science

R v Korsten

R v Korsten is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand R v Korsten rather than just read about it. In short: Rex v Korsten is an important case in South African criminal law, with its bearing on the defence of impossibility. It was heard in the Natal Provincial Division on February 7, 1927, by Dove-Wilson JP, Carter J and Matthews J.

Key takeaways

R v Korsten belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect R v Korsten to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of R v Korsten from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rex v Korsten is an important case in South African criminal law, with its bearing on the defence of impossibility. It was heard in the Natal Provincial Division on February 7, 1927, by Dove-Wilson JP, Carter J and Matthews J. The case was an application for a ruling in terms of section 58 of the Criminal and Magistrates' Courts Procedure (Amendment) Act, in respect of a decision by the Magistrate of Eshowe.

Facts An accused person drove his cattle to be dipped in a township dip, but was prevented from dipping them by the township foreman, because he had not complied with a by-law which provided that no person should use the dipping tank except upon production of coupons previously purchased entitling him to do so. The accused's excuse for not having purchased such coupons was that he had not known it was necessary to do so.

Argument Lennox Ward for the Crown referred to Rex v Dabulamanzi; Rex v Nkombo.

Judgment The court held that, inasmuch as Act 14 of 1911 imposed an absolute duty on the accused to dip his cattle, the facts above set out afforded no defence:

Under the Stock Diseases Act the obligation to dip is imperative. The accused had to dip and had to arrange accordingly, either by providing a tank for himself or making use of one belonging to somebody else; and it is no excuse for him to say that he was ignorant of a condition precedent to the use of the tank which he elected to dip at. It was his duty to make himself aware of it, and if his neglect to do so has brought about his failure to dip in accordance with the law, he has contravened the law.

In Jetha v R, some two years later, Dove-Wilson JP found that the requirements of impossibility had been met.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with R v Korsten

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what R v Korsten claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to R v Korsten before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about R v Korsten ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of R v Korsten

In research: R v Korsten appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses R v Korsten in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: R v Korsten is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1927 in South African case law, Agriculture in South Africa, Natal Provincial Division cases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for R v Korsten outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study R v Korsten in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what R v Korsten means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain R v Korsten out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is R v Korsten in simple terms?

Why does R v Korsten matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study R v Korsten?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on R v Korsten.