Aspirant Prosecutor Exam Study Guide

Aspirant Prosecutor Programme Entry Examination Study Guide

• The Aspirant Prosecutor Programme Entry Examination Study Guide, compiled by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), provides guidance for applicants preparing for the exam.
• The study guide is not an academic work and should not be used as an academic reference.
• The sources used to compile the guide are:
  • Commentary on the Criminal Procedure Act: Du Toit and others.
  • Hiemstra's Commentary on Criminal Procedure Act.
  • Principles of Evidence.
  • Snyman’s Criminal Law
  • A Guide to Bail Applications.
  • Recent Cases: Sentencing
  • Prosecution Policy Directives.
  • African Criminal Law and Procedure
  • Justice College note: A selective discussion of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, 1992
  • LAWSA: Evidence
  • Criminal Matters Amendment Act 18 of 2015

Causation in Criminally Defined Crimes

• Criminally defined crimes are categorized as either formally or materially defined.
• Formally Defined Crimes: Prohibit specific conduct regardless of the result.
• Materially Defined Crimes: Prohibit conduct that causes a specific condition.
• Causation: Establishing a causal link between the accused's conduct and the prohibited result is crucial for materially defined crimes.
• Factual Cause: Determined using the "conditio sine qua non" test. It assesses whether the prohibited consequence would have occurred "but for" the accused's conduct.
  • Daniels v S (1983) established the need for both factual and legal causation.
• Legal Cause: Evaluates the relationship between the conduct and the result, considering theories like proximate cause.
  • Daniels v S (1983) involved the defendant shooting the victim, who later died from lack of medical attention. This case highlighted the legal causation issue.

Grounds of Justification

• Presumed Consent or Negotiorum Gestio: Justifies actions infringing on another's interests if the actions further the interests of the person against whom the crime is committed.
  • Example: Breaking into a burning house to rescue the homeowner.
• Disciplinary Chastisement: This defense was previously considered a justification for reasonable and moderate punishment of children, learners, spouses, or employees.
  • Christian Education South Africa v Minister of Education (2000) ruled out disciplinary chastisement of school learners.
  • Freedom of Religion South Africa v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development (2020) declared parental chastisement unconstitutional.
  • Disciplinary chastisement is no longer a valid justification in South African law.

Criminal Capacity

• Criminal Capacity: A two-part test to determine if an accused can stand trial.
  • Understanding and Appreciating Wrongfulness: The accused must understand the wrongfulness of their actions.
  • Ability to Act in Accordance: The accused must have the ability to act in accordance with their understanding of wrongfulness.
  • S v Eadie (2002) involved the appellant's plea of non-pathological criminal incapacity in a case involving a road rage incident.

Statutory Offences

• The Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000:
  • Unlawful Possession of Firearms (Section 3): This offense is dealt with in Section 120, with penalties outlined in Section 121.

Other Key Points

• Robbery (Sithole 1981): This offense requires violence directed at the victim to overcome, prevent, or forestall resistance to the taking of property.
  • Handbag snatching can constitute robbery if force is used to overcome the victim's hold on the bag.
• Fraud (Mdantile v S 2011): Defined as the unlawful and intentional misrepresentation causing actual or potential prejudice.
  • Misrepresentation can involve words, writing, or conduct and can even be made to a computer system.
  • The accused must represent a fact or facts that do not exist.
• Housebreaking with Intent to Commit a Crime Unknown to the Prosecutor (S262 and S263 of the Criminal Procedure Act): The crime is charged as housebreaking with the intent to commit a specific offense or, if the offense is unknown, as housebreaking with intent to commit a crime unknown.
  • The offense involves two aspects:
    • Breaking: Any removal or displacement of an obstacle preventing access.
    • Entering: Inserting any part of the body or an instrument into the property or structure.
• Trespassing (Trespass Act 6 of 1959): Punishes the unlawful and intentional entry onto or presence on another's property without the owner or lawful possessor's consent.
  • Entry refers to physical boundaries of the property, requiring the accused's physical presence.
  • The offense is not committed if the accused has a lawful reason to be on the property.