CLA1501_QUESTIONS_AND_ANSWERS

CLA1501 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS QUESTION 1 Which ONE of the following is NOT an authoritative source of South African law? 1. Statute law 2. Customary law 3. The old authorities 4. Judgments of the superior courts 5. Foreign law Correct answer Explanation 5 is the CORRECT answer. Foreign Law is NOT an authoritative source of South African Law. It has persuasive authority only. QUESTION 2 Which ONE of the following is NOT a requirement for a customary rule to be recognised as a legal rule? 1. It must have existed for a long time and be reasonable. 2. It must be generally recognised and observed by the community. 3. The contents thereof must be certain and clear. 4. It must have been reduced to writing. 4 is the CORRECT answer. Explanation 4 is the CORRECT answer. It is NOT a requirement that a customary rule must have been reduced to writing for it to be recognised as a legal rule. QUESTION 3 Solomon works on a Welkom goldmine. Before leaving his home in Limpopo he asked his nephew, Bheki, to look after his cattle during his absence and gave him permission to use the cattle. Everyone in their village now considers the cattle to be Bheki’s as Solomon has been gone for so long. Bheki uses the dung of the cattle to fertilise his fields and he sells and consumes their milk. Which ONE of the following statements is CORRECT under the circumstances? 1. Bheki is the usufructuary of the cattle. 1 is the CORRECT answer. 2. Bheki is the holder of a praedial servitude in the cattle. 3. Bheki is the pledgee of the cattle. 4. Bheki is the mortgagee of the cattle. 5. Bheki is the owner of the cattle through prescription. Explanation 1 is the CORRECT answer. Bheki has been granted the right to use the cattle in his personal capacity. The cattle are movable. Solomon remains the owner. 1 / / / QUESTION 4 Freddie gets involved in an argument with a man in a sports bar one Friday evening, on the merits of a certain rugby team. The argument gets heated, Freddie loses his temper and assaults the other man, to the extent that the man loses consciousness. Freddie decides to go home. On his arrival, he finds his two year old son seriously ill. Still upset from the incident at the pub, he rushes to take the child to the emergency ward of the local hospital. On his way there he is caught driving 140 km/h in a 80 km/h zone. He is summoned to appear in court on a charge of contravening the traffic regulations. On which ONE of the following grounds of justification can Freddie rely? 1. Necessity 1 is the CORRECT answer. 2. Provocation 3. Self-defence 4. Consent Explanation 1 is the CORRECT answer. Necessity exists when a person is through external forces placed in such a position that the person’s legitimate interests can only be protected through a reasonable infringement of the rights of another. Here, Freddie protected his interest (his sick child) by violating the law. Provocation exists where a person is provoked or incited by another’s words or actions to cause harm to that other person. Although Freddie might have been provoked at the pub, his exceeding the speed limit does not meet the requirements for provocation as ground of justification: his conduct (exceeding the speed limit) does not constitute immediate and reasonable retaliation against the body of the provoker. The position would be different if he is charged with assaulting the other person in the bar. In cases of self-defence a person defends himself or herself against an actual imminent unlawful attack by another to defend his or her own or another’s legally acknowledged right. Freddie was not under any threat or unlawful attack when he exceeded the speed limit. Where a person legally capable of expressing his or her will gives consent to injury or harm, the causing of such harm will be lawful. Here, Freddie did not give consent to anyone. QUESTION 5 Robert wants to rent a house belonging to Johnny. Johnny tells Robert about the terms of his offer. Robert is not sure whether he should accept the offer or not and he asks for more time to consider it. They agree that the offer will remain open for a period of one week. The following day Johnny is approached by Masedi who also wants to rent the house. Which ONE of the following statements is CORRECT?