<P> The applicant argued that the SCA's conclusion--that the principles of vicarious liability did not render the respondent liable--was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights, and that the principles of vicarious liability therefore had to be developed to render the respondent liable . </P> <P> O'Regan J, in her decision for a unanimous court, held that the overall purpose of section 39 (2) of the Constitution was to ensure that the common law was infused with constitutional values . This normative influence had to extend throughout the common law, not only to instances in which the existing rules were clearly inconsistent with the Constitution . The obligation section 39 (2) imposed on the courts was extensive, therefore, and required them to be alert to the normative framework of the Constitution not only when some startling new development of the common law was in issue, but in all cases in which the incremental development of the rule was in issue . </P> <P> The protection of the applicant's fundamental rights (to security of the person, dignity, privacy and substantive equality) were found to be of profound constitutional importance . It was also part of the duties of every police officer to ensure the safety and security of the public and to prevent crime . These, noted O'Regan J, were constitutional obligations affirmed by the Police Act . </P> <P> O'Regan J held further that, if the principles of vicarious liability were regarded through the prism of section 39 (2) of the Constitution, it became clear that to characterise their application as a matter of fact, untrammelled by any considerations of law or normative principle, could not be correct . The effect would be to sterilise the common - law test for vicarious liability and to purge it of any normative or social or economic considerations . Given the clear policy basis of the rule, as well as the fact that it was developed and applied by the courts themselves, such an approach could not be sustained under the new constitutional order . The principles of vicarious liability were imbued with social policy and normative content; their application would always prove to be difficult and require the drawing of what could be troublesome lines . </P>

K v minister of safety and security 2005 (6) sa 419 (cc)