1982 law criminalised free speech By Zoë Postman In a unanimous judgment, read by Justice Leona Theron on Tuesday, the Constitutional Court declared Section 1(1)(b) of the Intimidation Act of 1982 unconstitutional and invalid because it unjustifiably limited the right to freedom of expression. The section of the Act states that persons will be guilty of an offence if they act in a...

Legal experts have questioned the interdict granted to a group of Eastern Cape farmers, saying it unjustifiably limits the farm workers’ constitutional right to speak out against alleged poor treatment. By: Anna Majavu The high court in April granted commercial farmers in the Eastern Cape an interdict against farm workers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the area. But it has been described...

Ruling has implications for the legal concept of derivative misconduct By Wilmien Wicomb On 22 August 2012 a group of Dunlop employees started a protected strike that soon turned violent. Despite an interdict and the intervention of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa at the time, the violence escalated. On 26 September 2012 all the employees who participated in the...

The ruling will help people hold peaceful protests without fear of getting criminal records By Wilmien Wicomb On Monday, after five years of court battles, ten people who protested without permission in 2013 finally could rest easy that they would not get criminal records. Here’s an explanation of what the Constitutional Court judgment in the case known as SJC10 means. Section 17 of the Bill...

Ten Social Justice Coalition members who chained themselves to Cape Town civic centre will not have criminal records 19 November 2018   By Zoë Postman The Constitutional Court has ruled that the failure to give notice of a protest should not be made a criminal offense. The judgement, delivered on Monday morning in a case that has become known as the SJC10, was unanimous....