EACJ to rule on application to strike out Govt notice of appeal on June 9
Representatives of the Media Council of Tanzania, Legal and Human Rights Centre , Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition and their advocates captured during a hearing on May 21, 2020 by the Appellate Division of the East African Court of Justice through tele-conference of an application to strike out notice by the Government to appeal against the judgment by the Arusha based regional court on the Media Services Act of 2016.
Dar es Salaam.
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) Appellate Division will deliver its ruling on June 9, 2020 on an application to strike out a notice of appeal by the Government of United Republic of Tanzania challenging the Court’s ruling in favour of media stakeholders against the Media Services Act (MSA) of 2016.
The decision was reached by the Arusha based Court after it heard arguments from both parties on May 21, 2020 through tele-conference.
The Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) and Tanzania human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) had filed Reference No 2/2017 before First Instance Division of EACJ challenging clauses of MSA which contravene the East African Cooperation Agreement as they are incompatible with the spirit and basics of good governance, democracy, rule of law and human rights.
The Court ruled in favour of the Applicants on March 28, 2019 and the respondent – the government was dissatisfied and resorted to appeal against the judgment on April 2019.
In its judgment the Court cited clauses 7 (3) (a) (b) (c) (f) (g) (h) (i) and (j), 13, 19, 20, 21, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 50, 54, 52, 53, 58, and 59 of the MSA as contravening good governance, democracy, rule of law and human rights.
The Court also ruled the media law that also contravenes clauses 6(d), 7(2) and 8 (1) (c) of the East Africa Cooperation pact and the Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania.
Speaking after the hearing of the application to strike the notice of appeal by the Government, Advocate Fulgence Massawe who is among counsels for the Applicants – MCT, LHRC and THRDC said by December 2019, the government had not appealed.
“According to Court regulations, the appeal was supposed to be presented within 30 days after presentation of notification to appeal, but until December 2019 when we presented application no 5/2019 on the notification for appeal the government had not formally appealed”, he said.
“And as we were following up on the compliance of the March 28, 2019 judgment by the court, the government was telling us that there was a notice for appeal”, said Advocate Massawe adding that the said notice was blocking implementation of the Court’s ruling.
Therefore he said, “today the Court heard about our application and has accepted arguments from both sides and will come up with a ruling on June 9, 2020”.
Since its enactment on 2016, MSA has been applied to suspend five newspapers at –different times and for different periods – Mawio newspaper (two years), Tanzania Daima newspaper (three months) Raia Mwema (three months) Mwanahalisi newspaper (two years and the Citizen (seven days).