crw2601-exam_qs-and-answers

Multiple Choice Q’s Question 1 (a) According to the absolute theory, punishment is an end in itself, while according to the relative theories, punishment is a means to a secondary end. (b) The effectiveness of the theory of general deterrence depends only on the severity of the punishment that is imposed on an offender. (c) The “triad in Zinn” (the crime, the criminal and interests of society) enables a court to consider all the theories of punishment when imposing sentence. (1) All the statements are correct. (2) Only statement (a) is correct. (3) Only statements (a) and (c) are correct. (4) Only statement (c) is correct. (5) Only statement (b) is correct. Question 2 (a) The correct sequence of investigation into the elements of criminal liability is conduct, compliance with definitional elements, culpability and unlawfulness. (b) Crimes are directed against public interests, while delicts are directed against private interests. (c) A statutory provision will best comply with the principle of legality if it contains a criminal norm only. (1) Only statement (b) is correct. (2) Only statements (b) and (c) are correct. (3) None of the statements is correct. (4) Only statement (a) is correct. (5) Only statement (c) is correct. Question 3 (a) In concluding that the extended definition of the crime of rape should not apply retrospectively to the accused, the Constitutional Court in Masiya v DPP 2007 (2) SACR 435 (CC) respected the ius praevium rule. (b) The rules embodying the principle of legality (ius acceptum, ius praevium, ius certum and ius strictum) are applicable to both the crime and the punishment to be imposed. (c) The Constitution contains a provision which expressly sets out the ius acceptum rule. (1) All the statements are correct. (2) Only statements (a) and (b) are correct. (3) Only statement (a) is correct. (4) Only statements (b) and (c) are correct. (5) Only statement (b) is correct. Question 4 (a) Conduct is voluntary if it is willed. (b) Relative force excludes X’s ability to subject his bodily movements to his will or intellect. (c) Sane automatism refers to cases in which X relies on the defence of mental illness. (1) Only statement (b) is correct. (2) Only statements (b) and (c) are correct. (3) Only statements (a) and (c) are correct. (4) None of the statements is correct. (5) Only statement (a) is correct. Question 5 (a) Antecedent liability is a qualification of the rule that bodily movements performed in a condition of automatism do not result in criminal liability. (b) There is a legal duty upon X to act positively if the legal convictions of the community require him to do so. (c) In Leeuw 1975 (1) SA 439 (O) it was held that mere inconvenience in complying with a legal duty did not constitute impossibility. (1) Only statement (b) is correct. (2) Only statements (b) and (c) are correct. (3) Only statements (a) and (b) are correct. (4) All the statements are correct. (5) Only statement (c) is correct. Question 6 (a) In formally defined crimes, the definitional elements proscribe a certain type of conduct irrespective of what the result of the conduct is. (b) An act is a conditio sine qua non for a situation if the act can be thought away without the situation disappearing at the same time. (c) In Tembani 2007 (1) SACR 355 (SCA), the court held that negligent medical treatment would not be regarded as a novus actus interveniens in a situation where X deliberately inflicted an intrinsically fatal wound. (1) Only statement (a) is correct. (2) Only statement (b) is correct. (3) All the statements are correct. (4) Only statements (b) and (c) are correct. (5) Only statements (a) and (c) are correct. Question 7 (a) Mental illness is a ground of justification which excludes the unlawfulness of conduct. (b) X can rely on private defence if he defends himself against an attack by an animal. (c) There is an irrebuttable presumption that a child who is below the age of seven lacks criminal capacity. (1) None of the statements is correct. (2) Only statements (b) and (c) are correct. (3) Only statement (c) is correct. (4) Only statements (a) and (b) are correct. (5) Only statement (a) is correct. Question 8 (a) The test for negligence is described as objective because it is not concerned with what X actually thought or knew or foresaw, but only with what a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have foreseen. (b) The mere fact that somebody has committed an error of judgment does not necessarily mean that he was negligent. (c) If X is charged with culpable homicide, but the evidence brings to light that X acted intentionally, he may still be convicted of culpable homicide provided his conduct did not measure up to the standard of the reasonable person. (1) All the statements are correct. (2) Only statements (a) and (c) are correct. (3) Only statement (a) is correct. (4) Only statement (a) and (b) are correct. (5) Only statement (b) is correct. Question 9 (a) The principle of contemporaneity means that there must have been culpability on the part of X at the very moment when the unlawful act was committed. (b) Mistake relating to the chain of causation may exclude intention provided that the actual chain of events differed materially from that envisaged by the perpetrator. (c) A good motive always excludes intention. (1) All the statements are correct. (2) Only statements (a) and (b) are correct. (3) Only statement (a) is correct. (4) Only statement (b) is correct. (5) Only statements (a) and (c) are correct. Question 10 (a) Provocation can never serve as a ground for the mitigation of punishment. (b) Strict liability is found in statutory crimes only. (c) A corporate body such as a company cannot be convicted of a crime. (1) None of the statements is correct. (2) Only statement (b) is correct. (3) Only statement (c) is correct. (4) Only statements (b) and (c) are correct. (5) Only statements (a) and (c) are correct. [30] QUESTION 1 (a) This statement is correct. See SG 1.2.1. (b) This statement is incorrect. See SG 1.2.5.2. (c) This statement is correct. See SG 1.2.7. You should therefore have chosen option (3), since only statements (a) and (c) are correct. QUESTION 2 (a) This statement is incorrect. The correct sequence of investigation is conduct, compliance with definitional elements, unlawfulness and culpability. See SG 1.7.3. (b) This statement is correct. See SG 1.8. (c) This statement is incorrect. A statutory provision will best comply with the principle of legality if, apart from a criminal norm, it also contains a criminal sanction. See SG 2.4.2. You should therefore have chosen option (1), since only statement (b) is correct. QUESTION 3 (a) This statement is correct. See SG 2.5. (b) This statement is correct. See definition in grey block in SG 2.3.2 and SG 2.8. (c) This statement is incorrect. See SG 2.4. You should therefore have chosen option (2), since only statements (a) and (b) are correct. QUESTION 4 (a) This statement is incorrect. See SG 3.3.4.1. (b) This statement is incorrect. See SG 3.3.4.2a. (c) This statement is incorrect. Insane automatism refers to cases in which X relies on the defence of mental illness. See SG 3.3.4.2c ii. You should therefore have chosen option (4), since none of the statements is correct. QUESTION 5 (a) This statement is correct. See SG 3.3.4.2c iv. (b) This statement is correct. See SG 3.4.1.1. (c) This statement is correct. See SG 3.4.2(2). You should therefore have chosen option (4), since all the statements are correct. QUESTION 6 (a) This statement is correct. See SG 4.3.1. (b) This statement is incorrect. See SG 4.3.3.2. (c) This statement is correct. See SG 4.3.7.4. You should therefore have chosen option (5), since only statements (a) and (c) are correct. QUESTION 7 (a) This statement is incorrect. See SG 7.2.1. (b) This statement is incorrect. See SG 5.3.2(1) (a)(iii). (c) This statement is correct. See SG 8.3 Summary point (6) and Criminal Law 178- 179. You should therefore have chosen option (3), since only statement (c) is correct. QUESTION 8 (a) This statement is correct. See SG 11.2. (b) This statement is correct. See SG 11.5.2(6). The reasonable person is not a perfectly programmed automaton who can never make a mistake. As an ordinary