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The South African Protection of State Information Bill, formerly named the Protection of Information Bill and commonly referred to as the Secrecy Bill, is a highly controversial piece of proposed legislation which aims to regulate the classification, protection and dissemination of state information, weighing state interests up against transparency and freedom of expression.〔(Protection of State Information Bill ) (B6B-2010), as presented by the Ad Hoc Committee on Protection of Information Bill of the National Assembly.〕 It will replace the Protection of State Information Act, 1982, which currently regulates these issues. While critics of the bill have broadly accepted the need to replace the 1982 Act, they argue that the new Bill does not correctly balance these competing principles, and point to a number of provisions that undermine the right to access information and the rights of whistleblowers and journalists.〔("PEN Expresses Concern Over Secrecy Bill Passed in South African National Assembly" ), PEN South Africa, 23 November 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2013.〕 The Bill was passed by the National Assembly on 22 November 2011. It was passed with amendments by the National Council of Provinces on 29 November 2012, and the amended bill was approved by the National Assembly on 25 April 2013. In September 2013 President Jacob Zuma refused to sign the Bill into law and instead sent it back to the National Assembly for reconsideration.〔("President refuses to sign draconian bill into law" ), Reporters Without Borders, 12 September 2013.〕 ==New bill== In the mid-2000s, a parliamentary review process to replace apartheid laws included a planned repeal and replacement of the Protection of Information Act 84 of 1982.〔http://mg.co.za/uploads/2011/06/28/110617-currie-klaaren-evaluating-the-information-bills-548.pdf 〕 Critics of the new bill, most notably led by a civil society coalition called the Right2Know Campaign, have broadly accepted the need to replace the 1982 Act, human rights activists, legal experts, opposition parties and a wide range of civil society bodies argued that the Bill does not correctly balance these competing principles, and point to a number of provisions that undermine the right to access information and the rights of whistleblowers and journalists.〔("PEN Expresses Concern Over Secrecy Bill Passed in South African National Assembly" ), PEN South Africa, 23 November 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2013.〕 Of particular concern are the severe penalties for leaking documents, which entail jail terms of up to 25 years. They also highlight the need for a "public interest defence" exempting from prosecution individuals in possession of classified documents that reveal state ineptitude or corruption, or could otherwise be said to contain information vital to the interests of the public. Advocates of the bill dispute the need for such a defence, stating that the current draft of the proposed legislation which criminalises classification of documents revealing “corruption, malfeasance or wrongdoing by the State” with jail terms of up to 15 years prevents the need for such a defence as no such information will be classified. Following the re-introduction of the Bill in 2010, significant concerns were raised by civil society and media organisations about the ‘draconian’ nature of the new bill. The concerns as submitted in various documents focused on: * overly broad definitions of “national interest”, “security”, “national security” and “state security” * the classification of commercial information held by the state and the ability to classify such information not held by the state; * the classification of commercial information as ‘top secret’, ‘secret’ and ‘confidential’ based on hypothetical or speculative harm to the ‘national interest’ and * the criminalisation of activities which would undermine investigative journalism Specifically, the definition of ‘national interest’ as a basis to classify information was considered too broad, including “All matters relating to the advancement of the public good; the pursuit of justice, democracy, economic growth, free trade, a stable monetary system and sound international relations; and security from all forms of crime.” Various organisations collectively known as “The Right2Know” Campaign, listed seven major demands for a revised legislation.〔("The Secrecy Bill still fails the Freedom Test!" ), Right2Know, 29 August 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2013.〕 Although the two are often conflated in contemporary debates over press freedom in South Africa, the proposed Media Appeals Tribunal is not mentioned in the Protection of State Information Bill. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Protection of State Information Bill」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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