Judgment reserved in ANC v Cope name battle

Sapa reports that The Pretoria High Court yesterday reserved judgment on the ANC’s efforts to stop the country’s newest political party from using the name "Congress of the People." No time frame for the resumption of the matter was given. Earlier yesterday, advocate Cedric Puckrin SC (acting for Cope) referred to the ANC’s heads of arguments as "short and scanty on the facts". He said the ANC had failed to show that Cope was misrepresenting itself as the sole heir to the 1955 congress, the Congress of the People. Meanwhile the Independent Electoral Commission withdrew from the matter after reaching an agreement with the ANC. The ANC was opposing Cope’s choice of name on the grounds that no party or person could appropriate the name of 1955’s Congress of the People, at which the Freedom Charter was adopted. For earlier postings on this intriguing matter, click here.

Reserving judgement with no time frame for the decision (which is how I read the report) is about as much of a let down as punching a pillow. If anyone has a copy of the heads of argument filed by the ANC, please could they email them here.