Johannesburg - Judgment was reserved on Monday in global civil action group Avaaz's application to get the Airports Company of SA (Acsa) to reinstate an advertising campaign against the trade in lion bones.
Acting Judge Frank Bashall, at the High Court in Johannesburg, said he hoped to hand down judgment after the upcoming court recess.
Acsa asked Primedia, who had been commissioned to produce and place the posters, to remove them from OR Tambo International Airport after a journalist asked for permission to take pictures.
The posters were removed after nine days of the campaign, which was supposed to run for the month of August 2012.
Initially an assistant general manager expressed concern that the posters implied that President Jacob Zuma condoned the trade in lion bones. Avaaz has said the bones were intended for use in sex-enhancing medicine.
The advertisement featured a picture of a lioness staring down the barrel of a gun, with an image of Zuma in the background, and a message calling on Zuma to stop the trade.
The posters were placed on pillars in the international arrivals hall. Acsa decided it was not in the best interests of the country's image for visitors to see this, and told Primedia to remove the posters, which it did.
Avaaz contends this was a violation of the constitutional right to free expression and administrative justice laws, and hope Bashall would order they be displayed for the remainder of the one-month campaign. - Sapa