In a statement published via Sapa, the General Council of the Bar of South Africa (GCB) stated their concerns with the proposed Protection of Information Bill.<\/p>\n
A key point and their summary are published here:<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Information that needs protection can already be protected<\/strong><\/p>\n Information which genuinely requires protection from disclosure, and which in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act, No. 108 of 1996 (“the Constitution”) may legitimately be withheld from a person desiring access to that information, is already capable of being kept out of the public eye in terms of existing legislation, namely, the Promotion of Access Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n In short, while the Bill contains certain useful provisions, it also contains a number of provisions which are plainly inconsistent with, and indeed contrary to, the foundational values of the Constitution, including those of openness and transparency in Government and the accountability of Government to the electorate.<\/p>\n Section 1(d) of the Constitution provides that the Republic is a democratic state founded on the value of, inter alia, accountability, responsiveness and openness.<\/p>\n The Constitutional Court has recently, with reference to that provision, in the decision of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd v Minister for Intelligence Services: In re Masetlha v President of the Republic of South Africa & Another remarked that “[the] systemic requirements of openness in our society flows from the very founding values of our Constitution, which enjoin our society to establish democratic government under the sway of constitutional supremacy and the rule of law in order, amongst other things, to ensure transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the way Courts and all organs of State function”.<\/p>\n
to Information Act, No. 2 of 2000 (“PAIA”).
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