UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
College of Law
School of Criminal Justice
⋄⋄
Section 205 CPA and the Journalist's
Duty to Disclose Sources
Press Freedom, Source Con
dentiality and Judicial Discretion
⋄⋄
Module Code: LCR4803 Media Law
Assignment: Assignment 2, Semester 1
Due Date: 3 April 2026
Topic: s 205 CPA, Source Con
dentiality & Judicial Discretion
Referencing: OSCOLA
Quali
cation: LLB / BCom Law
Submitted in partial ful
lment of the requirements for LCR4803 at the University of South Africa.
,UNISA | LCR4803 Source Con
dentiality & s 205 CPA
Contents
Scenario 3
1 1. The Legal Framework: Section 205 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 4
1.1 1.1 What Section 205 Provides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 1.2 Applicability to a Journalist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 1.3 The Constitutional Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 2. The Journalist's Legal Obligations Under Section 205 CPA 6
2.1 2.1 The General Obligation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 2.2 The Right to Remain Silent on Questions That May Incriminate . . . . . . . 6
2.3 2.3 The Absence of a Statutory Journalist Privilege . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 3. Consequences of Non-Compliance with a Section 205 Subpoena 8
3.1 3.1 Statutory Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2 3.2 Duration of Imprisonment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.3 3.3 Impact on the Investigation and Prosecution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4 4. Judicial Discretion to Enforce Disclosure 9
4.1 4.1 The Balancing Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.2 4.2 The Constitutional Court's Approach in Nel v Le Roux NO . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.3 4.3 Comparative Judicial Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5 5. Do Professional Ethical Codes Constitute a Valid Legal Defence? 12
5.1 5.1 The Role of Professional Ethics in Journalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5.2 5.2 Legal Status of Ethical Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5.3 5.3 Ethical Codes as Supporting Evidence in Constitutional Arguments . . . . . . 12
5.4 5.4 The Goodwin Principle in the South African Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.5 5.5 The Whistleblower Dimension: Protected Disclosures Act . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6 6. Critical Assessment and Conclusion 14
6.1 6.1 Synthesis of the Legal Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.2 6.2 Critical Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.3 6.3 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Page 2 of 17
, UNISA | LCR4803 Source Con
dentiality & s 205 CPA
Reference List 16
Page 3 of 17
College of Law
School of Criminal Justice
⋄⋄
Section 205 CPA and the Journalist's
Duty to Disclose Sources
Press Freedom, Source Con
dentiality and Judicial Discretion
⋄⋄
Module Code: LCR4803 Media Law
Assignment: Assignment 2, Semester 1
Due Date: 3 April 2026
Topic: s 205 CPA, Source Con
dentiality & Judicial Discretion
Referencing: OSCOLA
Quali
cation: LLB / BCom Law
Submitted in partial ful
lment of the requirements for LCR4803 at the University of South Africa.
,UNISA | LCR4803 Source Con
dentiality & s 205 CPA
Contents
Scenario 3
1 1. The Legal Framework: Section 205 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 4
1.1 1.1 What Section 205 Provides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 1.2 Applicability to a Journalist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 1.3 The Constitutional Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 2. The Journalist's Legal Obligations Under Section 205 CPA 6
2.1 2.1 The General Obligation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 2.2 The Right to Remain Silent on Questions That May Incriminate . . . . . . . 6
2.3 2.3 The Absence of a Statutory Journalist Privilege . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 3. Consequences of Non-Compliance with a Section 205 Subpoena 8
3.1 3.1 Statutory Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2 3.2 Duration of Imprisonment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.3 3.3 Impact on the Investigation and Prosecution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4 4. Judicial Discretion to Enforce Disclosure 9
4.1 4.1 The Balancing Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.2 4.2 The Constitutional Court's Approach in Nel v Le Roux NO . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.3 4.3 Comparative Judicial Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5 5. Do Professional Ethical Codes Constitute a Valid Legal Defence? 12
5.1 5.1 The Role of Professional Ethics in Journalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5.2 5.2 Legal Status of Ethical Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5.3 5.3 Ethical Codes as Supporting Evidence in Constitutional Arguments . . . . . . 12
5.4 5.4 The Goodwin Principle in the South African Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.5 5.5 The Whistleblower Dimension: Protected Disclosures Act . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6 6. Critical Assessment and Conclusion 14
6.1 6.1 Synthesis of the Legal Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.2 6.2 Critical Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.3 6.3 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Page 2 of 17
, UNISA | LCR4803 Source Con
dentiality & s 205 CPA
Reference List 16
Page 3 of 17
