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A critical analysis of the psycholegal assessment of suspected criminally incapacitated accused persons as regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act

Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2011.

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Other Authors: Le Roux, Jolandi
Format: Thesis
Published: University of Pretoria 2013
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Le Roux, Jolandi
author_browse Le Roux, Jolandi
author_facet Le Roux, Jolandi
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2010, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2011.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:29.594Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2013
publishDateRange 2013
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publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/25053 A critical analysis of the psycholegal assessment of suspected criminally incapacitated accused persons as regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act Le Roux, Jolandi marozane@gmail.com Spamers, Marozane Forensic mental health assessor English criminal procedure Psychology and law Non-pathological criminal incapacity Mental defect Mental illness Pathological criminal incapacity Criminal capacity Psychiatry and law Psycholegal assessment Expert evidence UCTD Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2011. This dissertation critically investigates the current framework for psycholegal assessment of accused persons who are suspected or alleged to have lacked criminal incapacity at the time of committing an offence. This system must function as effectively as possible to ensure the interests of justice and the community are best served. Issues that impact how effectively the criminal justice system collaborates with psychologists and psychiatrists, who act as expert forensic mental health assessors, are identified and recommendations are made accordingly. The study first examines the theoretical base regarding the terminology surrounding criminal capacity, mental illness and automatism, with regard to how the understanding of concepts differ in law and psychology and psychiatry and how this negatively affects the process of assessment. The study then investigates the constitutional rights of accused persons admitted for observation, the effect this has on the patient and legal process, the accuracy and reliability of the diagnosis and the admissibility of expert evidence. Next a comparative study is made utilising English Law as a tool for analysis. The main findings are that lack of understanding and clarity are the main issues that hinder the collaboration between the legal and mental health care professions and that this may be remedied by a system of registration and education for forensic psycholegal assessors. An alternate and concurrent method of direct referral is also suggested as it may relieve some of the strain on the current system. Public Law unrestricted 2013-09-06T19:04:13Z 2011-05-27 2013-09-06T19:04:13Z 2011-04-11 2011-05-27 2011-05-27 Dissertation Spamers, M 2010, A critical analysis of the psycholegal assessment of suspected criminally incapacitated accused persons as regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act, LLM dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25053 > E11/342/gm http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25053 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-05272011-100103/ © 2010, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle Forensic mental health assessor
English criminal procedure
Psychology and law
Non-pathological criminal incapacity
Mental defect
Mental illness
Pathological criminal incapacity
Criminal capacity
Psychiatry and law
Psycholegal assessment
Expert evidence
UCTD
A critical analysis of the psycholegal assessment of suspected criminally incapacitated accused persons as regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act
title A critical analysis of the psycholegal assessment of suspected criminally incapacitated accused persons as regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act
title_full A critical analysis of the psycholegal assessment of suspected criminally incapacitated accused persons as regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act
title_fullStr A critical analysis of the psycholegal assessment of suspected criminally incapacitated accused persons as regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act
title_full_unstemmed A critical analysis of the psycholegal assessment of suspected criminally incapacitated accused persons as regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act
title_short A critical analysis of the psycholegal assessment of suspected criminally incapacitated accused persons as regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act
title_sort critical analysis of the psycholegal assessment of suspected criminally incapacitated accused persons as regulated by the criminal procedure act
topic Forensic mental health assessor
English criminal procedure
Psychology and law
Non-pathological criminal incapacity
Mental defect
Mental illness
Pathological criminal incapacity
Criminal capacity
Psychiatry and law
Psycholegal assessment
Expert evidence
UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25053
http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-05272011-100103/