46. No Court shall require any person mentioned in section 23 of this
Act to disclose, nor shall such person be guilty of contempt of court
for refusing to disclose, the source of information contained in a
newspaper or broadcast for which he is responsible unless it is
established to the satisfaction of the Court that such disclosure is
necessary in the interests of national security, territorial integrity
or public safety, or for the prevention of disorder or crime or for the
protection of the interests of justice;
Provided that the Court shall not order such disclosure unless it is
also satisfied that in the particular circumstances of the case the need
for investigation by the Court outweighs the need of the media to
protect its sources, due regard being taken of the importance of the
role of the media in a democratic society;
Provided further that nothing in this section shall be interpreted as
exempting any person mentioned in section 23 of this Act from proving
the truth of any facts attributed by him in terms of section 12 of this
Act.
Access to information held by Government
47. (1) The Government shall establish procedures to give
representatives of the press the information which helps them fulfil
their public tasks.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in the following
cases:
(a) where such information could foil, impede, delay or jeopardise
the appropriate process of pending legal proceedings or where Government
or another public authority would be legally entitled to refuse to grant
such information in a court or other tribunal established by law;
(b) where the granting of such information would entail the
disclosure of information received by Government in confidence;
(c) where such information would violate an overriding public
interest or a private interest warranting protection<
(d) where the information concerns matters related to national
security or public safety;
(e) when the gathering of the information requested would place a
disproportionate burden on the public administration.
(3) It shall not be lawful for Government to issue general
instructions that prohibit the giving of information to any newspaper or
licensed broadcasting service holding a particular view or to any
specified newspaper or licensed broadcasting service.
