The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) has announced that it will formally approach the Magistrates Commission next month to address a growing pattern of restrictive court reporting and the exclusion of journalists from judicial proceedings across the country.
Speaking on behalf of the industry body, SANEF Media Freedom Chair Nicki Gules expressed deep concern over the increasing number of magistrate courts denying media personnel entry or restricting their ability to cover high-interest public cases.
Gules stressed that such actions undermine the constitutional principle of open justice, which guarantees the public’s right to remain informed about legal proceedings through an independent press.
According to Gules, SANEF has compiled a comprehensive list of specific incidents where reporters were barred from magistrate courtrooms or faced arbitrary reporting hurdles.
The forum plans to present this documented evidence directly to the Magistrates Commission during their upcoming meeting to demand clear guidelines and greater compliance with open-court principles from judicial officers.
–ChannelAfrica–
