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MODULE NAME: MODULE CODE:

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LAW GPCL6211
CRIMINAL LAW CLAW020

ASSESSMENT TYPE: TAKE-HOME ASSESSMENT (PAPER ONLY)

TOTAL MARK ALLOCATION: 60 MARKS
TOTAL TIME: This assessment should take you 1 hour to complete, however
you have 21 hours (midnight to 9PM on the same day) to
submit. This additional time has been allocated to allow for the
download, completion and upload of your submission.
By submitting this assessment, you acknowledge that you have read and understood all the rules
as per the terms in the registration contract, in particular the assignment and assessment rules in
The IIE Assessment Strategy and Policy (IIE009), the intellectual integrity and plagiarism rules in
the Intellectual Integrity Policy (IIE023), as well as any rules and regulations published in the
student portal.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Please adhere to all instructions. These instructions are different from what is normally
present, so take time to go through these carefully.
2. Independent work is required. Students are not allowed to work together on this
assessment. Any contraventions of this will be handled as per disciplinary procedures in The
IIE policy.
3. No material may be copied from original sources, even if referenced correctly, unless it is
a direct quote indicated with quotation marks.
4. All work must be adequately and correctly referenced and this must be done using the IIE
Legal Referencing Guidelines.
5. You should paraphrase the concepts (use your own words) that you are referencing, rather
than quoting directly.
6. Marks will be awarded for the quality of your paraphrasing.
7. This is an open-book assessment.
8. Your assessment may be handwritten or typed.
9. Answer all questions.
10. For typed assessments: ensure that you save a copy of your responses.
a. Complete your responses in an MS Word document.
b. The document name must be your name, student number and Module Code.
c. Once you have completed the assessment, upload your document under the
submission link in the correct module in Learn.
11. If you are completing a hardcopy in your own handwriting:
• You need to complete your questions in your own handwriting on paper.
• Ensure that all your pages are numbered on the top right-hand side of the page –
e.g., 1 of 12.

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• Please work neatly, write clearly and ensure that your questions are clearly numbered
in a coherent order so that you do not lose marks because your lecturer cannot read
your handwriting or cannot follow the orderly flow of your questions in the paper.
• Either (i) Scan your pages OR (ii) photograph your pages. Ensure that the pages are in
the correct order.
• Label your photographs or scanned paper as follows: Name, Student Number,
Module Code and Page 1; (for each page in the event that you are scanning
photographs or separate scanned pages. Where you scan the whole paper all at
once, you need only use this label once). It is also suggested that you write your
name, student number and module code at the top or bottom of your pages.
• Once you have completed the assessment, upload your document under the
submission link in the correct module in Learn.
• When referencing according to The IIE Legal Referencing Guidelines in your own
handwriting, keep some space at the bottom of each page to write in your footnotes
as if you were inserting them using MS Word and remember to include a written
bibliography at the end of your paper

Additional instructions:
• Dictionaries and calculators are allowed.
• Answer all questions.

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Referencing Rubric - IIE Legal Referencing Guidelines

Providing evidence based on valid and referenced academic sources Markers are required to provide feedback to students by indicating
is a fundamental educational principle and the cornerstone of high- (circling/underlining) the information that best describes the
quality academic work. Hence, The IIE considers it essential to student’s work.
develop the referencing skills of our students in our commitment to
achieve high academic standards. Part of achieving these high Minor technical referencing errors: 5% deduction from the
standards is referencing in a way that is consistent, technically overall percentage – the student’s work contains five or more
correct and congruent. This is not plagiarism, which is handled errors listed in the minor errors column in the table below.
differently.
Major technical referencing errors: 10% deduction from the
Poor quality formatting in your referencing will result in a penalty of overall percentage – the student’s work contains five or more
a maximum of ten percent being deducted from the percentage errors listed in the major errors column in the table below.
awarded, according to the following guidelines. Please note,
however, that evidence of plagiarism in the form of copied or If both minor and major errors are indicated, then 10% only (and
uncited work (not referenced), absent reference lists, or not 5% or 15%) is deducted from the overall percentage. The
exceptionally poor referencing, may result in action being taken in examples provided below are not exhaustive but are provided to
accordance with The IIE’s Intellectual Integrity Policy (0023). illustrate the error.

