CASE NO: 25/2011 – SABC 3 VS MAIL & GUARDIAN LIMITED AND SOLE – JUDGMENT TO ESTABLISH THE BASIS ON WHICH THE SABC INTENDED APPROACHING THE COMPLAINTS AND COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE OF ICASA

Background

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission directed the SABC to broadcast a summary of its judgment, as drafted by the Tribunal, within seven days.  The BCCSA held that the SABC had contravened the Broadcasting Code. When an application for leave to appeal was lodged, the Tribunal extended the period to seven days after the appeal judgment was issued or, if no appeal was allowed, seven days after the last judgment within the BCCSA structure dismissing such an application for leave to appeal. 

When the second application for leave to appeal also failed, the SABC informed the BCCSA Registrar that it intended applying to the Complaints and Compliance Committee of ICASA to set aside the decision of the Tribunal on the basis that it had committed a serious irregularity in the proceedings, and that it had not applied the rules of fair administrative justice. This was the first time that this argument had been put forward in these proceedings and no details were given, even at this stage.  

Since the order of the Tribunal was still valid and the summary had to be broadcast within seven days, the Chairman of the BCCSA called upon the parties to address him as to whether the seven-day period should, once again, be extended by the Tribunal.

Judgment

The Chairman refused to propose to the Tribunal to extend the period until the Complaints and Compliance Committee of ICASA had decided the matter, for the following reason:

The Regulations in accordance with which the SABC stated that it would approach the Complaints and Compliance Committee of ICASA do not grant the SABC the right to approach the Complaints and Compliance Committee. This right was only available to complainants who, in the present matter, were the Mail and Guardian and Mr Sole, one of its journalists.  The SABC, as a licensed broadcaster, could accordingly not, in law, take the matter to ICASA. 

There was, accordingly, no necessity to propose to the Tribunal that the order only be broadcast after the matter had been decided upon by the Complaints and Compliance Committee. 

In fairness, however, the Tribunal at the proposal of the Chairman, has permitted SABC3 to broadcast the summary on or before the 28^th June 2011 during the first twelve minutes of that evening’s seven o’clock news. 

If this order is not given effect, the BCCSA will be obliged, in terms of its recognition conditions, to inform ICASA of the omission of the SABC to conscientiously give effect to its order. It should be stated that the SABC has an unblemished record of compliance with the BCCSA orders since the inception of the BCCSA in 1993 .