TB - All Flashcards
(135 cards)
In general, what are the 2 types/causes of delics (incl. Latin terms)
- Patrimonial damages (damnum iniuria datum)
- Injury to personality (iniuria)
What are the 3 types of delictual actions?
- Actio legis Aquiliae - damages for the wrongful and culpable (intentional or negligent) causing of patrimonial damage are claimed
- Actio iniuriarum - directed at satisfaction for the wrongful and INTENTIONAL injury to personality
- Action for pain and suffering - Compensation for injury to personality as a result of the wrongful and negligent/intentional impairment of bodily or physical-mental integrity is claimed
What are the requirements for a delict to succeed?
- Conduct
- Wrongfulness
- Fault
- Causation
- Damage
What are the requirements for valid consent?
- Consent must be given freely or voluntarily
- The person giving consent must be capable of volition (expressing his will)
- The consenting person must have full knowledge of the extent of the (possible) prejudice
- The consenting party must realise/appreciate fully what the nature and extent of the harm will be
- The person consenting must, in fact, subjectively consent to the prejudicial act
- The consent must be permitted by the legal order (i.e. not contra bonos mores)
What does ‘capable of volition (expressing his will)’ mean?
Does not mean that he must have full legal capacity, but that he must be intellectually mature enough to appreciate the implications of his acts and must not be mentally ill or under the influence of drugs that hamper the functioning of his brain.
What does ‘must realise/appreciate fully’ mean?
Mere knowledge of the risk or harm is not sufficient; the plaintiff must comprehend and understand the nature and estent of the harm.
What is the ‘pactum de non petendo in anticipado’?
A contractual undertaking
not to institute an action against the actor (i.e. not hold him liable)
Discuss the ‘pactum de non petendo in anticipado’
- Must be distinguished from consent to harm
- Although the EFFECTS of pactum and Consent are the same - in each case the actor is not held liable - the reasons for the actor not being held liable are different.
- With the pactum, there is no doubt that the actor committed a delict, but the prejudiced person undertakes not to hold the actor liable
- Wrongfulness is not excluded; only the resultant action is
- The prejudiced party loses the remedy that he would otherwise have had at his disposal (he waives his action)
- Jameson’s Minors v CSAR [drove on train on “free pass”]
What are the 2 main forms of Fault?
- Intention (dolus)
- Negligence (culpa)
What does Fault usually refer to?
The legal blameworthiness or the reprehensible state of mind or conduct of someone who acted wrongfully.
What is subjective and what is objective wrt Fault?
- Since it is mostly concerned with the person’s attitude or disposition, it is a subjective element
- The test for Fault is objective in nature
Which form of Fault is required for each type of delict?
- Actio legis Aquiliae and the Action for Pain and Suffering require either intention or negligence;
- The Actio Iniuriarum requires intent, since negligence is insufficient
What must be established before determining the defendant’s blameworthiness (whether there is fault on his part)?
Whether he has the capacity to be held accountable.
- A person’s mental ability must be such that intent or negligence may be imputed to him
- Every discussion of intent/negligence should therefore be preceded by an examination of accountability
When is a person accountable (culpae capax)?
If he has the necessary mental ability to distinguish between right and wrong and if he can also act in accordance with such appreciation.
When must the person have the required mental ability?
At the time of the commission of the act for which the law wants to blame him.
- If a person lacks accountability at the relevant time, there can be no fault on his part.
Which factors may indicate that a person is culpae incapax (not accountable)?
- Youth
- Mental disease / illness
- Intoxication or similar condition induced by a drug
- Anger due to provocation
Discuss Youth as a factor rendering a person culpae incapax
- The CJA changed the criminal law position wrt accountability of children
- Our law now distinguishes between 3 ages groups: 0-9 (an infans); 10-13; 14-18.
- 0-9 always regarded as being culpae incapax. The actual mental ability of the child is irrelevant and there is an irrebuttable presumption that he is not accountable
- 10-13 there is a rebuttable presumption that a child lacks accountability. It is assumed he is culpae incapax until the contrary is proved.
- 14 - 18 considered adults for purposes of accountability.
- Each case must be judged on its own merits
Discuss mental illness as a factor excluding accountability
- Where, because of mental illness, a person cannot at a given moment distinguish between right and wrong, or where he cannot act in accordance with an appreciation for the distinction, he is culpae incapax.
- In these circumstances there is no question of fault, and thus no delictual liability
Discuss intoxication as a factor excluding accountability
- Persons under the influence may be culpae incapax.
- The mere consumption of a substances may in a given situation be a negligent act for which the defendant may be held responsible. [The alcohol may have been consumed when the defendant was accountable]
Discuss provocation as a factor excluding accountability
- Where a person under provocation loses his temper and becomes passionately angry, he may be said to lack accountability and will thus not be blamed for his conduct.
- Provocation in our law is often regarded as a ground of justification
- Once it has been established that the defendant was accountable at the relevant stage, it must be determined whether he acted intentionally or negligently.
When does an accountable person act intentionally?
If his will is directed at a result which he causes while conscious of the wrongfulness of his conduct.
- Intention has two elements: Direction of the will and Consciousness of wrongfulness
What is the Latin term for intention?
Animus iniuriandi, dolus
What are the 3 forms of Intent?
- Direct intent (dolus directurs)
- Indirect intent (dolus indirectus)
- Dolus eventualis
Discuss ‘dolus directus/direct intent’
- Present where the wrongdoer actually desires a particular consequence of his conduct.
- It does not make a difference whether the wrongdoer is certain that the consequence would result or whether it only appears to him to be probable or possible.