CRW1501 EXAM PACK: CRIMINAL LAW CONCEPTS AND CASES
Principle of Legality - ANSWER- No crime exists without law's existence.
Positive Conduct - ANSWER- Action taken by an individual in criminal law.
Negative Conduct - ANSWER- Failure to act when required by law.
Omission - ANSWER- Punishable failure to act under moral duty.
Legal Cause - ANSWER- X's act directly leads to Y's death.
Condicio Sine Qua Non - ANSWER- Necessary condition for a situation to exist.
Private Defence - ANSWER- Legal justification for defending oneself or others.
Unlawful Attack - ANSWER- Attack that violates legal rights or interests.
Limits of Private Defence - ANSWER- Exceeding reasonable force in self-defense is unlawful.
Necessity - ANSWER- Justification for unlawful acts to prevent harm.
Emergency Situation - ANSWER- Circumstances requiring immediate action to avoid harm.
Legal Provision Violation - ANSWER- Breaking a law under necessity circumstances.
Mokgethi Case - ANSWER- Legal precedent on proximate cause theory.
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Proximate Cause Theory - ANSWER- Legal causation theory applied in criminal cases.
Criminal Liability - ANSWER- Responsibility for committing a criminal act.
Codified Law - ANSWER- Laws systematically arranged in a code.
Uncodified Procedure - ANSWER- Procedures not formally written in law.
Roman-Dutch Common Law - ANSWER- Legal system influenced by English law post-annexation.
Interpretation of Crime - ANSWER- Courts interpret crime definitions broadly.
Statement Verification - ANSWER- Process of confirming the correctness of legal statements.
Legal Maxim - ANSWER- A general principle or rule of law.
Emergency Action - ANSWER- Immediate response to prevent greater harm.
Consent - ANSWER- Agreement that allows actions without legal repercussions.
Ground of Justification - ANSWER- Legal basis for excusing criminal conduct.
Culpability - ANSWER- Responsibility for a criminal act.
Criminal Capacity - ANSWER- Mental ability to understand criminality.
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Intention - ANSWER- Mental state directing actions towards a result.
Cognitive Element - ANSWER- Understanding of the act's nature and consequences.
Conative Element - ANSWER- Willful direction towards an act or result.
Direct Intention - ANSWER- Purposefully aiming to achieve a specific outcome.
Indirect Intention - ANSWER- Foreseeing a result as a consequence of actions.
Common Law - ANSWER- Law derived from judicial decisions and customs.
Legislation - ANSWER- Laws enacted by a governing body.
Criminal Liability - ANSWER- Legal responsibility for committing a crime.
Legal Duty - ANSWER- Obligation to act according to law.
Act vs. Conduct - ANSWER- 'Act' excludes omissions; 'conduct' includes both.
Legal Causation - ANSWER- Establishing a direct link between act and outcome.
Adequate Causation - ANSWER- Act must be necessary for the outcome.
Competent Person - ANSWER- Individual authorized to give lawful orders.
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Moral Wrongness - ANSWER- Conduct deemed wrong but not legally prohibited.
Omission - ANSWER- Failure to act when legally required.
Perpetrator - ANSWER- Individual or entity committing the act.
Medical Consent - ANSWER- Patient's agreement for medical procedures.
Obedience to Orders - ANSWER- Following commands as a justification for actions.
Vague Crimes - ANSWER- Crimes defined imprecisely, leading to ambiguity.
Novus actus interveniens - ANSWER- An act that is expected and usual.
Private defence - ANSWER- Self-defence, also protecting others' interests.
Putative private defence - ANSWER- Belief in self-defence without actual justification.
Interests protected by private defence - ANSWER- Life or physical integrity only.
Necessity - ANSWER- Acting to protect another's interests in emergencies.
Successful necessity - ANSWER- Emergency must be expected or terminated.
Legal compulsion and necessity - ANSWER- Cannot claim necessity if legally compelled.