(FXI/IFEX) – According to FXI, on 29 September 1998, the Supreme Court of Appeal made a ruling in favour of “City Press” newspaper that journalists can escape liability for false and defamatory facts by showing they were reasonable or careful. “The judgement will release South African journalists from a long list of rulings which held […]
(FXI/IFEX) – According to FXI, on 29 September 1998, the Supreme Court of
Appeal made a ruling in favour of “City Press” newspaper that journalists
can escape liability for false and defamatory facts by showing they were
reasonable or careful. “The judgement will release South African journalists
from a long list of rulings which held them automatically liable for wrong
information, forcing them to prove the truth of their material,” reported
the “Mail & Guardian”.
Judge Hefer’s judgement overruled a line of cases which said that newspapers
should be “strictly liable” for their defamatory and wrong information. “If
we recognise, as we must, the democratic imperative that the common good is
best served by the free flow of information and the task of the media in the
process, it must be clear that strict
liability cannot be defended,” Judge Hefer said.
The court said that it should not be forgotten that it is the right and
vital function of the press to make available to the community information
and criticism about every aspect of public, political, social and economic
activity, and thus to contribute to the formation
of public opinion. According to the “Mail & Guardian”, media lawyers
welcomed the
judgement as a watershed in South African media law, which has now been
brought in line with jurisdictions that were more sensitive to the
importance of press freedom.
Iraj og Hege Nouri
Torstadbakken 29, 1364 Hvalstad – NORWAY
Tel: 66 98 08 69
e-mail: hnouri@online.no
or further information, contact the GDF at 4 Zubovsky Bul., room 432,
119021 Moscow, Russia, tel: +7 095 201 4974 /201 3242, fax: +7 095 201 4947,
e-mail: simonov@fond91.msk.ru
