Johannesburg — Body wants to be admitted as friend of the court a few days before hearing into access to information law

CONSTITUTIONAL Court judges yesterday expressed irritation at the Human Rights Commission which lodged an application to be admitted as friend of the court a few days before a hearing into the matter challenging the constitutionality of a section in the Promotion of Access to Information Act.

The court yesterday considered whether section 78(2) of the act, which allowed a person who is refused access to information to challenge the refusal in court within 30 days, violated the right of access to information.

Adv Frank Snyckers, for the commission, told the court that the commission should be admitted as friend of the court because it had relevant submissions to make and was responsible for monitoring the implementation of the act.

Judge Sandile Ngcobo asked Snyckers whether the commission was not aware of the case until last Friday when it filed its papers. "This case started some time ago in the high court. You want to tell me that the Human Rights Commission ... was not aware of this case. The issue here is that on the eve of the hearing, you file voluminous documents and expect respondents to respond," Ngcobo said.

Judge Zac Yacoob asked Snyckers whether it was ignorance about the case or whether the commission chose deliberately to apply late. Chief Justice Pius Langa asked whether the commission could not have made these submissions at an earlier stage.

Snyckers told the court the commission heard about the matter at a very late stage. Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke also said there had been a number of late applications lately.

"It shows very little regard to us as the court. It is my plea to you and others ... to show a level of respect to the court," Moseneke said.

The case arose out of a request that Stefaans Brümmer, a Mail & Guardian journalist, made to the Department of Social Development for access to certain information concerning the relationship between its then minister, Zola Skweyiya , and Sandile Majali.

The director-general refused the information. An appeal to Skweyiya was also unsuccessful in February 2007. Brümmer only approached the Western Cape High Court for relief in July 2007, well after the 30-day period required by section 78(2).

In March, the high court refused to condone Brümmer noncompliance with section 78(2), but declared the section unconstitutional as it did not give the person requesting information adequate time to approach a court for relief against a refusal. The matter was then sent to the Constitutional Court for confirmation of the unconstitutionality of the section.