Abstract

Since the first introduction of a provision dealing with the use of (lethal) force in effecting an arrest in South African criminal procedure in 1917, the provisions have been amended a total of four times with a possible fifth amendment soon to be passed in terms of the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill B39 – 2010. In this article the wording, interpretation and development of the provisions from its common-law roots and the first provision in the 1917 Act to the latest proposed amendment will be analysed and compared.