Deadly air pollution case back in court
10 March 2023 at 6:37 pm
Update: Wednesday, 15 March, 2023
Leave to appeal granted. See court order below.
Court Order – Application for leave to appeal- Deadly Air
The Supreme Court of Appeal will consider arguments on the part of the order relating to the interpretation of section 20 of the National Environmental Management Act: Air Quality Act. We await a notice of appeal and record of proceedings in the High Court to be filed by the Minister in the Supreme Court of Appeal, whereafter documents will be exchanged between the parties setting out legal arguments ahead of the appeal hearing.
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On Monday, 13 March 2023 the Pretoria High Court will hear the state’s application for leave to appeal the landmark Deadly Air court judgment about air pollution in the Mpumalanga Highveld.
The Deadly Air court judgment was handed down by the Pretoria High Court in March 2022. It found that the poor air quality in the Highveld Priority Area (which extends from eastern Gauteng across the Mpumalanga Highveld), is in breach of residents’ section 24(a) Constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being.
The judgment declared that section 24 of the Constitution is immediately realisable in the here and now. The judgment also ordered the government to pass regulations to implement and enforce the Highveld Priority Area Air Quality Management Plan (Highveld Plan), which aims to clean up the air in the Highveld to meet health-based air quality standards.
Judge Collis found that the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has a legal duty to pass these regulations, and that she had “unreasonably delayed” in preparing and initiating regulations to give effect to the Highveld Plan.
The case was launched in June 2019 by the Emalahleni-based Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action (VEM) and environmental justice group groundWork, represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER).
On behalf of the state, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has applied to the High Court for leave to appeal the part of the order relating to the interpretation of section 20 of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (AQA). This is the legal provision relating to the passing of regulations to implement and enforce Air Quality Management Plans in Priority Areas. The state is not appealing the first part of the order that relates to the immediate realisation of Section 24 of the Constitution.
VEM and groundWork do not oppose the application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal. While they do not believe that the Minister has reasonable prospects of success on appeal, they accept that there are compelling reasons for leave to appeal to be granted in terms of section 17(1)(a)(ii) of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013. This is due to the novelty and importance of the constitutional issues raised in this matter and the broader public interest. These compelling reasons also justify that the appeal be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal, in terms of section 17(6) of the Superior Courts Act.
The application for leave to appeal will be heard by Judge Collis in a virtual hearing on Monday, 13 March 2023 at 14h00.
FOR EDITORS
Read more about the background and chronology of the #DeadlyAir case, the landmark 18 March High Court judgement, an analysis on why this judgment matters, expert analysis finding Eskom to be the world’s worst polluting power company, the health impacts of air pollution on the Mpumalanga Highveld HPA and the history of the area as a High Priority Area.