Publication: Sapa Issued: Cape Town Date: 2007-07-20 Reporter: Sapa

SANEF Welcomes Sub Judice Judgment

 

Publication 

Sapa-AFP
BC-SANEF-SUBJUDICE

Issued

 Cape Town
Date

2007-07-20

Reporter

Sapa

 

The SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef) has welcomed a recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judgment that, it says, effectively makes the sub judice rule outdated *1.

"This means that recourse to this legal excuse to avoid public discussion of an issue -- a favourite ploy of politicians *1 -- is no longer valid, and those using it can be called to account," Sanef said in a statement on Friday.

The legal term sub judice is Latin for "under judgment", and means a particular case or matter is currently under trial, or being considered by a judge or court. It is often offered as a reason not to discuss a matter because it is "before the court".

"[Sanef] welcomes the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal in favour of eTV over an attempt by the national director of public prosecutions (DPP) to prohibit the broadcast of a documentary programme on the baby Jordan murder until the DPP had given his approval.

"The judgment by Mr Justice Robert Nugent overturned a ruling by the Cape Provincial Division in favour of the DPP and stated that publication was susceptible to being declared unlawful and thus subject to prohibition only if the prejudice that the publication might cause to the administration of justice is demonstrable and substantial and there is a real risk that prejudice will actually occur."

The judge had made the point that mere conjecture or speculation that prejudice might occur was not enough.

"Judge Nugent's decision means that South African law has been brought into line with global trends and what may be expected in contemporary democracies, and effectively rules that the sub judice rule is outdated."

Further, the Judge had declared the principle enunciated in the judgment would seem to apply whenever the exercise of press freedom was sought to be restricted in protection of another right.

"Sanef, which has always maintained that those prohibitions offended against the media's constitutional rights to freedom and were eroding the practice of press freedom in the country, commends the SCA for stopping the slide into legal censorship and for upholding the freedom of the media," Sanef said.

With acknowledgement to Sapa.


*1       Actually, if there was a rule, it was well understood by those who knew what the term actually meant - it was just opportunistically abused by those who needed a way out of a tight situation.


*2      And (many) others.