Mozambique: Constitutional Council Declares Regulations On Telecommunications Unconstitutional

Maputo — The Constitutional Council (CC), Mozambique's highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law, has declared the government's regulations on telecommunications unconstitutional, after the country's Communications Institute(INCM) was granted the power to block the internet in the event of an "imminent risk to public security or State security."

The regulations, approved under a government decree last December, are strongly criticized by civil society bodies because they could allow the authorities to shut down the Internet on spurious grounds of "national security".

Various civil society organizations have warned of the risks of excessive restrictions on freedom of expression and on access to information, advocating prudence in the approval of laws and regulations affecting the media and telecommunications.

The office of Mozambique's Ombudsman, Isaque Chande, had also submitted to the CC a request for a declaration that the government's regulations are unconstitutional.

Now, in a statement, the CC says that the Government had exceeded the regulatory powers granted to it under the Constitution by legislating in an area reserved exclusively for Parliament.

"It is evident that the author of the decree established a regulatory regime for monitoring, data collection, suspension of services and intervention in networks that imposes substantial restrictions on fundamental rights, namely freedom of expression and information (Article 48), the right to privacy (Article 68) and the inviolability of communications (Article 68)", reads the document.

According to the body, restrictions on fundamental rights may only be imposed through legislation approved by the parliament and not through executive regulations. "We are therefore faced with a violation of the principle and constitutional provisions relating to the reservation of legislative powers, since the matters regulated by the decree fall within the exclusive competence of the Parliament."

The decree, the CC says, was affected by organic unconstitutionality because it violated the principle of the separation of powers.

Read the original article on AIM.