Eco-Sud and two others (Respondents) v Minister of Environment, Solid Waste and Climate Change and another (Appellants) (Mauritius)
Case ID: JCPC 2023/0070
Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of Mauritius
Case summary
Issue
Did the Supreme Court err when it held that the 'liberal' approach to standing in environmental cases approved by the UK Supreme Court in Walton v The Scottish Ministers [2012] UKSC 44 ought to be adopted by the Environment and Land Use Appeal Tribunal when assessing whether a party has standing to bring an appeal under section 54(2) of the Environment Protection Act?
Facts
The Minister of Environment granted an Environment Impact Assessment licence to the Pointe D'Esny Lakeside Company Ltd, for a residential development on two plots of land under section 23 of the Environment Protection Act. The Respondent, Eco-Sud, is an environmental NGO. Eco-Sud objected to the licence being granted and lodged an appeal to the Environment and Land Use Appeal Tribunal ('the Tribunal') under section 54(2) of the Act.
At a preliminary hearing, the Tribunal held that the Eco-Sud did not have standing to bring an appeal, because it had not met the criteria set out in section 54(2). In particular, the Eco-Sud had not shown that as an organisation, it was aggrieved by the granting of a licence, nor that the granting of a licence was likely to cause Eco-Sud undue prejudice. The Tribunal dismissed Eco-Sud's appeal, and Eco-Sud appealed to the Supreme Court to challenge the Tribunal's decision.
The Supreme Court allowed Eco-Sud's appeal, and held that the test for standing which the Tribunal had applied was too restrictive. In environmental appeals, a more liberal approach to standing was required, as identified by the UK Supreme Court in the case of Walton v The Scottish Ministers [2012] UKSC 44. When the Environment Protection Act was passed, it had not been intended to prevent organisations claiming to have representative standing from bringing appeals.
Parties
Appellant
(1) Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change
(2) Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change
Respondent
(1) Eco-Sud
(2) Pointe D'esny Lakeside Co. Ltd
(3) Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security
Appeal
Justices
Lord Hodge, Lord Leggatt, Lord Burrows, Lord Stephens, Lady Rose
Hearing start date
5 March 2024
Hearing finish date
5 March 2024
| Watch hearing | ||
|---|---|---|
| 5 March 2024 | Morning session | Afternoon session |