Reconciling the irreconcilable: Democracy and the National security exemption to the right to freedom of information
type: CreativeWork
description: The prevailing South African Constitutional order is defined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa as a sovereign constitutional democracy. Freedom of access to government held information by the public is a fundamental and indispensable tenet of a sovereign constitutional democracy. The essential link between the two is recognized by the South African Constitution which guarantees the right to freedom of information as a fundamental human right. The Constitution simultaneously recognizes that all rights, including the right to freedom of information, may be subject to limitation. However, any such limitation must be reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality, and freedom. The right to freedom of information is subject to often severe limitations in the arena of national security matters on the ground that the need for secrecy in this arena is self-evident. The limitation of the right may be necessary, but must, as in the case of all other limitations, be reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society. A comparative overview of most notably the United States of America, a stable and mature sovereign constitutional democracy, reveals that it, in the practical application of the limitation of the right to freedom of information in the arena of national security does not follow through on its commitment to democratic values. In the practical application of the limitation, the United States may be accused of failing to meet the standards required by a sovereign constitutional democracy in the extent of power it affords the unaccountable executive branch of government over the control and dissemination of information in the arena of national security. More specifically, in the power it affords this branch to define national security. And further, in its failure to hold this branch accountable for decisions made in this regard. This lack of accountability may be attributed to a conservative jud…
abstract: The prevailing South African Constitutional order is defined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa as a sovereign constitutional democracy. Freedom of access to government held information by the public is a fundamental and indispensable tenet of a sovereign constitutional democracy. The essential link between the two is recognized by the South African Constitution which guarantees the right to freedom of information as a fundamental human right. The Constitution simultaneously recognizes that all rights, including the right to freedom of information, may be subject to limitation. However, any such limitation must be reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality, and freedom. The right to freedom of information is subject to often severe limitations in the arena of national security matters on the ground that the need for secrecy in this arena is self-evident. The limitation of the right may be necessary, but must, as in the case of all other limitations, be reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society. A comparative overview of most notably the United States of America, a stable and mature sovereign constitutional democracy, reveals that it, in the practical application of the limitation of the right to freedom of information in the arena of national security does not follow through on its commitment to democratic values. In the practical application of the limitation, the United States may be accused of failing to meet the standards required by a sovereign constitutional democracy in the extent of power it affords the unaccountable executive branch of government over the control and dissemination of information in the arena of national security. More specifically, in the power it affords this branch to define national security. And further, in its failure to hold this branch accountable for decisions made in this regard. This lack of accountability may be attributed to a conservative jud…
author: Martin, Patricia-Ann
keywords: Public Law
date published: 2009
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:22:50Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Public Law

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35317