On Friday 31 May 2013 the spokesman for the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, announced that the President had “elected to withdraw” his legal claims against “various Media Groups“. It was reported that the President felt that “measured as against the broader nation interest and challenges which the country is faced with, his personal sentiments, however aggrieved he may feel, must give way“. This bland statement conceals one of the most spectacular of all libel climb-downs by a politician. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Category: South Africa (Page 5 of 6)
Last week, the Swaziland High Court handed down a decision with grave implications for freedom of expression. The Nation magazine, an independent publisher, and its editor Bheki Makhubu were found guilty of the crime of contempt of court, fined 400,000 emalangeni (about £28,000), and ordered to pay half of the fine within three days of the decision or be imprisoned for two years. Continue reading
This year seems destined to go down in South African constitutional history as the one in which the battle between free speech and national security was fought. The contest between these competing interests was brought into sharp focus again this week, in President Jacob Zuma’s message of condolence at the memorial service of the 13 soldiers tragically killed in the Central African Republic (CAR). Continue reading
As 2012 draws to a close, it is timely to take stock of some of the more important developments in the area of media law this year.
The courts have been very active in building on the solid foundation of media freedom which section 16 of our constitution protects.
The most important decision of the year was the Constitutional Court’s ruling in September in the challenge brought by Print Media South Africa and the South African National Editors’ Forum against aspects of the Films and Publications Act of 1996. Continue reading
On 29 October 2012, President Zuma formally withdrew his defamation claim against Sunday Times, Mondli Makhanya and the cartoonist Zapiro, and offered to pay 50% of their legal costs. The claim related to Zapiro’s “rape of justice” cartoon. Given that Zuma’s original claim was for R4 million in damages to his reputation and R 1 million in damages to his dignity, as well as legal costs and interest, the withdrawal – which sees Zuma paying money to those he sued and not the other way round – has rightly been hailed as a victory for the defendants. Continue reading
This is the third part of a speech delivered on Press Freedom day, 19 October 2012 at Wits University. The first part was posted on Wednesday 24 October 2012 and the second part on Thursday 25 October 2012.
The first threat I want to talk about is the use of apartheid era security legislation by members of the executive to stifle transparency and accountability. Continue reading
This is the second part of a speech delivered on Press Freedom day, 19 October 2012 at Wits University. The first part was posted on Wednesday 24 October 2012. The third part will be posted later this week
When you examine the media freedom jurisprudence of our courts in recent years, what is striking is how far we have come in quite a short space of time. Continue reading
This is the first part of a speech delivered on Press Freedom day, 19 October 2012 at Wits University. The second and third parts will be posted later this week
I am honoured to have been asked to talk about the state of media freedom on this important occasion, as we commemorate the 35th anniversary of Black Wednesday, 19 October 1977. Continue reading
Last week, the South African Constitutional Court handed down a momentous ruling on freedom of speech. The case of Print Media South Africa v Minister of Home Affairs ([2012] ZACC 22) concerned the constitutionality of aspects of the Films and Publications Act, 1996 (the Act) following its amendment in 2009. Continue reading
The law of privacy has once again been thrust into the spotlight in the aftermath of the publication of topless photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, by French magazine Closer, rapidly followed by a newspaper in Ireland, and magazines in Italy, Norway and Denmark. Continue reading
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