As South Africa’s parliament finalises its debate on the Protection of State Information Bill, [pdf] it is important to take a step back from the detail and go back to basic principles. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Category: South Africa (Page 6 of 6)
It is fitting that last week, as South Africans were poised to celebrate Freedom Day, the day of the country’s first democratic elections, South Gauteng High Court handed down a judgment which has profound implications for media freedom. For the first time in South African constitutional democracy, in an interlocutory application for further discovery and particulars in a defamation case, Bosasa v Mail & Guardian ([2012] ZAGPJHC 71) a court has unequivocally endorsed the importance to the media of protecting the confidentiality of their sources. Continue reading
There can be no doubt that media freedom in South Africa suffered some major blows in 2011, not least by the lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly, passing the Protection of State Information Bill, known in some quarters as the Secrecy Bill. Much has been written about that draft official secrets legislation, and it suffices to say that if it is passed in its current form, it will have a chilling effect on media freedom and access to information. Continue reading
July 2011 will go down in history as a month the media in the UK will never forget. The telephone hacking scandal claimed the scalps of the Metropolitan police commissioner, the assistant commissioner and various senior managers of News International; resulted in 11 arrests; and led to the closure of the famous News of the World tabloid.
In contrast, July 2011 was a good month for the media in South Africa. As MPs continued their debate on the Protection of Information Bill – against a background of significant concessions in favour of Continue reading
Last week, in the case of The Citizen 1978 Ltd v McBride ([2011] ZACC 11) the South African Constitutional Court handed down a ground-breaking decision in the defamation case brought by Robert McBride, the former Ekurhuleni metro police chief, against The Citizen newspaper, who had called McBride a criminal and a murderer. The decision gives much-needed breathing space to the media, allowing more robust criticism of public figures. Continue reading
Le Roux and others v Dey (South African Constitutional Court) [2011] ZACC 4
With the new libel reform proposals doing the consultation rounds it is enlightening to see how other jurisdictions strike the balance privacy and dignity on the one hand, and freedom of expression on the other. Continue reading
In January this year, Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, committed the coalition government to the legislation, saying: ‘It is simply not right when academics and journalists are effectively bullied into silence by the prospect of costly legal battles with wealthy individuals and big businesses’.
Although the Bill is more like a codification than a radical reform, it contains a number of provisions which are of importance. This article looks at how some of its provisions would affect South African law. Continue reading
Analysis: Schoolboy scandals and defamation in South Africa. Quo vadis? – Dario Milo and Greg Palmer
The recent South African Constitutional Court judgment involving a schoolboy prank and the computer manipulation of their headmaster and deputy head, has raised some very tricky issues around laws of defamation. Dario Milo and Greg Palmer, who represented the “Klofies three” examine the judgment. Continue reading
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