On September 29, the Supreme Court of Appeal made a ruling in favour of "City Press" 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 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 M&G, 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.

ENDS