Bizos: 'secrecy bill' unconstitutional on several counts

"The draft of the bill, as it stands, runs contrary to and indeed threatens many of the fundamental values and principles enshrined in the Constitution," he said. Bizos prepared the submission on behalf of human rights organisation Passop. It is one of 293 written presentations sent to the NCOP ad hoc committee processing the bill after it was passed by the National Assembly last year amid a public outcry.

Nelson Mandela's former defence lawyer enumerates seven flaws in the bill, starting with the absence of a public interest defence. "We view a public interest defence as imperative," Bizos said, adding that such a defence would exempt from prosecution certain individuals in limited and appropriate circumstances where the disclosure has been made in the public interest. In Bizos's view, the bill would undermine the provisions of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) of 2000.

PAIA makes disclosure in the public interest mandatory in cases where the information would reveal the commission of a crime, or the existence of imminent public safety risk or environmental risk, The New Age says. PAIA's status as the supreme law gives effect to section 32 of the Constitution in which citizens' right to access to information held by the state is enshrined.

Read the full article on www.thenewage.co.za.