South African Nuclear Agreements Cancelled

Good news from South Africa – a court nullified agreements the government negotiated with Russia, the United States, and South Korea to develop South Africa’s nuclear power program!

Last week, the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa ruled that the nuclear agreements are unlawful and unconstitutional and set them aside.  The government of South Africa negotiated nuclear agreements with the three countries without adequate public participation or consent.  The Court also set aside decisions from 2015 and 2016 by the Ministry of Environment to procure nuclear generation capacity.

According to the decision, public participation is required prior to the commencement of any new nuclear energy projects.

ELAW partner and South African public interest lawyer Adrian Pole explains:  “The judgment means that there is no decision…that new nuclear generation capacity is needed and should be procured.”

ELAW Staff Attorneys helped lawyers in South Africa challenge that country’s unconstitutional program to build nuclear power plants.

Congratulations to Adrian who brought this case with support from lawyers at the Legal Resources Centre (LRC).  They brought the case on behalf of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg (ELA-JHB) and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI).

This is a tremendous victory for the environment and communities in South Africa!

For more information, see:

South African court sets aside nuclear plans
South Africa’s Nuclear Plans Stall as Process Ruled Unlawful
Nuclear Deal Blocked!
Exposed: Scary details of SA’s secret Russian nuke deal

Bern Johnson
Executive Director
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW)

Learn more about our work and how you can support ELAW by visiting our website, Facebook, and Twitter.