The liability of a bank for robbery of a customer in its premises in South Africa
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Date
2024-05-31
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Publisher
National University of Lesotho
Abstract
Banks play a significant role in the economy by providing essential financial services
to individuals and businesses. Because of the nature of their banking business, which
entails the handling of money, banks have had to put up some security measures in
their premises. These security measures are not only meant to safekeep the money
held or stored in the bank, but also to protect the employees of the bank and the
customers from criminal attacks. The protection of customers in the bank premises is
very important because customers are usually not allowed to bring or carry weapons
into the bank. It is primarily for this reason that banks are usually perceived by
members of the public as some of the safest place for customers, such that it is
believed that customers cannot be robbed while in the bank premises.
The foregoing notwithstanding, however, customers do often get robbed in the bank
premises in South Africa and many other parts of the world, including the United
States of America. Whenever this happens, the customers who have been robbed of
their monies believe that the bank should be held liable or responsible to compensate
them for their loss; wherefore legal scholars, lawyers and courts of law have
frequently had to examine the potential liability of the bank for robbery of the
customer’s money in the bank premises. This is by no means an easy question
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Keywords
Liabiity, theft, violence, banks, South Africa