Media Institute of Southern Africa : Promoting Media Diversity . Pluralism . Self-Sufficiency . Independence

Government's ban on adverting with them in the High Court. In 2003, MISA Malawi provided financial support to a journalist who succeeded in getting a damages award after having been assaulted. MISA South Africa joined three other partners in providing financial support to a journalist to challenge her subpoena to testify before a commission of enquiry. This was based on the principled stand that journalists should not be required to reveal their sources in courts of law except in special circumstances.

MISA Zambia used LDF funds to take the Minister of Information to the High Court in 2004, seeking a ruling on the role of the minister in the appointment of the boards of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation and the Independent Broadcasting Authority. In December 2004, the High ruled that the minister had no power to veto the names selected by the Appointments Committee. By providing support, MISA enabled a successful legal challenge which MISA hopes will act as a deterrent to those who may seek to curtail the enjoyment of media freedom rights for media practitioners.

MISA receives many requests for financial assistance from media practitioners facing libel and defamation charges, but has not been able to support all cases, not least due to insufficient resources. MISA therefore prioritizes strategic cases where there are reasonable chances of success and where the case has a clear bearing on the issue of media freedom. The decision whether or not to support a case currently lies with the Legal Defense Fund Committee, which can consult and take decisions electronically. The committee meets whenever the need arises and consists of five members drawn from the RGC and TFB, with the Regional Director being an ex-officio member.

Since 1998 The MISA National Chapters in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe have established national LDFs, modeled on the regional Legal Defense Fund. The other National Chapters like Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania are in the process of establishing theirs, based on the needs. Aside from mobilizing funds, the challenge the national LDF committees will face will be to provide a fairly rapid response to requests for assistance, as their commitment to impartiality and objectivity might unduly delay the process. This could be resolved by having committees that include lawyers or retired judges, whose experience and knowledge would expedite the process of deciding on the merits of each case.

In the long-term, MISA aims to establish a system in which the Regional LDF acts a contingency fund. It will be used when national LDFs do not have sufficient funds to support an important case or need additional resources to appeal in ‘landmark' cases. Once established, national LDFs are expected to provide assistance in local cases while the regional LDF remains responsible for those countries where there is no national LDFs.

Assistance to a national LDF is provided on a case-by-case basis. It is the intention that ultimately, the regional LDF will be a source of last resort assistance in major cases, especially those taken on appeal with a good chance of establishing a regional legal precedent. Back