80. Article 9 of the African Charter provides that: "(1). every individual shall have the right to receive information. (2). every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law." 81. Article 9 of the Charter guarantees the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to receive information and the right to express and disseminate opinions within the law. 82. The Complainants submit that the law imposed by the Respondent State is unreasonable and restrictive to freedom of expression, thus violates Article 9 of the Charter. 83. The Respondent State on the other hand contends that the restrictions imposed by the AIPPA are reasonable, within the law and necessary for maintenance of public order. The Respondent State argues further that the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed within permissible limitations, and that it is not an absolute and unrestricted individual right. 84. To determine whether the requirements of Section 79(1) and Section 80 of AIPPA are in contravention of the African Charter, the African Commission will examine what these two provisions mean, and also examine the meaning of Article 9 of the Charter, with a view to determine whether or not there is a violation of Article 9 of the African Charter. 85. Section 79 of AIPPA reads as follows: No journalist shall exercise the rights provided in section seventy-eight in Zimbabwe without being accredited by the Commission… Any person who wishes to be accredited as a journalist shall make an application to the Commission in the form and manner and accompanied by the fee, if any, prescribed: Provided that a mass media service or news agency may file an application for accreditation on behalf of journalists employed by such mass media service or news agency…. (5) The Commission may accredit an applicant as a journalist and issue a press card to the applicant if it is satisfied that the applicant- (a) has complied with the prescribed formalities; and (b) possesses the prescribed qualifications; and (c) is not disqualified by virtue of subsection (2), or applies for accreditation in terms of subsection (4). Every news agency that operates in Zimbabwe, whether domiciled inside or outside Zimbabwe, shall in respect of its local operations not employ or use the services of any journalist other than an accredited journalist who is a citizen of Zimbabwe, or is regarded as permanently resident in Zimbabwe by virtue of the Immigration Act [Chapter 4:02]: Provided that the news agency may employ or use the services of a journalist referred to in subsection (4) for the duration of that journalist's accreditation. 86. The Complainants are asking the African Commission to determine whether the conditions stipulated under Section 79 amount to restrictions, which constitute a violation of Article 9 of the African Charter. It is evident from the above provision that the compulsory accreditation of journalists can result in the imposition of liability, including penal sanction for those who cannot, or may not be able to fulfil the requirements of accreditation, and to that end are deemed to