The importance of media freedom has been upheld by the court ruling allowing media access to the Judicial Service's preliminary inquiry into allegations against Cape Judge President John Hlophe, the South African National Editors' Forum said on Wednesday.

"Sanef hails this judgment as a victory for press freedom in South Africa," it said in a statement,

It welcomed the Johannesburg High Court ruling by Judge Frans Malan, which set aside the JSC's decision that the preliminary hearing not be open to the public or the media.

Malan said media houses must be permitted to "set up such equipment as is necessary in order to obtain a sound recording" of the hearing for broadcasting purposes.

Sanef said that the specific order around equipment was important.

"The use of TV and radio recording equipment is essential to enable the media to exercise its constitutional rights."

Applicants welcome ruling

The Mail&Guardian — one of the applicants along with Avusa, Independent Newspapers, e.tv — also welcomed the ruling.

"The judgment is yet another ringing endorsement of the constitutional role of the media in securing the democratic process from courts, which are increasingly developing our jurisprudence around freedom of speech and openness," Mail&Guardian editor Nic Dawes said in a statement.

"We hope the JSC will now agree that the processes surrounding Judge Hlophe and the Constitutional Court must be conducted with absolute rigour and transparency, and we are very pleased to be able to bring our readers the details of those processes without resorting to leaks and inferences," Dawes said.

"I hope the commission will also clarify whether it shares the views of its counsel on the role of the press in a democratic society".

Advocates Kate Hofmeyer for the M&G, and Steven Budlender for e.tv, argued that the decision to exclude the public breached fundamental principles of the constitution and of administrative justice.

The JSC, supported by counsel for Hlophe, had sought to keep the hearings closed, with the JSC's advocate Bashir Valley arguing that the media "turn serious debate into pornography" and was "driven by their own agendas".

The judges alleged last year that Hlophe made an inappropriate approach regarding a judgment on Jacob Zuma, before he became the country's president.

Hlope hits back

Hlophe lodged a counter-complaint that they had infringed his dignity by making the complaint public.

Dawes said the JSC had already conducted an extensive review of the evidence in public following an earlier court ruling by Judge Nigel Willis.

The JSC was ordered to pay the costs of the case.

The JSC's preliminary inquiry will proceed on Thursday.

It will be heard by a three-person committee consisting of advocate Marumo Moerane, advocate Ishmael Semenya and Gauteng Judge President Bernard Ngoepe.

Moerane said on Wednesday that he had heard about the court ruling from the media and could not comment until he had studied it himself.

He said that Thursday's inquiry was expected to begin at 10am at the Parktonian hotel in Braamfontein.

The subcommittee he will be part of will be asked to recommend to the full commission by 15 August whether to press ahead with a formal investigation.

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