KNOW YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS – PART 2: ENFORCEMENT By Tanya Muzenda
As alluded in the previous discussion, environmental law
consists of all legal principles which have in common not so much their special character but the subject they regulate; the subjects embraced by environmental law being conservation, pollution control and land use control. As members of the present generation, we hold the Earth in trust for future generations, a principle widely known as sustainable development. Phillipe Sands defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.” Being that as it may, it is crucial to explore how the environmental laws explored in the previous discussion are enforced. Enforcement has been defined as the act of compelling observance of or compliance with a law, rule or obligation in question. With regards to environmental law, enforcement occurs at various stages depending on the nature, rule or obligation in question.
(5) any association acting in the interests of its members; is entitled to approach a court, alleging that a fundamental right or freedom enshrined in this Chapter has been or is being or is likely to be infringed, and the court may grant appropriate relief, including a declaration of rights and an award of compensation.” The inclusion of this privilege in our Constitution holds significant promise for enhancing the enforcement of environmental laws. Every citizen is granted a right to approach the court to enforce their environmental right; this includes Civil Society Organisations that act in the interests of a group or class of people. Even more importantly for enforcing environmental laws, such access will be granted in cases of anticipated environmental harm; this allows cases to be presented in a preventative manner. Furthermore, the fact that courts are tasked with a role of implementing the environmental rights in the Constitution makes them want to become more knowledgeable in environmentally sensitive issues. This will see our courts becoming stewards of environmental protection. Section 85 (2) goes further to say that even if a person has contravened a law, that does not debar him from approaching the courts to seek relief of his environmental rights. There is thus no law restricting persons whose environmental rights have been infringed in approaching the courts. In addition to the Constitution, there are other several pieces of legislation that establish environmental rules and obligations upon which enforcement takes the form of criminal prosecution or in the form of civil. These shall be explored in the next part of this discussion.
...............Watch out for part 3......................
As usual, the first port of reference is the Supreme Law of our land which is the Constitution. Section 85 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that, “Any of the following persons, namely – (1) any person acting in their own interests; (2) any person acting on behalf of another person who cannot act for themselves; (3) any person acting as a member, or in the interests, of a group or class of persons; (4) any person acting in the public interest;
