Carmichele v Minister of Safety and Security and Another

The appellant, Ms Alix Jean Carmichele, was brutally assaulted and seriously injured on 6 August 1995 by one Coetzee, a convicted criminal, while he was awaiting trial on a rape charge and had previously been convicted of indecent assault. Coetzee had been released on his own recognisance by the Knysna Magistrate’s Court on 18 April 1995 after returning from psychiatric observation, despite his criminal history and complaints made to police and prosecutors about his dangerous behaviour. Prior to the assault, the appellant and others had repeatedly warned the police and the senior public prosecutor that Coetzee posed a danger and requested that he be detained or re-arrested. After the assault, the appellant instituted a delictual claim for damages against the Minister of Safety and Security and the Minister of Justice, alleging that the police and prosecutors owed her a legal duty to prevent Coetzee from causing her harm and had wrongfully failed to do so. The trial court granted absolution from the instance at the close of the appellant’s case.

The appeal was dismissed with costs, including the costs of two counsel, and the order of absolution from the instance granted by the court a quo was confirmed.

This judgment is significant for its articulation of the principles governing wrongfulness and legal duty in cases of omissions by state authorities, particularly prosecutors, in the context of bail decisions. It emphasised the requirement of reasonableness and the need for a special relationship to establish delictual liability for failure to prevent harm by third parties. The case later became important in South African law because it was overturned by the Constitutional Court, which developed the role of constitutional norms in determining wrongfulness.