NAME OSCAR SIMUKAI JEMWA

STUDENT NUMBER 4927-397-3

MODULE CRIMINAL LAW CRW2601

REGISTRATION PERIOD CODE ASSIGNMENT 1 SECOND SEMESTER 2013

UNIQUE NUMBER 353495

DUE DATE 6 SEPTEMBER 2013

DEGREE PROGRAMME 03492 BACHELOR OF LAWS

EXAM CENTER HARARE EXHIBITION PARK

POSTAL ADRESS 12466 UNIT N SEKE CHITUNGWIZA

ZIMBABWE

UNISA

CRIMINAL LAW CRW2601

ASSIGNMENT 01 SECOND SEMESTER 2013

6/9/2013

ASSIGNMENT 01 SECOND SEMESTER 2013 SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNISA BACHELOR OF LAWS PROGRAMME

OSCAR SIMUKAI JEMWA 4927-397-3 CRIMINAL LAW CRW2601 ASSIGNMENT 1 SEMESTER 2 2013 UNIQUE NUMBER 353495 03492 BACHELOR OF LAWS EXAM CENTER HARARE EXHIBITION PARK

1 | P a g e

Question (i)

The definitional elements of murder read, the intentional killing of another human

being. Human being, is used in this context to mean a legal subject. A person

assumes their legal status at birth. The conceived but unborn child is thus not a legal

subject and cannot have rights, duties and capacities.

The principle of legality means that there is no crime without a law. A comprehensive

definition of the principle of legality can be laid out as follows:

An accused may not be found guilty of crime and sentenced unless the type of conduct

which he is charged:

(a) Has been recognized by the law as a crime,

(b) In clear terms,

(c) Before the conduct took place,

(d) Without the court having to stretch the meaning of the words and concepts in

the definition to bring the particular conduct of the accused within the compass

of the definition...

Since the foetus is not a person there is no conduct amounting to murder and X cannot

be held liable for such.

Question (ii)

Conditio sine qua non (factual causation) defines an indispensible condition or simply

put if the act cannot be thought away without the situation disappearing at the same

time. Factual causation is without limits.

An act is a legal cause of a situation if, according to human experience, in the normal

course of events, the act has a tendency to bring about that kind of a situation. Legal

causation is applied to achieve the delimitation of factual causation. The authoritative

case here is S V Tembani 2007 (1) SACR 365 (SCA). In this case it was held that, the

deliberate infliction of a dangerous wound from which the victim is likely to die without

medical intervention must generally lead to liability for an ensuing death

The bombing would not qualify as a novus actus since X previously foresaw that

shooting Y in the stomach would result in Ys death. Xs shooting is thus the legal cause

of Ys death.