Required: Minor errors in technical correctness of Major errors in technical correctness of referencing
Technically correct referencing referencing style style
style Deduct 5% from percentage awarded Deduct 10% from percentage awarded
Consistency Minor inconsistencies. Major inconsistencies.
• The referencing style is generally • Poor and inconsistent referencing style used in
• The same referencing format consistent, but there are one or two footnotes and/or in the bibliography/ reference
has been used for all footnote changes in the format of footnote list.
references and in the referencing and/or in the bibliography. • Multiple formats for the same type of referencing
bibliography/reference list. • For example, page numbers for direct have been used.
quotes (footnote) have been provided • For example, the format for direct quotes
for one source, but not in another (footnotes) and/or book chapters (bibliography/
instance. Two book chapters reference list) is different across multiple
(bibliography) have been referenced in instances.
the bibliography in two different
formats.
Technical correctness Generally, technically correct with some Technically incorrect.
minor errors. • The referencing format is incorrect.
• Referencing format is • The correct referencing format has been • Concepts and ideas are typically referenced, but a
technically correct throughout consistently used, but there are one or reference is missing from small sections of the
the submission. two errors. work.
• Concepts and ideas are typically • Position of the references: references are only
• Position of the reference: a referenced, but a reference is missing given at the beginning or end of large sections of
reference is directly associated from one small section of the work. work.
with every concept or idea. • Position of the references: references • For example, incorrect author information is
are only given at the beginning or end of provided, no year of publication is provided,
• For example, quotation marks, every paragraph. quotation marks and/or page numbers for direct
page numbers, years, etc. are • For example, the student has incorrectly quotes missing, page numbers are provided for
applied correctly in the presented direct quotes (footnotes) paraphrased material, the incorrect punctuation is
footnotes, sources in the and/or book chapters used (footnotes); the bibliography/reference list is
bibliography/reference list are (bibliography/reference list). not in alphabetical order, the incorrect format for
correctly presented. a book chapter/journal article is used, information
is missing e.g. no place of publication had been
provided (bibliography); repeated sources on the
reference list.
Congruence between footnotes Generally, congruence between the A lack of congruence between the footnote
and bibliography/ reference list footnotes referencing and the referencing and the bibliography.
bibliography/ reference list with one or • No relationship/several incongruencies between
• All sources are accurately two errors. the footnote referencing and the
reflected and are all accurately • There is largely a match between the bibliography/reference list.
included in the bibliography/ sources presented in-text and the • For example, sources are included in-text, but not
reference list. bibliography. in the bibliography and vice versa, a link, rather
• For example, a source appears in the than the actual reference is provided in the
footnotes, but not in the bibliography/ bibliography.
reference list or vice versa.
In summary: the recording of In summary, at least 80% of the sources In summary, at least 60% of the sources are
references is accurate and are correctly reflected and included in a incorrectly reflected and/or not included in
complete. reference list. reference list.

Overall Feedback about the consistency, technical correctness and congruence between footnote referencing and bibliography:
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Question 1 (Marks: 30)

You are the attorney for Mandla. Mandla is facing a charge of reckless driving after causing a
motor vehicle collision between himself and Nthabiseng. Mandla asserts that he suffers from
epilepsy and it just so happened that he had an epileptic seizure just before he collided with
Nthabiseng.

Answer the following questions.

Q.1.1 Discuss whether it can be said that Mandla acted voluntarily for purposes of (10)
conduct as a requirement to incur criminal liability. If you think that Mandla did
not act voluntarily, you must also describe the concept that Mandla could rely on
as a defence.

Q.1.2 Assume for this question only that Mandla asserts that he caused the motor (10)
vehicle collision due to a mental illness. Discuss why it is of practical importance to
distinguish between automatism due to involuntary conduct and unconscious
behaviour attributable to mental illness.

Q.1.3 Assume for this question only that the court does not accept Mandla’s defence (10)
that he acted involuntarily due to having an epileptic seizure. Instead, the court
rules that if Mandla knew that he suffers from epileptic seizures, he should not
have driven in the first place. Explain the principle that the court has relied on in
its reasoning.

Question 2 (Marks: 30)

Q.2.1 In determining whether an act is the factual cause of a prohibited situation, one needs to
apply the principles that are relevant to determining factual causation. In the case of Lee v
Minister of Correctional Services 2013 (2) SA 144 (CC), the court had to grapple with the
notion of factual causation and how it is applied in cases where there was positive
conduct and an omission.

With reference to the Lee case, write a note not exceeding two pages, in which you
discuss the following concerning how factual causation is determined in a particular case:

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Q.2.1.1 The test for factual causation. (5)

Q.2.1.2 How factual causation is to be determined with reference to positive (2)
conduct.
Q.2.1.3 How factual causation is to be determined concerning an omission. (4)
Q.2.1.4 Whether our courts follow a flexible or inflexible approach to using the (9)
test for factual causation. As part of your answer here, you must make
reference to the type of alternative the court deems required for
substitution in using this test.
NOTE:
• 20 marks are to be awarded for your discussion as set out in the questions above and an
additional 5 marks are to be awarded for the manner in which you structure your answer to
this question.
• Your answer to this question must not exceed two pages in length, excluding footnotes and
a bibliography or reference list. Any writing on this particular question [Q.2.1] exceeding
two pages will not be marked by your lecturer.

Q.2.2 With regard to legal causation, explain what the theory of adequate causation refers (5)
to.

END OF PAPER

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