The Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunal Process
The Senate of the University of the Witwatersrand notes with concern two measures currently under consideration by Parliament and the African National Congress. Although the measures are distinct, they both stand as deep threats to fundamental principles enshrined in our constitution.
The Protection of Information Bill, currently under discussion in Parliament, may be a necessary replacement for apartheid-era legislation, but in its current form would obstruct the access to information citizens need to ensure transparent and accountable governance. The Bill entrusts the power of classification, and the avenue of appeals against classification, to those who might benefit from the obscurity provided by classification.
The Bill allows for ‘national interest' to be invoked in justification of classification, but provides sufficient latitude of interpretation of what constitutes the ‘national interest' to allow unscrupulous use of this measure. The current formulation of this Bill and the heavy penalties it mandates would impede both the right of the public to legitimate freedom of information and the intellectual enquiry that is the essence of academic work.
The proposal for a Media Appeals Tribunal, currently under consideration by the ANC, might enable direct State suppression of the freedom of expression. Accountable to Parliament, which is constituted overwhelmingly by the ruling party, the Tribunal could undermine the media's necessary role in informing society. The ruling party's antagonistic attitude to the print media has been illustrated by the recent public eviction of a journalist from a media conference and - very disturbingly - by the arrest and detention of a journalist at the order of a politician. Even in the absence of such provocation the proposed tribunal would represent an unacceptable intrusion into media freedom.
Taken together, the two initiatives attack key principles that underpin a democracy - access to information and freedom of speech - and threaten this country's widely admired constitutional order. The Senate of this University expresses deep concern at the implications of these measures for civil liberties and the pursuit of intellectual enquiry, and insists that, in their current form, they be abandoned.
Statement issued by the University of the Witwatersrand Senate, September 21 2010
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