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The Constitutional Court.
Alon Skuy, Gallo Images, Sowetan
The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the amaBhungane Center for Investigative Journalism on Thursday, upholding a ruling by the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg that found parts of the Communications Act Interception Regulations (RICA) unconstitutional.
In a majority ruling written by Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga, the court dismissed the appeal of the police ministers and the State Security Agency with costs.
READ | amaBhungane files documents with ConCourt to confirm the higher court’s ruling that RCIA is unconstitutional and invalid
He said the high court’s declaration of unconstitutionality was upheld only to the extent that RICA did not provide guarantees to ensure that a designated judge is sufficiently independent.
Judge Madlanga also said that RICA did not “adequately prescribe procedures to ensure that data obtained pursuant to the interception of the communication is handled legally and is not used or interfered illegally.
It also failed to provide adequate protection when the subject of the surveillance was a practicing lawyer or journalist, he said.
The amaBhungane Center for Investigative Journalism approached the high court to obtain a confirmatory ruling.
In 2019, amaBhungane emerged victorious after the high court ruled that the mass surveillance and interception of foreign signals by the National Communications Center were “illegal and invalid,” News24 reported at the time.
The legal battle began in 2017 when the publication received confirmation that its managing partner, Sam Sole, had been under surveillance under RCIA legislation.
News24 previously reported that this occurred while Sole was investigating the National Tax Authority’s decision to drop corruption charges against former President Jacob Zuma.
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