KMBT_754-20201120142850

The Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) submitted this supporting affidavit to the High Court of South Africa to be admitted as an amicus curiae in a case involving a water use licence for a proposed coal mine. The EELC argues that the second respondent's attempt to seek punitive costs against public interest lawyers creates a "chilling effect" that discourages the representation of marginalised actors and threatens access to justice.

• The EELC is a public interest law clinic established in 2012 that uses "movement lawyering," community lawyering, and advocacy to seek systemic change in the South African education sector and advance the right to basic education.
• Between 2012 and 2019, the EELC was involved in approximately 20 litigation matters, resulting in policy reforms to school feeder zone determinations, fee exemption processes, and the Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure.
• The EELC represented Equal Education (EE) in a 2018 Bhisho High Court case that declared an "escape clause" in the Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure unconstitutional, as it had allowed the government to delay infrastructure provision based on resource availability.
• In November 2017, the EELC secured a court-ordered settlement providing scholar transport to 12 schools in Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal, benefiting nearly 3,000 learners.
• The EELC's legal advice clinic provided access to justice for approximately 595 clients from 2019 to the date of the affidavit, addressing issues such as unlawful school admissions and discrimination against pregnant or undocumented learners.
• The EELC argues that the second respondent's request for punitive costs against the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and the threat of reporting attorneys to the Legal Practice Council (LPC) creates a "stifling effect" on access to justice for marginalised actors.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). KMBT_754-20201120142850. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Fourth-Applicant-Amicus-Curiae-Supporting-Confirmatory-Affidavit.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. KMBT_754-20201120142850. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Fourth-Applicant-Amicus-Curiae-Supporting-Confirmatory-Affidavit.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=KMBT_754-20201120142850 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Fourth-Applicant-Amicus-Curiae-Supporting-Confirmatory-Affidavit.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrightsndkmbt75420201120142850, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{KMBT\_754-20201120142850}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Fourth-Applicant-Amicus-Curiae-Supporting-Confirmatory-Affidavit.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }