Civil organisation Section27 has hauled President Cyril Ramaphosa to the Constitutional Court over the signing of the Copyright Amendment Bill.
The public interest law centre, representing Blind SA, approached the Apex court on Wednesday on an urgent basis accusing Ramaphosa of failing to sign the bill.
This significant move comes two years after the Constitutional Court ruled that the Copyright Act was unconstitutional, as it restricted access to reading materials for the blind and visually impaired.
The Copyright Act required individuals with visual impairments to obtain consent from copyright holders to convert books into accessible formats like braille or large print.
However, the Constitutional Court deemed this requirement unconstitutional and ordered Parliament to amend the Act by September 21, 2024.
The court also introduced an exception to copyright for individuals with visual impairments as an interim remedy.
Since then, Parliament has taken steps to amend the Act through the Copyright Amendment Bill, which includes exceptions for persons with disabilities.
According to Section27, both Houses of Parliament approved the bill on February 29, 2024, and sent it to Ramaphosa for signature.
Despite this, the president has yet to sign the bill, prompting the urgent application.
In a statement released on Wednesday after the urgent application was launched, the organisation’s spokesperson, Gillian Pillay, said the delay had serious consequences.
“Without the bill, there is now a gap in the law regarding the conversion of materials into accessible formats… Moreover, South Africa cannot join the Marrakesh Treaty, which would facilitate cross-border exchange and provide access to hundreds of thousands of titles in accessible formats.
“Without the enactment of the bill, the severe shortage of accessible reading materials in South Africa will continue, as will the ongoing violations of the rights of persons who are blind or visually impaired,” she said.
She added that Blind SA argued that Ramaphosa had failed to act diligently and without delay in signing the bill.
Blind SA is demanding a mandatory order compelling Ramaphosa to sign the bill within 10 days or deem the Copyright Act to include the previous court-ordered exception to copyright.
“The enactment of the bill is crucial to address the severe shortage of accessible reading materials in South Africa and ongoing violations of the rights of persons with visual impairments.
“Parliament has done its part; now it’s up to the President to take the next step,” said Pillay.
She added that the civil rights organisation would await directions from the Constitutional Court.
At the time of going to print, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya had not yet responded to a text sent by The Star on Wednesday.
It’s not the first time there has been a dispute between the organisation and Ramaphosa.
In May this year, the organisation threatened court action if Ramaphosa delayed further in signing the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA Bill).
Ramaphosa had to buckle to pressure from Section27 and other pressure groups and signed the controversial bill last month.
This despite protests from the DA, the second largest party represented in the Government of National Unity (GNU).
The party has since threatened to go to court and leave the GNU, along with another party, the Freedom Front Plus, who were also in dissent against the bill.
The ANC’s alliance partner, Congress of SA Trade Union (Cosatu), accused Ramaphosa of bending over backwards by signing the bill into law under duress.
Union leaders along with its tripartite alliance, the SA Communist Party, have been against the GNU since its inception after the ANC’s poor showing at the May 29 elections.
The Star
mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za