The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF), a non-profit organisation whose members include editors and senior journalists, is committed to championing freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics and diversity in the South African media.
SANEF is not a union and promotes excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom. Here are extracts from a SANEF statement issued last week:
After months of campaigning for media access to the magistrates’ courts, the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is pleased to report that the Magistrates’ Commission has set national guidelines regarding media access to court proceedings.
They also describe procedures for applications for permission to photograph, film or record court proceedings, primarily high profile cases.
The guidelines are meant to assist magistrates around the country strike a balance between the media’s right to report, broadcast and publish court proceedings and the right to a fair trial.
There have been certain conflicts between the right to freedom of expression and the open justice principle on the one hand, and the right to a fair trial, as well other competing constitutional rights such as the privacy of witnesses and other interested or affected parties, on the other hand.
SANEF believes that these guidelines reinforce freedom of the press as well as the country’s democracy that recognises the fact that courts must be open and accessible to the public, unless there is good reason against it…
These rights are enshrined in the Constitution, including the freedom of the press and other media and the freedom to receive or impart information.
SANEF has had to condemn an increasing number of incidents involving police members who prevented journalists from reporting on court proceedings where neither the justice department nor the magistrate gave a directive to bar the journalists.
Clear guidelines
The guidelines are clear, that all representatives of the media ‘shall have the right to attend any court proceedings to report on such proceedings’.
They also state that reporting should not in any way interfere with proceedings and it should be balanced and fair.
The guidelines now stipulate that courts ‘ought not to restrict the nature and scope of the coverage, broadcasting and publication unless prejudice is demonstrable’.
It says that ‘mere conjecture or speculation that prejudice might occur is not enough’.
The guidelines grant the media the right to take still photographs and video footage during court proceedings in the following circumstances, unless the court otherwise directs:
* Court activities for 15 minutes before the commencement of proceedings each day;
* During any adjournment of proceedings or at the end of proceedings;
* Any argument presented to the court where no evidence is led, including but not limited to opening and closing argument and sentencing; and judgment and/or any other judicial rulings.
* Lastly, the guidelines also state that individual journalists may record the proceedings on handheld digital devices, including mobile telephones and may use such digital devices to take photographs where no flashes are used without disrupting the proceedings.
SANEF regards the guidelines as a milestone after months of engaging the Magistrates’ Commission.
‘We believe they will go a long way towards facilitating a cordial working relationship between the courts and the media in South Africa.’
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