantial criminal goals dispute resolution that is fair and economical creates fair process and reliability of outcome discuss crime control in comparison to due process. But the underworld of crime, gangsterism, mafiatype protectionism, and so forth is home to intimidation as well. Jonathan burchell is a professor of criminal law and the head of the department of criminal justice at the university of cape town. Before a person can be convicted the principle of legality must be proved, i. This volume, dealing with commonlaw crimes, takes cognisance of the constitutional context in which south african criminal law now operates and the emerging culture of human rights and freedoms which has begun to generate a significant shift in perceptions of the boni mores of a new south african society. The influence of the bill of rights read with comparative perspectives and international law on each subject, supports the legal theory referred to. South african criminal law reports 1990 to date, the onli. But our common law has been largely unchanged over the centuries. Criminal procedure module 1 a lawblog for south african. The dissertation concludes that the crime of housebreaking should remain a commonlaw crime as opposed to the proposal to have it becoming a statutory offence.

Pdf the impact of the constitution on the south african. The act replaces some common law provisions on sexual offences and some sections of the old law, the sexual offences act 23 of 1957. The south african criminal law s response to the crimes of. Sentencing for the crime of robbery in comparison with robbery with aggravating circumstances in south african law is discussed and relevant aspects relating to criminal procedure act were identified. Jurisdiction has four main meanings in the context of criminal procedure. Add to enquiry index and annotations to the south african criminal law repo. All law must now follow the constitution, and most of our criminal laws are in line with the bill of rights. The locating of the common law dealing with a particular crime or a defence to criminal liability was often a laborious exercise as it involved tracing back to the original common law and then ascertaining how over the years the zimbabwean courts and also the south african. This law comes from romandutch law and english law, brought to south africa by the dutch and english settlers. Critical criminal law james grant southern african legal. Cr snymans sixth edition of criminal law takes a challenging look at criminal law in south africa. This work has been thoroughly revised in light of important changes in the south african legal system, with updated reference to the latest reported judgements.

Is it necessary to identify andor convict the individual offender in order to prosecute a company. The right to life should also be treated as a waivable right just like other rights, which are waivable. Fault in the form of intention is required for all common law crimes,26 except. One of the most general classifications divides law into civil and criminal.

That person remains innocent until proved to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in other words, an accused. The general principles of criminal law, the elements of specific common law crimes and statutory offences are all covered in the text. Criminal procedure second amendment act 75 of 1995. The majority of common law crimes fraud, culpable homicide etc and statutory crimes require mens rea.

The same is true for the crime of common law fraud although punishment is at the. The purpose of the study is to determine whether the ambit of the crime should be extended to target all conduct which undermines the proper administration of justice in south africa. Criminal liability, public policy, and the principle of. Common law is the primary source for south african criminal law, but as a result of modern needs statutory offences have been introduced by means of legislation.

Judges look to the common law when defining statutory terms, establishing criminal procedure, and creating defenses to crimes. Access study documents, get answers to your study questions, and connect with real tutors for llb crw2601. In vic main criminal law statutory provisions are contained in the crimes act 1958vic. Classification of crimes as felonies and misdemeanors is a reflection of english common law. South african criminal law whether in its legislative, commonlaw or. The criminal procedure act is also used to prosecute serious road traffic offences which are scheduled as offences in schedule 3 of the aarto regulations. A basic definition of civil law is the body of law having to do with the private rights of individuals, 2010. Whereas the south african common law and statutory law do not deal adequately, effectively and in a nondiscriminatory manner with many aspects relating to or associated with the commission of sexual offences, and a uniform and coordinated approach to the implementation of and service delivery in terms of the laws relating to. Criminal law forensic procedures amendment act 6 of 2010 criminal procedure amendment act 9 of 2012 criminal procedure amendment act 8 of 20 prevention and combating of torture of persons act of 20 judicial matters amendment act 42 of 20 criminal law forensic procedures amendment act 37 of 20 legal aid south africa act 39 of 2014. Criminal liability of companies survey south africa bowman. When a legal problem is not covered by statute law, you can look at the common law for an answer. According to a report on the iol site, four years after erens and crische uys, from gordons bay, and their associate denzil bell, from caledon, appeared in the specialised commercial crime court in bellville, the uys couple admitted to no fewer than 220 charges, including fraud and. Sch 2 amended by protection of constitutional democracy against terrorist and rel activities act 33 of 2004 from 11 feb 2005.

Criminal law b which follows criminal law a, builds onto the knowledge and skills developed in criminal law a by applying the principles. This edition gives full attention to the new constitutional context in which south african criminal law now operates. By the end of the course, students should be able to identify, discuss and evaluate the elements of criminal liability and solve problems when presented with a factual scenario. The impact of the constitution on the south african criminal law sphere. Criminal procedure act justice project south africa.