Criminal Law Case Study

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Introduction
Criminal law is the branch of the national law that defines certain forms of human conduct as crimes and provides for the punishment of those persons with criminal capacity who unlawfully and with a guilty mind commit crimes. For conduct to have taken place there had to have been a positive act or an omission (failure to do something). There is no general duty for an individual to act, but depending on the legal convictions of the community, there may be criminal liability for a failure to act.
In determining to which extent criminal law should reflect the values and general agreement of the community we bring rise to various policy considerations, the relevance of the Bill of Rights and its effect on our Constitution. Where …show more content…

The claim was held against the Minister of Police due to the policemen who were on duty and in charge of the premises failing to protect Ewels. The court said that there was a legal duty on the policemen on duty to prevent Ewels from being assaulted and this prevention Ewels to claim for damages. The court made this decision based on the statutory provisions of the Police Act, 7 of 1958 where there exists a legal duty on an officer of higher rank to bear authority and control, this authority also stated in section 5 of the Police Act, 7 of 1958, which makes it obligatory for the policemen on duty to intervene and prevent crime ensuring the maintenance of law and order. We also consider section 205 (3) of the …show more content…

X brought forward a rape suspect into the charge office where Y told suspect to drop his pants and masturbate. During this time X and Y proceeded to laugh at suspect. Suspect urinates and Y forces him to lick up the urine from the floor. X then left the office and with his return brought forward an electric shock instrument, with which Y instructed to tie around suspects penis and mouth and administered an electric shock to suspect. Hereafter, X and Y continued to assault suspect under the watchful eye of the policewoman. The court held that for X the principle in the Minister van Polisie v Ewels could not be applied as intent was an element of offence. In this case we consider the Bill of Rights contained in Chapter two of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa which affirms the democratic values of human dignity, respect and equality and says that the state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of