Summary
Summary Factors influencing status
- Course
- Institution
Includes: Gender, Mental Illness, Economically Founded Impediments, Physical Disability or Illness, Appointment of Curatorship
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FACTORS INFLUENCING STATUS1. GENDER
In principle, South African law does not discriminate between male
and female persons as far as the private law status is concerned.
At the moment, the only difference as far as private law status is
concerned is the age of puberty (Girls: 12yrs, boys: 14yrs)
This distinction is based on the fact that women reach sexual
maturity sooner than men and will not be regarded as discrimination
in cases where sexual maturity is the point in question
Regarding the entrance of gender on a person's status, reference
must, for interests sake, be made to the legal position of a person
who has undergone a sex change operation (refer to the Births,
Marriages and Deaths Registrations Act 81 of 1963)
2. MENTAL ILLNESS
Meaning
A distinction must be borne in mind that some people are admitted
to an institution for the mentally ill and/or declared mentally ill by
the court, while others are not
Such a declaration / admittance can have an effect on such a
person’s status
The law attaches its own particular meaning to mental illness and
makes use of medical and psychological evidence to ascertain
whether a person is mentally ill or not
Different subsections of the law also propose different tests to
ascertain whether a person is mentally ill or not.
E.g. Mental Health Act 18 of 1973, s1: mental illness is defined as
any disorder or disability of the mind and includes any mental
disease and any arrested or incomplete development of the mind.. A
patient is defined as: a person mentally ill to such a degree that it is
necessary that he be detained, supervised, controlled and treated
and includes a person who is suspected of being or is alleged to be
mentally ill to such a degree
These definitions apply to cases where it must be ascertained
whether a person who is suffering from a psychological disorder
must either be declared by the court to be mentally ill or must be
received or treated in an institution for mentally ill persons
Furthermore, it must be determined whether or not a curator should
be appointed to represent a mentally ill person. In other words, is
this person capable of handling his own affairs (Uniform Rules of
Court, Rule 57)
For the purposes of private law a person is considered mentally ill if
he cannot understand what he is doing and is not able to appreciate
the consequences of his legal actions
There is a test to ascertain whether or not a person is mentally ill
(and people who are not mentally ill but who are actually feeble-
minded, e.g. idiots / mongols / people who are senile).
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