National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities v Independent Communications Authority of South Africa

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) promulgated the Code for Persons with Disabilities Regulations, 2021, regulating accessibility obligations of broadcasting service licensees. The National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), a representative disability organisation, participated in the public consultation process and made detailed submissions, particularly advocating for open captioning to ensure adequate access to news for deaf and hearing-impaired persons. ICASA published the final regulations with an accompanying reasons document on 9 April 2021, largely retaining closed captioning requirements and not adopting NCPD’s core proposals. Dissatisfied, NCPD requested further information and reasons during June–August 2021 and ultimately instituted review proceedings under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (PAJA) on 5 October 2021, being the 180th day after publication. The Gauteng Division of the High Court dismissed the review on the basis of unreasonable delay. NCPD appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was dismissed with no order as to costs.

The case reaffirms strict compliance with PAJA’s unreasonable delay rule, clarifying that filing within 180 days does not automatically preclude a finding of unreasonable delay. It confirms that requests for additional or clarificatory reasons do not suspend the running of the PAJA time periods once reasons are known. The judgment underscores regulatory certainty, finality of administrative decisions, and the prejudice inherent in delayed challenges to regulations of general application. It also illustrates the procedural constraints on raising constitutional challenges for the first time on appeal.