RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT: NATIONAL APPEAL REGULATIONS, 2014

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted recommendations to the Department of Environmental Affairs to amend the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA): National Appeal Regulations, 2014. The CER argues that the current regulations may violate the right to just administrative action under the Constitution and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (PAJA), specifically regarding restrictive timeframes and procedural fairness for interested and affected parties (I&APs).

• The CER contends that the current 20-calendar-day timeframes for submitting an appeal, responding to an appeal, and for an appeal authority to decide on an appeal are inadequate. This restriction, combined with the lack of a condonation process for late filings, is argued to violate the right to just administrative action and NEMA's section 2 principles, particularly for I&APs who lack the financial means for legal or technical expertise.
• The CER proposes several specific amendments to the Appeal Regulations: increasing the appeal and response window to at least 30 days (suggesting 40 days as more appropriate), allowing appeals in formats other than the official form, extending the appeal authority's decision window to 30 days, and shifting the burden of notifying I&APs from the appellant to the applicant or appeal administrator.
• The CER has previously challenged the constitutionality of the Appeal Regulations and the EIA Regulations 2014 in the context of an appeal against an environmental authorisation for the 1050MW Colenso coal-fired power plant in Kwa-Zulu Natal, asserting that these regulations unjustifiably limit environmental and public participation rights.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2016). RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT: NATIONAL APPEAL REGULATIONS, 2014. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2.3-Annexure-A3.1.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT: NATIONAL APPEAL REGULATIONS, 2014. 2016. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2.3-Annexure-A3.1.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT: NATIONAL APPEAL REGULATIONS, 2014 |date=18 April 2016 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2.3-Annexure-A3.1.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2016recommendations, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT: NATIONAL APPEAL REGULATIONS, 2014}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2016}, month = apr, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2.3-Annexure-A3.1.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }