NM and others v Smith and others (Constitutional Court 2007)
2nd January 2007, 12:00 pm
Three HIV positive women whose identities had been published in a biography without their prior consent sued the author of the book, Charlene Smith, the subject of the book, Patricia DeLille, and the publisher, New Africa Books. Smith had obtained a clinical trial report which identified the three women by name. The women had signed limited consent forms for the disclosure of their identities in the clinical trial report but not for further dissemination of their identities.

In a split decision, the Constitutional Court found that the three women’s right to privacy was infringed by the publication of their names as Smith and others had intentionally disclosed their names without obtaining their consent.

The Court also held that the disclosure of the women’s HIV status violated their right to dignity given the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/Aids in South Africa. The Court awarded the three women R35,000 each and ordered their names deleted from all unsold copies of the book.

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