South Africa Case Law

Anderson Shipping (Pty) Ltd v Polysius (Pty) Ltd (285/93)

Anderson Shipping (Pty) Ltd v Polysius (Pty) Ltd (285/93) [1995] ZASCA 38; 1995 (3) SA 42 (AD); [1995] 2 All SA 463 (A) (30 March 1995)

Court

Supreme Court of Appeal

Case number

285/93

Judges

Joubert, E.M. Grosskopf, Eksteen, Nicholas, Olivier

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that the Praetor's Edict, which imposes absolute liability on certain custodians, was never extended to public carriers by land under Roman or Roman-Dutch law. South African law, following Roman-Dutch principles, does not apply the Edict to land carriers. Liability for public carriers by land is based on dolus and culpa levis, not on the strict liability of the Edict. Previous South African decisions that assumed the Edict's extension to land carriers were either obiter or not based on thorough investigation of Roman-Dutch law. The exception to Anderson's spec…

Source excerpt

• Public Carrier Liability
• Praetors Edict
• Roman Dutch Law
• Exception To Plea
• Absolute Liability