application to the Western Cape High Court to interdict the Speaker, and the Minister of State Security, from blocking cell phone signals in Parliament. The court application included a request for a judicial order calling on Parliament’s TV service to broadcast pictures of disruption and turmoil when it occurred in Parliament instead of censoring those scenes by focusing the cameras on the Speaker. Sanef argued that this conduct was unconstitutional as it did not accord with the values of Parliament and of transparency. In a full bench judgment of the court on May 28, two judges ruled against the media and one dissented, agreeing with the media companies which, encouraged by the dissenting judgment, tendered an appeal with funding from the Open Society Foundation. The crux of the argument against the media was contained in the court’s finding. This stated that it was not for a court to tell Parliament how it should conduct its affairs and that it was not at all unreasonable for Parliament to decide that visuals of unparliamentary conduct and gross disorder should not be broadcast (as the applicants demanded) in real time, frame by frame, of what may be the most egregious conduct. The judge added that such broadcasts could only foster such conduct by ensuring an audience for it far beyond Parliament. ``It can only weaken discipline in Parliament, undermine and jeopardise its functioning,’’ the court concluded. Sanef, however, stated that the majority judgment did not fully appreciate the grave danger of allowing parliament to impose rules that curtail freedom of the media. During the fracas in Parliament a Media24 journalist, Jan Gerber, was physi- 54 So This is Democracy? 2015 cally abused by the VIP Protection Unit outside the House. He later opened criminal and civil cases against the police, which are still in progress. Using the placement of advertisements as a means of pressure or control, is considered corrupt and a breach of the Press Code. Repeal of criminal defamation law planned by government The most exciting media related news of the year in South Africa was a declaration by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) that it planned to remove criminal defamation from common law. This surprise announcement was made during a workshop held by the ANC, in September, to ascertain the views of the public, civil society and the South African National Editor’s Forum (Sanef) on criminal defamation. The ANC defined defamation as the act of intentionally making untrue statements about another person which damages his or her reputation. The party’s legal research group also suggested that defamatory statements made through the media should not be considered a criminal offence.