State in another bid to delay tobacco ban challenge
The government has made a second attempt to delay the hearing of the first major legal challenge to the controversial cigarette ban, appealing to court again for the matter to be delayed, says a Business Day report.
The government is also facing another legal challenge from British American Tobacco SA (Batsa), supported by Japan Tobacco International, as well as groups and organisations representing the tobacco value chain countrywide, in the Western Cape High Court.
The group led by Batsa wants the court to declare the government’s regulations prohibiting the sale of tobacco products unconstitutional and invalid, and to have them reviewed and set aside.
The report notes the government appears intent on opposing that application, but is also using it as a basis to argue for the postponement of the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association’s (Fita's) matter.
State Attorney Arista Wasserman, who last week tried and failed to persuade the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) to postpone the hearing of the Fita cigarette ban challenge for at least two weeks, yesterday made another appeal to Judge President Dunstan Mlambo for the hearing to be delayed.
The matter is due to be heard on 9-10 June before Mlambo and two other judges.
In a four-page letter, Wasserman explained this request was 'an attempt to ensure that the lawfulness of regulation 45 (which governs the cigarette ban under lockdown level three) is justly determined'.
According to Wasserman, Co-Operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma should be given more time to provide a record of the government’s decision to uphold the cigarette ban under level three as it was impossible ‘to be properly prepared before Wednesday and incorporated into the Minister’s answering affidavit in the Fita matter'.
Wasserman argued that ‘if reasons and a record are not filed in the Fifa application in respect of regulation 45, this court will have less information on which to determine the lawfulness of regulation 45 than the Western Cape Division of the High Court’.
‘This is undesirable as it may lead to inconsistent judgments and to unnecessary appeals.’
Fita chair Sinenhlanhla Mnguni reportedly told Business Day that the association would ‘strenuously oppose’ the government’s efforts to further delay the hearing of its case.
‘This case has been delayed enough,’ he said.
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.
