“One moment of extreme irresponsibility”: notes and comments on Humphreys v S and the volitional component of dolus eventualis in the context of dangerous or irresponsible driving

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dc.contributor.authorVan der Merwe, Hermanus J.
dc.date.accessioned2013-10-06T19:30:05Z
dc.date.available2013-10-06T19:30:05Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractThe 2013 judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal in Humphreys v The State has provided a measure of clarity as regards the application of the principles of dolus eventualis, particularly the volitional component thereof in the context of dangerous or irresponsible driving. The 2013 judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal in Humphreys v The State has provided a measure of clarity as regards the application of the principles of dolus eventualis, particularly the volitional component thereof in the context of dangerous or irresponsible driving. The court held that references to “recklessness” on the part of the accused should be approached with caution so as not to conflate the test for dolus eventualis with that for aggravated (or “conscious”) negligence. In more general terms, the judgment also provides guidance as to what constitutes appropriate charges in response to dangerous or irresponsible driving that results in death or serious injury to innocent persons. It is submitted that, in general, the more aggressive prosecutorial strategy of the National Prosecuting Authority towards irresponsible and reckless driving, under which such drivers are now more likely to be charged with murder and/or attempted murder, remains justified (and necessary) notwithstanding the outcome of the Humphreys case. However, through the use of a hypothetical example substantially similar to the Humphreys case, it is argued that, in future, the NPA’s prosecutorial efforts in such cases must be guided by the interpretation of the legal principles of dolus eventualis in Humphreys and by the specific facts of the relevant case.en_US
dc.description.accreditationDepartment of HE and Training approved listen_US
dc.identifier.citationVan der Merwe , H.J. (2013). "One moment of extreme irresponsibility": notes and comments on Humphreys v S and the volitional component of dolus eventualis in the context of dangerous or irresponsible driving. Law, Democracy & Development, 17(1): 64–77en_US
dc.identifier.issn2077-4907
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10566/733
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.privacy.showsubmitterfalse
dc.publisherUniversity of the Western Capeen_US
dc.rights© 2013 Van Der Merwe; licensee University of the Western Cape. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
dc.source.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ldd.v17i1.4
dc.status.ispeerreviewedtrue
dc.subjectHumphreysen_US
dc.subjectDolus eventualisen_US
dc.subjectNegligenceen_US
dc.title“One moment of extreme irresponsibility”: notes and comments on Humphreys v S and the volitional component of dolus eventualis in the context of dangerous or irresponsible drivingen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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