, PVL3703 Assignment 1 (COMPLETE
ANSWERS) Semester 2 2025 - DUE August
2025
Delictual Conduct and Sleepwalking: The Case of Tumelo
In order to determine whether Tumelo acted for the purposes
of the law of delict, it is necessary to examine the requirement
of conduct. Conduct is the first element in the law of delict
and must be established before other elements such as
wrongfulness, fault, causation, and harm can be considered.
According to South African law, conduct refers to a voluntary
human act or omission. This was confirmed in the case of
Minister van Polisie v Ewels 1975 (3) SA 590 (A), where the
court held that both positive actions and omissions may
constitute conduct, provided they are voluntary. Voluntariness
implies that the act is subject to the control of the individual’s
will. Acts performed while unconscious, asleep, under
hypnosis, or during epileptic seizures are generally regarded as
involuntary and therefore do not meet the requirement of
conduct. This principle was illustrated in R v Victor 1943 AD 1,
where the court held that acts performed during an epileptic
seizure were not voluntary and thus not attributable to the
actor.
Applying this principle to the facts, Tumelo stabbed his friend
Mandla while sleepwalking. Sleepwalking is an involuntary
ANSWERS) Semester 2 2025 - DUE August
2025
Delictual Conduct and Sleepwalking: The Case of Tumelo
In order to determine whether Tumelo acted for the purposes
of the law of delict, it is necessary to examine the requirement
of conduct. Conduct is the first element in the law of delict
and must be established before other elements such as
wrongfulness, fault, causation, and harm can be considered.
According to South African law, conduct refers to a voluntary
human act or omission. This was confirmed in the case of
Minister van Polisie v Ewels 1975 (3) SA 590 (A), where the
court held that both positive actions and omissions may
constitute conduct, provided they are voluntary. Voluntariness
implies that the act is subject to the control of the individual’s
will. Acts performed while unconscious, asleep, under
hypnosis, or during epileptic seizures are generally regarded as
involuntary and therefore do not meet the requirement of
conduct. This principle was illustrated in R v Victor 1943 AD 1,
where the court held that acts performed during an epileptic
seizure were not voluntary and thus not attributable to the
actor.
Applying this principle to the facts, Tumelo stabbed his friend
Mandla while sleepwalking. Sleepwalking is an involuntary
