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The
legal implications of accreditation or non-accreditation of journalists
under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
prepared by
Irene Petras on behalf of MISA-Zimbabwe Chapter
October 19, 2002
© reserved -
Irene Petras October 2002
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To accredit,
or not to accredit? That is not the first question. Before
a journalist can begin to consider this he should make himself aware
of how the authority responsible for accreditation is constituted
and controlled, and its aims and objectives. Thus one has to look
at the Media and Information Commission, which is set up under Part
VII of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (hereinafter
referred to as "the Act").
The
Media and Information Commission
Who
falls within the confines of the Act?
Who
is entitled to be accredited?
Implications of
accreditation
The implications
of failing to accredit
Way forward in
the event of a decision not to accredit
In conclusion,
the words of the Supreme Court in the Chavunduka matter,
should be kept in mind and upheld by any court willing to protect
the most fundamental of freedoms – that of the freedom of expression:
"The
fact that the particular content of a person’s speech might ‘excite
popular prejudice’ is no reason to deny it protection for ‘if there
is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls
for attachment than any other, it is the principle of free thought
– not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the
thought of those we hate’".
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fact sheet
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