The Environmental Case Law Index is a collection of judgments from 10 African countries on topics relating to environmental law, both substantive and procedural. The collection focuses on cases where an environmental interest interacts with governmental or private interests.
Get started on finding judgments that are relevant to you by browsing the topic list on the left of the screen. Click the arrows next to the topic names to reveal a detailed list of sub-topics. Most judgments are accompanied by a short summary written by subject-area expert postgraduate students from the University of Cape Town.
Read also JIFA's Environmental Country Reports for SADC
Kenya Association of Manufacturers & 3 others v Cabinet secretary, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources & 3 others [2018] eKLR (Petition 32 & 35 of 2017 & Judicial Review Application 30 of 2017 (Consolidated)); (22 June 2018); 
EL Index Environmental impact and risk assessment Environmental decision-making Environmental law Judicial Review Appeals and reviews Civil Procedure Public participation Human and environmental rights Environmental lawMohamed Ali Baadi and others v Attorney General & 11 others[2018] eKLR (PETITION NO 22 OF 2012); (30 April 2018); Public interest in environment Environmental decision-making Environmental law Access to environmental information Human and environmental rights Environmental law Public participation Human and environmental rights Environmental law Class actions (environmental) Litigation of environmental issues Environmental law Healthy environment Substantive rights Human Rights EL IndexThis was a petition brought by various parties challenging the implementation and design of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET Project). The court considered whether the implementation of the project violated the rights of the affected communities.
The court observed that the rights of citizens regarding information on environmental matters, public participation, and access to justice were indispensable to foster sustainable development. The court found that the various petitioners’ rights were violated or could potentially be violated by the project, including the rights to fishing and to a clean and healthy environment.
The court ordered the project designers to engage the community as a distinct group and to mitigate on how the project, would affect their rights to culture. Secondly, it ordered the respondents to design a measurable and actionable plan, in consultation with the affected community on how to protect the cultural identity during and after the construction of the project. Thirdly, it ordered the government to draw up a management plan to preserve the Lamu Island as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as directed through UNESCO declarations. Fourthly, it ordered the department responsible for issuing environmental impact assessments to ensure that the rights of the communities were implemented before reconsidering the licence. Accordingly, the petition was upheld.
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