Subject Code : MELE6211
Assessment Task:
MELE6211 - Media Law and Ethics Essay Writing Assessment Answer

Question 1

According to Cambridge Dictionaries Online (s.a.) democracy is defined as

“The belief in freedom and equality between people, or a system of government based on this belief, in which power is either held by elected representatives or directly by the people themselves.”

The importance of freedom of expression in freedom of speech allows people to voice their morals and independence as well as their political views. The most topical of the “freedoms” in South Africa currently is the freedom of the press and other media and the freedom of artistic creativity.

The importance behind the freedom of the press and other media is based on establishing and maintaining a democratic society as our Constitution’s preamble depicts.

In a case before it, the Constitutional Court stated that “the ability of each citizen to be a responsible and effective member of our society depends upon the manner in which the media carry out their constitutional mandate”. The media informs the citizen of the events around them.

In an essay, fully discuss the right of freedom of expression. In your answer, you should further:

  • Make reference to any event, as reported in the media, where someone freely expressed themselves on a public/ social media platform and this in turn had the result of causing harm (defamation) to others;
  • Critically discuss whether, given our democratic dispensation, you think it is important or necessary to limit this right;
  • Address the conflict between various rights as entrenched in the Constitution, e.g. Right to Freedom of Expression versus the Right to Dignity.

Question 2

South African jurisprudence, at present, is attempting to bridge the gap between the past where the law scarcely protected human rights and the future where their protection is paramount. When it comes to the death penalty, the Constitution of South Africa is very clear; there are three basic rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights which focuses on the unconstitutionality of state-sanctioned murder. These rights are: the right to life, the right to freedom and security of the person and the right to dignity.

In the case, S v Makwanyane, one of the most important cases in the history of the Constitutional Court, the judges held that capital punishment violated the right not to be subject to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment in s 11(2) of the interim Constitution (the right to freedom and security of the person).

In March 1992, the then Minister of Justice issued a press statement in which he said:

“Opinions regarding the death penalty differ substantially. There are those who feel that the death penalty is a cruel and inhuman form of punishment. Others are of the opinion that it is in some extreme cases the community's only effective safeguard against violent crime and that it gives effect in such cases to the retributive and deterrent purposes of punishment.” 

Considering the press statement above, you have been approached to write an article on the death penalty which was abolished in South Africa in 1995. 

Question 3

Man claims R30m for wrongful arrest

Candyce Krishna, The Witness

Durban — A Port Shepstone man who was arrested unlawfully and detained for 369 days on a fraud charge has described his experiences as a year in hell. "Police brutality, sodomy and gangsterism — I have seen it all," said Danny Pillay, 47.

Pillay is suing the South African police minister and an officer from Port Shepstone organised crime unit for R30m. Summons were issued in the high court in Pietermaritzburg last Monday. The parties have 20 days from November 28 to respond. Pillay, convicted of fraud previously, said he was arrested by an officer of the organised crime unit on a charge of fraud at his home in Oslo Beach on June 17, 2010.

The arrest was supposedly on the basis of a warrant of arrest, but when Pillay requested a copy of the warrant from the second defendant, also police officer, he was told to apply to court if he wanted it. Certain that justice would one day prevail, Pillay fought from a prison cell for his voice to be heard. On June 17, 2011, the high court in Pietermaritzburg declared his arrest and detention unlawful and he was released on 20 June.

All criminal charges against Pillay were withdrawn in Port Shepstone Regional Court on November 11.

Discrepancies in documents produced in court showed that Pillay’s arrest and subsequent imprisonment were not done by procedure.

It was unclear as to when the alleged crime took place, as the dates on the warrants of arrest vary by a month.

When Pillay appeared in Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court on June 21 for a bail application hearing the case was postponed to June 30. The magistrate refused to consider the lawfulness of Pillay’s arrest and stated that he was only interested in considering the bail issue. The magistrate postponed the matter to July 9 and Pillay was denied bail.

The case was postponed to July 25, Pillay’s first court appearance after he was denied bail, and then finally to November 11 when the charges were withdrawn.

Consider the article above. Write an explanatory note/ discussion analysis on the various rights of all arrested, detained and accused persons in South Africa

Question 4

Missing baby found alive after hijacking

News24

Durban — The one-month-old baby who was taken in a car hijacking at a Durban shopping centre on Friday has been found alive, it emerged on Sunday morning. Siwaphiwe Mbambo was in the back seat of a white Toyota Yaris which was stolen from her mother at gunpoint in Greyville, Durban on Friday morning.

Her mother managed to grab her 8-year-old son but the two hijackers sped off with Siwaphiwe still inside. The vehicle was later found abandoned, and a R250 000 reward was offered for any information that would lead to her safe return. “Reports indicate that baby Mbambo has been found safe and an arrest has been made,” said Kyle Reenen of Marshall Security on Sunday

Kidnapping is the unlawful and intentional act of depriving or limiting a person’s freedom of movement.

You have been asked by your former school to provide an informative talk (in the form of a speech) on kidnapping in South Africa.

Question 5

The Secrecy Bill (The Protection of State Information Bill) seeks to create a legislative framework which will provide guidance on how state information is classified, declassified and ultimately protected from disclosure to the public. The chief criticism is that the bill has no “public interest” provision. The bill criminalises the publishing of classified information, even when that information is in the “public interest”. This means that journalists who uncover profligate spending of taxpayer’s money, for example, could be sent to jail for publishing that information, even if it is obviously in the public interest.

Write an essay on this bill, as introduced into Parliament. Your essay should address whether this bill will infringe on any important rights as entrenched in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. 

 

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  • Uploaded By : Mitchell Lee
  • Posted on : December 03rd, 2018

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