12 Kasım 2009, Perşembe
saat: 20:25
rules/patterns of social conduct.
moral order?
ethics?
moral judgments?
goodness? rightness?
legal rules?
legal norms?
good faith? (aka bonne foi)
etc. etc. etc.
public and private morality.
-South African murder case (S. v Mokonto 1971 2 SA 319(A) Citation taken from Kleyn D.; Viljoen F. Beginners Guide for Law Students - Second Edition, p.15, Juta&Co., 1998)
A Zulu man killed a woman he believed to be an evil witch after she had threathened to kill him with witchcraft. He claimed in his defense that as a Zulu he genuinely believed that she would kill him with magic if he did not kill her first. Unfortunately for the defendant, the white judge rejected the individual belief of the Zulu man and imposed the law based on the morality of the dominant white group within the South African society, saying that:
"...The common law of South Africa in regard to murder and self-defense reflects the thinking of western civilization. Hence, in considering the unlawfulness of the appellant's conduct, his benighted belief in the blight of witchcraft cannot be regarded as reasonable. To hold otherwise would be to plunge the law backward into the Dark Ages."
Whether a contract is against good morals is usually decided according to the general standards of morality. The subjective moral values of the persons involved are not taken into account.
I will come to my discussion points later on.
And yes, in a society where "homo homini lupus" (man is wolf to man), nobody is secure.
TBC.
