Webinar - The environmental rights gap in the South African Constitutional Court’s jurisprudence

Recorded 22 February 2023
Speaker:
Prof Melanie Murcott
Associate Professor,
University of Pretoria
Abstract:
Building on the burgeoning discourse on environmental constitutionalism around the world, Murcott will trace the recent history of the South African Constitutional Court’s environmental rights jurisprudence, to reveal that overall the Court has not, of late, contributed a great deal to key developments in South African environmental law. She will then reflect on some of the ways the Court could strengthen environmental rights jurisprudence in South Africa, including to reinforce important environmental outcomes emerging from the High Courts and the Supreme Court of Appeal. In particular, she encourages the embrace of a legal theory of transformative environmental constitutionalism by the Court when next it has the opportunity to adjudicate disputes that implicate the environmental right. Given that humanity is facing a climate crisis with myriad justice and human rights implications, she argues that it is vital that the Court takes up this call.