c. In respect of Section 10 (1) of the Bill, the possibility of closed proceedings should be separated from the requirement for hearings to be public. The starting point should be that in the spirit of transparency and open democracy, proceedings of the Commission shall be public. d. In respect of Section 10 (2) of the Bill, it is not clear why the representative of entities in proceedings should be the principal officer. Consider adopting the approach taken for instance in the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act where “a director or employee of [the pertinent] corporate body” would be a competent representative. e. Under Section 10 (3) of the Bill, sections 9 to 18 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act [Chapter 10:07] are infused into the Zimbabwe Media Commission Bill. The inclusion of these imported sections is problematic because: i. Section 9 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act provides for the possibility of the exclusion of “any particular person or persons” from the Commission’s proceedings. This is a worrisomely wide power that could easily be abused, and it violates the principles of natural justice that are enshrined in the Constitution, and ii. Section 12 (c) provides for the swearing in of witnesses. However, the practice of swearing is unacceptable for some individuals on religions, ethical, intellectual, and other convictions, or beliefs. iii. Section 13 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act also refers to the oath. In other jurisdictions the concept of “affirmation” as an alternative to oath taking is now common, and iv. Section 14 (1) of the Commissions of Inquiry Act refers to “insults” on any Commissioner, but the ZMC Bill does not define the term. This term is too broad and must therefore be defined under the interpretation section of the ZMC Bill, if the importation of Section 14 of the Commissions of Inquiries Act is at all necessary. v. Section 14 (1) of the Commissions of Inquiry Act also refers to “detention in custody until the rising of the commission.” All of this language sounds very drastic. Similarly, the possibility of “a fine not exceeding level five or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and 8