The Freedom of Expression Institute welcomes the ruling on defamation by the Appelate Division of the Supreme Court -- the so called Bogoshi judgement -- in favour of "City Press" which is a vital decision for the maintanance and expansion of media freedom in South Africa. It has removed an unfair burden of legal liability on the media which has inhibited its ability to exercise freedom of expression in South Africa.

The ruling by judge by Mr Justice J J F Hefer, with the concurrence of four fellow-judges, also represents a victory for the freedom of expression principles contained in South Africa's Constitution and overturns previous Supreme Court and Appellate Division decisions which had severely restricted the media in its role as a public watchdog.

In the past when the media published allegedly defamatory material it had to prove that it was true in all respects and that it was for the public benefit. This strict requirement, the Judge stated, had been rejected in the United States, England, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand and the European Court of Human Rights and could not be defended in South Africa.

He pointed out that in South Africa, freedom of expression had not been given sufficient weight especially in regard to the role of the press when considered against the competing value of the reputation of the plaintiff and ruled that "it would be wrong to regard either of the rival interests... as more important than the other".

He accordingly rejected the need for material to be proved true in all respects and found that the media had to prove that it had not been negligent in publishing the material.

The FXI believes the new ruling will give the media greater scope to carry out its watchdog function and welcomes the judge's forceful affirmation of the role of the media in society in which he stated, "we must not forget that it is right, and indeed a vital function of the press to make available to the community information and critisism about every aspect of public, political, social and economic activity and thus to contribute to the formation of public opinion".

Also welcomed is the judge's further view, "conversely, the press often becomes the voice of the people - their means to convey their concerns to their fellow citizens, to officialdom and to government".

The FXI has noted the increasing restiveness of overnment officials and politicians over media reporting and criticism and their readiness to attribute hidden agendas as motives to the media. It accordingly welcomes the judicial recognition of the media's role in society.