GroundUp reports that the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has ruled that the failure to give notice of a protest should not be made a criminal offense.
The judgment, delivered on Monday in a case that has become known as the SJC10, was unanimous. The legal battle began after activists from the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) chained themselves to the railings of the Civic Centre in Cape Town as an act of civil disobedience in 2013. They were fighting for better sanitation in Khayelitsha. According to the Regulation of Gatherings Act 205 of 1993, organisers of gatherings of more than 15 people have to give notice of their protest to the responsible officer of a municipality. Ten elected leaders, known as the SJC10, were convicted for contravening the Act by failing to provide notice. The Western Cape High Court then ruled that the applicable section of the Act was invalid and unconstitutional. The state appealed the judgment and the matter was heard by the ConCourt, which upheld the High Court judgment. It said that the criminalisation of not giving notice for a protest deterred the exercise of the right to assemble and “deterrence by its very nature limits the exercise of this right”. Zackie Achmat, one of the ten, commented: “The right to protest has been freed from its colonial and apartheid shackles. Protests, demonstrations and sit-ins can be convened anywhere without having to give notice.”
- Read the full original report by Zoë Postman at GroundUp
- Read too, Constitutional Court strikes powerful blow in favour of peaceful protest, at BusinessLive
- And also, Landmark ruling on gatherings and demonstrations affirms one of democracy’s greatest tools, at Daily Maverick
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page