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Cape Argus reports that the Western Cape High Court ruled on Wednesday that groups of 15 or more people will, in future, be allowed to assemble in a peaceful gathering without notice.
The groundbreaking ruling followed a Social Justice Coalition (SJC) appeal challenging the constitutionality of section 12(1)(a) of the Regulation of Gatherings Act, which provides that organisers of gatherings with more than 15 people are required to submit a notice to protest to the city authorities. Judge Thandazwa Ndita also set aside the convictions of ten SJC members charged with contravening the Act in September 2013 after a peaceful protest outside the civic centre in Cape Town. The police argued before the court that notice of intention to protest was necessary to allow for authorities to plan ahead and ensure that gatherings were managed in an orderly manner with minimal disruption. But in her ruling, Ndita said: “The criminalisation of a gathering of more than 15 people on the basis that no notice was given violates the Constitution as it deters people from exercising their fundamental constitutional right to assemble peacefully unarmed. In my judgment the limitation is not reasonable and justifiable in an open democratic society, based on the values of freedom, dignity and equality.”
- Read this report by Zodidi Dano in full at Cape Argus
- Read too, Apartheid-era gatherings act declared unconstitutional, at GroundUp
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page