South African Supreme Court of Appeal upholds constitutionality of criminal libel

In S. v. Hoho, the Supreme Court of Appeal held that the offence had not fallen into disuse and continued to serve a purpose in democratic society. Writing for the Court, Streicher ends by quoting with firm approval from the Privy Council's holding in Worme:

"Of course, some democratic societies get along without it. But that simply shows that its inclusion is not the hallmark of the criminal law of all such societies. In fact criminal libel, in one form or another, is to be found in the law of many democratic societies, such as England, Canada and Australia. It can accordingly be regarded as a justifiable part of the law of the democratic society..."