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2nd Lecture_ Intro to Principles of Criminal Law.pptx

The document introduces the principles of criminal law, highlighting the distinction between substantive and procedural law, as well as public and private law. It emphasizes the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence, outlining the burden of proof required in criminal cases and the principle of legality, which ensures that laws are clear and not retroactive. Additionally, it discusses exceptions to the burden of proof and the implications of the principle of legality in the context of South African law.

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Zwivhuya Makharamedzha
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7 views9 pages

2nd Lecture_ Intro to Principles of Criminal Law.pptx

The document introduces the principles of criminal law, highlighting the distinction between substantive and procedural law, as well as public and private law. It emphasizes the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence, outlining the burden of proof required in criminal cases and the principle of legality, which ensures that laws are clear and not retroactive. Additionally, it discusses exceptions to the burden of proof and the implications of the principle of legality in the context of South African law.

Uploaded by

Zwivhuya Makharamedzha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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INTRODUCTION TO

PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LAW


KNOW YOUR CLASS REP
:
Criminal law & its place in the legal system
• Substantve Law v Formal Law / Procedural Law
• Public Law v Private Law
• Domestc Criminal Law v Internatonal Criminal Law
• Criminal Law & Criminology
Introduction to Principles of Criminal
Law
• What is crime and why is it punishable?

• Distncton b/n crime and delict.

• Sources of the General Principles of Criminal Law


Fundamental principles of South African
criminal law
• The presumpton of innocence
Sectin 35(3) i the Cinsttutin:
Every accused person has a right to fair trial, which includes the right
(h) to be presumed innocence, to remain silent, and not testfy during the
proceedings.

As a general rule, the State bears the onus (burden) of proof in criminal cases.
Not only is the State required to prove all the elements necessary to establish
an accused’s guilt, it must do so beyond a reasonable doubt.
Presumption of innocence
R v Ndlhovu 1945 AD 369 at 386
“In all cases it is for the Crown [the State] to establish Accused’s guilt, not for the Accused to
establish his innocence. The onus is on the Crown to prove all the averments necessary to
establish his guilty”

What is meant by proof beyond a reasonable doubt?


It does NOT mean proof beyond any shadow of a doubt nor does it mean absolute
certainty.
It simply means a very high degree of probability that the accused is guilty.
It does NOT mater whether the presiding ofcer is personally convinced of the accused’s
guilt.
Presumption of innocence
NB: There are exceptons to the rule that the State bears the onus of
proof.
• e.g. Once an Accused raise the defence of mental illness or defect, the
Accused bears the onus of proving such illness.
• There are statutory provisions placing the onus on the accused to
prove his innocence. Is this consttutonal or unconsttutonal?
• Example- Natonal Road Trafc Act 93 of 1996 contains a rebutal
presumpton that, for purposes of any prosecuton, the driver of the
vehicle at any given tme is its owner.
Principle of legality
(a) the ius acceptum principle: a court may fnd an accused guilty of a
crime only if the type of conduct performed by him is recognised by the
law as a crime – in other words, a court itself may not create a crime.

(b) the ius praevium principle: a court may fnd an accused guilty of a
crime only if the kind of act performed by him was already recognised
as a crime at the tme of its commission.

(c) the ius certum principle: crimes should not be formulated vaguely.
Rules embodied in principle of
legality
(d) the ius strictum principle: a court should interpret the defniton of
a crime narrowly rather than broadly.
(e) the nulla poena sine lege principle:
the applicable sentence (regarding both its form and extent) must
already have been determined in reasonably clear terms by the law at
the tme of the commission of the crime, that a court must interpret
the words defning the punishment narrowly rather than widely, and
that a court is not free to impose any sentence other than the one
legally authorised.
The principle of legality
Secton 35(3) of the Consttuton entrenches the principle of legality
against retrospectvity of ofences and of punishment.
Provides that every accused person has a right to fair trial which
includes the right
(l) not to be convicted for an act or omission that was not an ofence
either under natonal or internatonal law at the tme it was commited
or omited:…
(n) to the beneft of the least severe of the prescribed punishment if the
prescribed punishment for the ofence has been changed between the
tme that the ofence was commited and the tme of sentencing.
Violation of the principle of legality
Masiya v Director of Public Prosecuton 2007 2 SACR 435 (CC) .
• The CC extended the scope of the common-law crime of rape to
include not merely sexual penetraton of a woman by a man’s penis
through her vagina, but also such penetraton through her anus.

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