Abstract
The present chapter analyses the evolution of the legal regime relating to mineral ownership and management in the Republic of South Africa, introduced by the 2002 Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act as an example of the implementation of the notion of sustainable development. The introduction of the new system of state competences in the management of the mineral wealth has challenged the historical balance between the rights of varied subjects involved in the mining sector. Both mining industry investor protection and the economic development of the nation—including that of the local communities affected by mining activities—were taken into account. Also, the non-economic values of environmental protection, infrastructure protection, workers’ rights, and community participation were taken into account. The present chapter examines the rationale behind such legislative reform, and its content from the perspective of sustainable development, which, to a great extent, have been provided by extensive judicial review of the new legal regime at play.
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Notes
- 1.
Cawood and Minnitt [1, p. 369].
- 2.
With reference to the peaceful and stable environment necessary to boost investor confidence, see Munslow and Fitzgerald [2, p. 240]. Long-term security in investment in the form of private ownership of mineral rights is underlined by Cawood and Minnitt, supra note 1, at 370.
- 3.
UNICEF [3, p. 26].
- 4.
With regard to Sierra Leone, see Human Rights Watch [4, p. 43].
- 5.
Munslow and Fitzgerald, supra note 2, at 237.
- 6.
With regard to the discriminative allocation in the Republic of South Africa as a reason for the MPRDA, see Belinkie [5, pp. 220–22].
- 7.
With regard to Sierra Leone, see United Nations Environment Programme [6, p. 22, 64].
- 8.
With regard to the example of Sierra Leone, it is agreed as highly inappropriate that ‘[t]he financial benefits [of the mining industry] are divided nationally, but negative environmental impacts are mostly localised in rural areas with vulnerable communities’. Brown et al. [7, p. 9].
- 9.
Mostert [8, p. 1].
- 10.
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 10 October 2002 (South Africa) (cited hereinafter by inline reference to ‘MPRDA’).
- 11.
Agri S. Afr. v. Minister of Minerals & Energy (2013) ZACC 9, 2013 (4) SA 1, 2013 (7) BCLR 727 (CC) (cited hereinafter by inline reference to ‘CC’); Minister of Minerals & Energy v. Agri S. Afr. (2012) ZASCA 93, 2012 (5) SA 1, 3 All SA 266, 2012 (9) BCLR 958 (SCA) (cited hereinafter by inline reference to ‘SCA’); Agri S. Afr. v. Minister of Minerals & Energy (2011) ZAGPPHC 62, 3 All SA 296 (GNP) (cited hereinafter by inline reference to ‘HC’).
- 12.
Dawis and Trebilcock [9, p. 23].
- 13.
- 14.
Gopal [12, p. 235].
- 15.
Merryman, supra note 13, 471.
- 16.
Marais [13, p. 2988].
- 17.
S. Afr. Const., 1996 (cited hereinafter by inline reference to ‘Constitution’).
- 18.
This results from the traditional attitude of sustainable development as a constraint on the present generation to take advantage of temporary control over earth resources. See Weiss [14, p. 19].
- 19.
Barral [15, p. 392]; Munslow and Fitzgerald, supra note 2, at 229. But see Weiss, supra note 18, at 22 (asserting that eradication of poverty might conflict with sustainable development understood only as care to preserve the environment for further generations, because those values are deemed opposing, even though poverty may cause ecological degradation constraint).
- 20.
Campbell [16, p. 38].
- 21.
Id. at 38.
- 22.
Mostert, supra note 9, at 10.
- 23.
Campbell, supra note 20, at 39.
- 24.
Prawo górnicze i geologiczne [Geological and Mining Law], 9 June 2011 (cited hereinafter by inline reference to ‘PGML’).
- 25.
Kodeks cywilny [Civil Code], 23 Apr. 1964.
- 26.
Supreme Court Judgment of 3 Nov. 2004, III CK 52/04 (Poland).
- 27.
Campbell, supra note 20, at 43.
- 28.
Rakoczy [18, Article 10, section 2].
- 29.
Campbell, supra note 20, at 37.
- 30.
Rakoczy, supra note 30, at Article 13, section 2.
- 31.
Barral, supra note 19, at 398.
- 32.
Mostert, supra note 9, at 79.
- 33.
Belinkie, supra note 6, at 240.
- 34.
Mostert, supra note 9, at 15.
- 35.
Minerals Act 50 of 15 May 1991 (South Africa) (cited hereinafter by inline reference to ‘MA’).
- 36.
Cawood and Minnitt, supra note 1, at 371.
- 37.
Belinkie, supra note 6, at 237.
- 38.
Mostert, supra note 9, at 133–34.
- 39.
Marais, supra note 16, at 3021.
- 40.
Mostert, supra note 9, at 129.
- 41.
Marais, supra note 16, at 2983.
- 42.
Id. at 3021.
- 43.
With regard to protection of property according to Article 1 of the First Protocol to European Convention on Human Rights, see Wróbel [17, p. 476].
- 44.
Belinkie, supra note 6, at 222.
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Bańczyk, W. (2019). Economic and Social Development in the Republic of South Africa’s New Model of Mineral Rights: Balancing Private Ownership, Community Rights, and Sovereignty. In: Szwedo, P., Peltz-Steele, R., Tamada, D. (eds) Law and Development. Kobe University Monograph Series in Social Science Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9423-2_12
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