SECOND RESPONDENT’S PRACTICE NOTE

This document is a practice note filed on 7 August 2020 by the legal representatives of Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd (the Second Respondent) in the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria. It outlines the Second Respondent's position regarding a special appeal brought by the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the Federation for a Sustainable Environment against a Water Tribunal decision that confirmed the granting of a Water Use License for the Underground Yzermyn Coalmining Project.

• The legal dispute centers on a special appeal under section 149(1) of the National Water Act 36 of 1998 (NWA) following a 22 May 2019 Water Tribunal decision. This decision dismissed an administrative appeal and confirmed the granting of a Water Use License to Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd for the "Underground Yzermyn Coalmining Project".
• Atha-Africa argues that the scope of the appeal should be strictly limited to the substance of the law and not include "matters of discretion" or factual disputes. They contend that the Appellants are attempting to secure a "rehearing on the merits" by presenting factual issues as questions of law.
• The Second Respondent claims that the Appellants have not presented a valid question of law and that the Water Tribunal did not err in the substance or application of the law. They further argue that any alleged error of law would be immaterial and would not justify overturning the Water Tribunal's decision.
• Atha-Africa requests that the court order the Appellants and the Centre for Environmental Rights to pay legal costs on a punitive scale, alleging an "abuse of litigation" and that the Centre for Environmental Rights is "conflicted".

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2020). SECOND RESPONDENT’S PRACTICE NOTE. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Atha-HOA-and-Practice-note_combined.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. SECOND RESPONDENT’S PRACTICE NOTE. 2020. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Atha-HOA-and-Practice-note_combined.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=SECOND RESPONDENT’S PRACTICE NOTE |date=7 August 2020 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Atha-HOA-and-Practice-note_combined.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2020second, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{SECOND RESPONDENT’S PRACTICE NOTE}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Atha-HOA-and-Practice-note_combined.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }