- Diljan v Minister of Police (Case no 746/2021) [2022] ZASCA 103 (dated 24 June 2022) (SCA)

Relevant legal provisions applicable to this judgment
Section 40(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 ("the CPA") provides as follows:
"40 Arrest by peace officer without a warrant
(1) A peace officer may [in Afrikaans text: ‘kan’] without warrant arrest any person -
(b) whom he or she reasonably suspects of having committed an offence referred to in Schedule 1 [of this CPA], other than the offence of escaping from lawful custody;
(c) to (q) …”

Schedule 1 of the CPA
Note that one of the offences listed in this Schedule 1 is "common law malicious injury to property".
(Emphasis added and words in square brackets inserted by Pollex.)

Introduction
This matter is an appeal against a decision of the High Court in Pretoria. The appellant in this matter is Ms Avril Edith Diljan (hereinafter referred to as Ms Diljan). She instituted a civil action against the Minister of Police in the magistrates' court, Pretoria, pertaining to a claim of unlawful arrest and detention, which claim was dismissed with costs by the presiding magistrate.

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[This is an extract of a discussion about recently amended legislation as published in Pollex in Servamus: June 2023. If you are interested in reading the rest of the discussion, send an e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or a WhatsApp or SMS message to: 078 712 1745 to find out what you need to do to acquire the article. Ed.]