The Webber Wentzel media team is acting for amaBhungane (the Mail & Guardian Center for Investigative Journalism), which has been admitted as a friend of the court in the appeal between Nova Property Group Holdings Ltd and Others v Cobbett and Others in the Supreme Court of Appeal. The matter deals with, amongst other things, whether section 26(2) of the Companies Act, 2008 confers an unqualified right to inspect the securities register of a company.

The crucial question is whether any person who complies with the procedure set out in the Companies Act may inspect the registers of a company, or whether it is possible for the company to refuse to grant access on the grounds that apply to a request in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) (or on the basis that the person requesting the registers has an improper motive for doing so).

It has been argued by amaBhungane that if access to securities registers is subject to the grounds of refusal under PAIA, that this will have a significant negative impact on journalists and the public. It was further argued that the interpretation that the right under section 26(2) is unqualified is supported by numerous factors, including the legislative history of section 26 of the Act (which shows that Parliament deliberately moved from its initial position of permitting some kind of system of refusal, to making the right unqualified), the right to freedom of expression and the right to media freedom as contained in the Constitution. The parties and amaBhungane have filed their written submissions and the appeal is likely to be heard early in 2016

Submitted by Webber Wentzel