Parliament, Wednesday, 5 March 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development has resolved to request President Cyril Ramaphosa to provide clarity on several matters regarding the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Amendment Bill (RICA) and the impact of the related Constitutional Court application for extension and interim measures.
The committee received legal guidance from Parliament’s Legal Services with regard to the processing of the RICA Amendment Bill, pursuant to a referral by the President in terms of s79 of the Constitution.
The committee also received an update on the status of the court application in the matter of The President of the Republic of South Africa v The Speaker of the National Assembly and Others, which is currently before the Constitutional Court. The Court declared RICA unconstitutional, to the extent that it, among other things, failed to put in place safeguards to ensure the independence of a judge designated in terms of RICA and provide adequate safeguards where the subject of surveillance is a practicing lawyer or journalist.
The Court declaration of unconstitutionality was suspended for a period of 36 months from the date of the judgement, to afford Parliament an opportunity to cure the constitutional defect. The judgement was handed down on 4 February 2021, thereby granting Parliament until 4 February 2024 to cure the constitutional defect.
The Bill was introduced to Parliament in August 2023 and it followed the public participation route in both Houses of Parliament. On 15 November 2024, the President addressed a letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly referring the Bill to the National Assembly for reconsideration following reservations about several matters.
Mr Nqola said that according to the legal advice the committee received, there seems to have been some developments in between the date of the President’s section 79(1) referral and the filing of the pending Constitutional Court application. The committee was therefore advised, through the Office of the Speaker as the head of the National Assembly, to request clarity from President Ramaphosa on the scope of the constitutional reservations in terms of Joint Rule 235(2)(b)(i) before processing the Bill further.
Mr Nqola said the committee needs to accelerate the processing of the Bill as South Africa cannot have a gap in law that will “compromise our national intelligence. As things stand now, there is nothing that governs surveillance in South Africa. That, in itself, gives an urgency to ensure that we deal with the Bill.”
According to him, this will give the committee the opportunity to address the President’s reservations, concerns raised by others and ensure that the Bill meets Constitutional muster. That clarity from the Presidency must be done in 14 days.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, MR XOLA NQOLA.
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