Environmental Law

Sep
01
2022

Courses on climate change law, environmental law, open judges’ eyes to the coming storm

By Carmel Rickard

New awareness of climate change and litigation associated with it, has dramatically changed the perception of over 20 judges who attended a training course on environmental law and climate change law under the auspices of Jifa last month. Almost all of them started out unsure of what climate change law actually is, and doubting whether they would ever be involved in litigation concerning climate change.

Judges arrived for Jifa’s recent training on environmental law and climate change law, a little confused. Most knew about environmental law and some had even dealt with cases that raised issues of environmental law. But what was climate change law? Was it something different? Another branch of environmental law, perhaps? Might it actually even be the same thing? And what could the role of the judiciary be in relation to climate change? – Surely it was something that international organisations dealt with, rather than domestic courts?

Mar
24
2022

Major court victory against ‘deadly air’ in South Africa’s most polluted region

By Carmel Rickard

One of the most important recent South African judgments on environmental law has delivered by the high court in Gauteng province. The case concerns a region of SA where high levels of air pollution risk the health of all the people living there. This is well-known to the government, but very little has been done about it. Now, environmental organisations have challenged the government’s inertia, and have won a major victory, with the court declaring that constitutional rights were breached by the failure to act.

Read judgment

This is a major environmental judgment, about whether air pollution is a violation of constitutional rights, and whether the court is entitled to issue orders to deal with the problem. Answering ‘yes’ to both these key questions, Judge Colleen Collis has written a long (130 pages) and tightly-framed decision.

Feb
04
2022

Wiser to restrain ongoing activity than risk irreparable damage to the environment – Zambian judge

By Carmel Rickard

Two Tanzanian-owned entities operating on the edge of a significant national park in Zambia, have been ordered to stop cutting down trees, clearing vegetation or putting up constructions at least until the dispute between them and the trust running the reserve is resolved. The judge hearing the application for an interim order against the two entities said that the status quo ‘should not be maintained. It would be wiser to restrain ongoing activity rather than risk irreparable damage to the environment.’

Read judgment

In what could prove the preliminary to a crucial conservation-related battle, perhaps even one of the most important environmental law disputes of the year for Zambia, the high court in Lusaka has ordered two Tanzanian-owned ventures on the edge of a national park, to stop cutting down trees, clearing vegetation or putting up any further constructions.

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