SUSPENSIONS BY NATIONAL COMMUNICATION COUNCIL ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THE LAW
The
press in Cameroun is regulated by the 1990 law on social communication.
Section 17 (1) (new) of the
law provides, inter alia, that, where the
conduct of a news media is contrary to public order and good morals, the
minister in charge of territorial administration may suspend the said
media. I have not been privileged to find any other provision of that
law providing that some other body has concurrent jurisdiction with the
minister in question.
The
last but two sections of the law, (Section 88), did create a national
communication council, specifying that the organization and functioning
of the said council would be laid down by an executive order. A decree
subsequently issued, defining the jurisdiction of the National
Communication Council.
Without
any necessity to go into the substance of the decree, it should be
pointed out that, in the hierarchy of laws, a law in the technical sense
takes precedence over an executive order. In the event of conflict
between the two, the law of course prevails. One may be bold enough to
say, without any fear of contradiction whatsoever, that that is the
incontrovertible position of the law.
It
stands to reason, ipso facto, that the jurisdiction of the National
Communication Council as spelt out by a decree crumbles in the face of
the unambiguous legal provision granting to the minister in charge of
territorial administration exclusive jurisdiction over the suspension of
news media. The council would have had concurrent jurisdiction with the
minister, ratione materiae, only and only if another law had granted
the National Communication Council jurisdiction to suspend news media… A
decree taken in the furtherance of a law may only hopelessly purport to
fly on the same plane with the law; or dastardly venture to contradict
it.
As
it is, the suspension of Afrique Media, as of other news media before
it, was inconsistent with the law in force; and is, therefore, illegal,
if need there is to emphasize in superfluity. Any member of the National
Communication Council snarling and/or smarting from the urge of
vendetta may simply be ignoramus.
By AYAH Paul Abine,
Supreme Court of Cameroon.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
No comments:
Post a Comment