High Court dismisses EFF’s attempt to suspend new Joint Rules

Johnathan Paoli

THE Western Cape High court has dismissed on Tuesday the urgent application by the EFF to suspend the new parliamentary joint rules, which are to come into effect at the State of the Nation address on Thursday.

The recent change in the rules makes it a violation to disrupt the president’s speech through points of order and specifically bans any form of what it terms “grossly disorderly conduct”.

The EFF’s legal team argued that the rules affected their right to free speech and right to protest enshrined in the Constitution.

In its judgement the court held that the EFF failed to provide any evidence to substantiate their claim that the amended rules were only adopted as a means to “target” them as all other political parties would be subjected to the impugned rules.

Judge Deidre Kusevitsky said that the Red Berets failed to satisfy the requirements for the