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PVL1501-21 ASSIGNMENT 01
- Course
- LLB (PVL150121)
- Institution
- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
PVL1501-21 ASSIGNMENT 01
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_____________________________________________Assignment: 01 – PVL1501-21 – LAW OF PERSONS
_____________________________________________
Question 1:
Thomas passed away last week without leaving a will. At the time his wife,
Synthia was pregnant. Consider each of the following scenarios and answer
the questions:
(a) Suppose that the child died in the nursery three hours after her birth. Does
Synthia have to register the birth of the child? Provide a reason as well as
authority for your answer.
Answer:
a) Synthia will have to register the birth of the child due to the fact that the child
passed away three hours after the birth and not before the birth, this is
regulated in the Births and Deaths Registration Act 51 of 1992 by section 9
subsection (1) where it states “In the case of any child born alive, any one of
his or her parents, or if the parents are deceased, any of the prescribed
persons, shall, within 30 days after the birth of such child, give notice thereof in
the prescribed manner, and in compliance with the prescribed requirements, to
any person contemplated in section 4”, therefore the Director General of Home
Affairs needs to be notified of the birth of every child who is born alive.
(b) Suppose that the child died a day after the birth. Will the child be able to
inherit from Thomas’ estate? Explain your answer in a brief paragraph.
Answer:
b) No, the child will be unable to inherit from Thomas’ estate as the nasciturus
fiction will not apply. It was explained by Schoeman Law Inc that
“Nasciturus fiction, is the legal principle in which foetuses if subsequently born
, alive, will acquire all of the rights of born children whenever this is to its
advantage. Pinchin and Another NO v Santam Insurance Co Ltd 1 also
confirmed that this principle extends to the law of delict”, the child died shortly
after birth which means that the nasciturus fiction will not apply as the only
individuals who will benefit from the application of the fiction is the child’s
intestate heirs and not the child herself/himself, this however, would be
different if the child remained alive for a substantial period of time.
Question 2:
Allison, a pregnant woman, was involved in a serious car accident last month.
Her child, Zoe, was born three days after the accident with brain damage.
Allison now wants to sue the Road Accident Fund, as she believes that the
brain damage was caused by the accident. Will she be able to lodge a claim on
behalf of a child who had not been born at the time of the accident? Provide
authority for your answer.
Answer:
Yes, Allison can claim on behalf of the child who was unborn at the time that the
accident occurred. Due to the fact that the child’s disability was only discovered after
the birth from the accident makes no difference, the child is classified as a legal
subject who is suffering from a disability as a result of the accident and because of
that the child now has a delictual claim this was proven in a case found on SAFLII
Road Accident Fund v Mtati (332/2004) [2005] where it was stated that “ the court
held that the ordinary rules of law of delict should be used to determine whether the
child has a claim. The court held that the child’s delictual right of action in respect of
his or her pre-natal injuries becomes “complete” when the child is born alive”.
Therefore, it is superfluous and undesirable to implement the nasciturus fiction in the
area of the law of delict
Question 3:
Katlego, who is fifteen years old, is 19 weeks pregnant. She visits Dr Coleman,
the local medical practitioner, to find out about termination of the pregnancy.
Answer the following questions:
(a) She does not want to tell her parents about the pregnancy. May Dr
Coleman terminate the pregnancy without her parents ‘consent? Provide a
reason for your answer.
Answer:
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