First shots fired in nuke 'state capture' case
The legal challenge mounted by two environmental NGOs to the nuclear deal with Russia – estimated to cost R1trn – which is under way in the Western Cape High Court, has been termed one of the most significant state capture court cases SA has yet seen, according to a Daily Maverick report. The two NGOs, Earthlife Africa and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute, are squaring up against Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson’s pursuit of 9 600 megawatts of nuclear power.
Acting for the NGOs is David Unterhalter, who has appeared in countless of SA’s most high-profile legal matters – including representing Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Marikana Commission. The court challenge will not deal with the question of whether or not nuclear power is the right energy source to meet the country’s needs.
Opening the arguments for the applicants yesterday, Unterhalter said that his team would show that the inter-governmental nuclear agreement with Russia ‘fails to comply with what is required constitutionally’. While the government contends that this kind of international agreement is an instance of ‘executive action’, and thus beyond the purview of review, the applicants maintain that it is ‘a fairly straightforward case of administrative action’ which should have gone before Parliament for resolution.
While the Russian agreement was tabled in Parliament, it was not subject to a debate and a resolution of Parliament, despite the state law adviser’s counsel to Minister Joemat-Pettersson that this was required, notes the DM report.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
