Judgment No. CCZ 9/2016 25
Const. Application No. CCZ 316/2012
established in a law that is precise and clear, both in a material and in a formal sense. The
applicants remained protected by a norm that meets all the requirements of legality in accordance
with the fundamental right guaranteed to them by the Constitution.
It is worth noting that consistent with the right to the protection of the law, the
procedural and substantive remedies for alleged contravention of s 38B(1) of the Act are based
on the principle of respect for due process of the law. A person who fails to produce a television
or radio licence at a designated office within seven days of written notice to do so must be
brought before a court where he or she is afforded an opportunity to defend his or her conduct.
That person has a right which the applicants exercised, to raise as a defence to a charge, the
question of the constitutionality of the provisions of the Act he or she is alleged to have
contravened. The applicants failed to establish on a balance of probabilities violation of the
fundamental right to the protection of the law as they alleged.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Each applicant sought to impugn the constitutional validity of s 38B(1) of the Act
on the ground that it violated the fundamental right to freedom of expression enshrined in s 20(1)
of the Constitution by prohibiting, under threat of criminal sanctions, possession of equipment
capable of receiving a broadcasting service without a licence.
Section 20(1) of the Constitution recognizes and guarantees to every person a
right to freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information. The right
Select target paragraph3
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