Will be of interest here in Canada as well

Dear all,

 

Today the High Court handed down a landmark decision in the ongoing dispute between the Xolobeni Community and an Australian mining company, Transworld Energy. The community has been fighting to protect their land for over a decade. In 2016, Sikhosiphi Bazooka Rhadebe, a rights defender and a leader of the Amadiba Crisis Committee which has led the resistance to mining, was murdered outside his home. 

 

The Court found that the community has the right to decide what to do with their land and that the Minister of Mineral Affairs must obtain their consent prior to granting mining rights. 

 

This is a fascinating, important judgment that examines the relationship between mining law and customary law, formal and informal land rights and the competing interests of communities and private entities. 

 

For those interested, see a copy of the judgment attached. 

 

Warm regards,

 

Dina

 

--

Dr Dina Lupin Townsend

Post-doctoral Researcher
Department of European and International Public Law

Tilburg Law School

Tilburg University

 

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<Xolobeni-Judgment.pdf>