Pretoria: President Cyril Ramaphosa has requested the National Assembly to reconsider the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Amendment (RICA) Bill. This request stems from concerns about the bill’s potential vulnerability to constitutional challenges.

According to South African Government News Agency, the President has expressed his reservations about the bill’s constitutionality in a written communication to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza. He has also brought this referral to the attention of the relevant ministers. This decision follows section 79(1) of the Constitution, which mandates that the President must either assent to and sign a bill or refer it back to the National Assembly if there are constitutional concerns.

The National Assembly had previously passed the RICA Amendment Bill and sent it to the President for assent. However, President Ramaphosa is concerned that several constitutional issues within the bill require
reconsideration to ensure its objectives are met without risking judicial invalidation. His concerns are informed by the 2021 Constitutional Court judgment in Amabhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism and Others v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others.

The President highlighted specific areas of unconstitutionality, such as the lack of notification to subjects of surveillance under section 25A(2)(b) of the bill and the absence of a review mechanism for decisions to indefinitely suspend post-surveillance notification obligations. Additionally, he emphasized the need for the legislation to provide adequate safeguards for interception directions and notification suspension applications, which are currently sought and obtained ex parte.

President Ramaphosa has urged the National Assembly to revisit the bill to ensure it effectively achieves its intended purpose without facing constitutional challenges.