Criminal Law – Appeal – Appeal on findings of fact by court a quo – Stock theft – No written declaration or oral evidence that the couple made declaration – Marriage contracted out of community of property – Complainant appointed as executor of estate and thus lawful possessor – Conviction particulars – Appeal partly succeeds against conviction and sentence.

Criminal law – Murder – Domestic Violence – Self-defence – Requirements not met – private defence rejected – Intention inferred from surrounding evidence – Convicted of murder with direct intent.

Criminal Law – Sentence – Culpable homicide – Degree of culpability – Extent of the negligence plays role – Sentence should be neither too severe, nor too light – Remorse sincere – Blameworthiness diminished, to some extent, as accused went to assist father, but the consequence of the act cannot be disregarded – Accused first offender – Easy use of knife and multiple stabs constitute factors in aggravating – Partly suspended term of imprisonment appropriate in circumstances.

Criminal Law – Discharge of accused in terms of s 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 – Criminal Procedure – Trial – Discharge of accused at close of States case in terms of s 174 of Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 – Whether there is evidence on which a reasonable court acting carefully may convict – Principles restated Approach by court and guidelines set out in S v Nakale and S v Teek followed.

Law of delict – Motor Vehicle Accident – Damages – Insurance Claim – Interpretation of insurance contracts – Court to determine the exclusionary term of the insurance contract that a driver must not leave the scene of the accident before the police or ambulance arrives.

Interpretation of the Communal Land Reform Act 5 of 2002 – section 15(2) – where a local authority is established within the boundaries of any communal land, that local authority area shall not be communal land – Section 20 - The primary power to allocate or cancel any customary land right in respect of any portion of land in the communal area of a traditional community vests (a) in the Chief of that traditional community or (b) where the Chief so determines, in the Traditional Authority of that traditional community – Section 28 – Customary land rights should be registered to be recognised.

Opposed motion – Inmates being granted remission – Effect of remission on date of eligibility on Parole – Section 115 of the Correctional Service Act – Grammatical and contextual meaning and interpretation of ‘term of imprisonment’ clarified – No effect of remission on date of eligibility of parole in terms of section 115 of the Correctional Service Act – Offender only eligible on serving 2/3 of the term of imprisonment as imposed by the court of law and not on remitted sentence.

Practice — Application for condonation — Court satisfied the requirements of condonation has been met — The appeal is therefore reinstated.

Practice — Labour Court — Stay of execution of arbitration award pending appeal – Section 89 (6), (7) and (8) of Labour Act — The balance of hardship favours the respondent.

Evidence — Factual disputes —  Evidence — Witnesses — Calling, examination and refutation — Two mutually destructive versions — Onus on plaintiff — Probabilities favoured plaintiff on occurrence of assault, but plaintiff did not prove the extent of his injuries. 

Law of contract - Section 8(1)(a) of the Married Persons Equality Act 1 of 1996 allows a transaction entered into without following the provisions of section 7(1)(h) to be deemed to have been entered into with the consent of the other spouse if the other person does not know and cannot reasonably have known that the transaction was entered into without the requisite consent.