Liquor Products Act, 1989 (Act No. 60 of 1989)

26. Vicarious liability
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(1)When a manager, representative, agent, employee or member of the family of a person (in this section called the principal) does or omits to do any act, and it would be an offence under this Act for the principal to do or omit to do such act himself or herself, that principal shall be deemed himself or herself to have done or omitted to do the act, unless he or she satisfies the court that there is a reasonable possibility that—
(a)he or she neither connived at nor permitted the act or omission by the manager, representative, agent, employee or member concerned;
(b)he or she took all reasonable steps to prevent the act or omission; and
(c)an act or omission, whether lawful or unlawful, of the nature charged, on no condition or under no circumstance fell within the scope of the authority or employment of the manager, representative, agent, employee or member concerned,

and the fact that such principal issued instructions whereby an act or omission of that nature is prohibited, shall in itself not constitute a reasonable possibility that he or she took all reasonable steps to prevent the act or omission.

[Section 26(1) substituted by section 15 of the Liquor Products Amendment Act, 2021 (Act no 8 of 2021), Notice No. 567 of GG45179, dated 17 September 2021 - effective 1 August 2023 as per Proclamation Notice 132 of 2023]

 

(2)When a principal is by virtue of subsection (1) liable for an act or omission by a manager, representative, agent, employee or member of his family, that manager, representative, agent, employee or member shall also be liable therefor as if he were the principal concerned.

 

(3)The provisions of subsection (2) shall not release a manager, representative, agent, employee or member contemplated in that subsection from any other liability which he may have incurred apart from the liability which he shares with the principal concerned.

 

(4)In the application of this section in any prosecution, evidence that any article was at the time of the act or omission charged, in the possession or under the custody, supervision, control or care of any manager, representative, agent, employee or member of the family of the principal, shall be prima facie proof that the principal concerned is the owner of the article concerned.