''Ex Parte Meier en Andere'', an important case in
South African succession law
The South African law of succession prescribes the rules which determine the devolution of a person's estate after his death, and all matters incidental thereto. It identifies the beneficiaries who are entitled to succeed to the deceased's esta ...
, concerned an application for the appointment of a ''curator bonis'' to manage the estate of a patient, one Armin Karel Meier. An order was also claimed that the patient was entitled to inherit from his father's estate. It appeared that the patient, while mentally disturbed, had on May 18, 1977, shot and killed his father, in "an apparently unmotivated, cold-blooded shooting."
[156.] Utilising the maxim “waar daar geen skuld is nie, is daar geen stra nie”—where there is no fault, there is no punishment—the court held that the patient was not an ''indignus'', and that he lacked the criminal responsibility to be found guilty of the crime. Accordingly, he was entitled to inherit from his father's estate.
The matter was heard on January 18, 1980. The applicants' attorneys were Savage, Jooste & Adams. MC de Klerk appeared for the applicant, PP Delport for the curator ''ad litem''.
See also
*
Law of succession in South Africa
The South African law of succession prescribes the rules which determine the devolution of a person's estate after his death, and all matters incidental thereto. It identifies the beneficiaries who are entitled to succeed to the deceased's esta ...
References
* ''Ex Parte Meier en Andere'' 1980 3 SA 154 (T).
Notes
1980 in South African law
1980 in case law
Transvaal Provincial Division cases
Law of succession in South Africa
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