F v Minister of Safety and Security: Vicarious liability and state accountability for the criminal acts of police officers

Abstract

The Constitutional Court judgement in F v Minister of Safety and Security 1 is a ground-breaking judgement in two important respects: firstly, it finally does away with the fiction that an employee acts within the course and scope of her employment in the so-called deviation cases in the law of vicarious liability, and secondly it clarifies the normative basis for holding the state vicariously liable for the criminal acts of police officers. In this latter respect it significantly promotes state accountability for the criminal acts of police officers.