THE South African National Editors Forum has urged Parliament to include two crucial clauses in the Protection of State Information Bill to strike a balance between national security and transparency.
Appearing before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) ad-hoc committee processing the proposed law, lawyers Dario Milo and Okyerebea Ampofo-Anti said the introduction of public interest and public domain defence clauses was the best option to create a balance between government's constitutional duty to ensure national security while not compromising the principles of transparency and accountability.
The public interest defence would protect journalists and newspapers against possible 25-year jail terms for publishing classified information while the public domain defence would justify the possession of state secrets already publicised.
Plea for defence in secrecy bill
THE South African National Editors Forum has urged Parliament to include two crucial clauses in the Protection of State Information Bill to strike a balance between national security and transparency.
Appearing before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) ad-hoc committee processing the proposed law, lawyers Dario Milo and Okyerebea Ampofo-Anti said the introduction of public interest and public domain defence clauses was the best option to create a balance between government's constitutional duty to ensure national security while not compromising the principles of transparency and accountability.
The public interest defence would protect journalists and newspapers against possible 25-year jail terms for publishing classified information while the public domain defence would justify the possession of state secrets already publicised.