The supreme court of appeal yesterday dismissed StarSat’s leave to appeal a high court judgment that communications regulator Icasa had erred in granting it a licence to broadcast pornography.
The news was welcomed by “human rights organisation” Cause For Justice as it means StarSat has to stop broadcasting pornography immediately.
However, should StarSat decide to approach the constitutional court for relief, the decision would be suspended pending proceedings in the higher court.
Cause for Justice says its aim is to “promote and protect constitutional rights, freedoms and obligations.”
Separate applications against StarSat and Icasa were also brought by Doctors For Life and the Justice Alliance.
Cause For Justice CEO Wynand Viljoen said: “We stand for human life and human worth. What is most important for us is the value of human dignity afforded to women and children, not to be exposed to harmful material. We do not want women to be objectified. Although the matter was won on a technical point, we want women’s rights to be respected, protected and promoted.”
In a statement, the organisation said it would oppose any attempt by StarSat to obtain leave to appeal to the constitutional court. The court’s decision stated that StarSat’s appeal had “no reasonable prospect of success”.
The appeal was dismissed with costs.
StarSat could not be reached for comment. — © 2015 NewsCentral Media
