The Supreme Court of Mauritius has handed down a judgment that will change the face of environmental law in the jurisdiction, granting standing to public interest NGOs to bring claims in the Mauritius Environment Tribunal.
Environmental NGO Eco-Sud sought to challenge an environmental impact assessment licence granted by the Ministry of Environment to a promoter for the construction of a major real estate project in an environmentally sensitive area, but its claim was dismissed at a preliminary stage by the Environmental Tribunal for lack of standing, applying the established Mauritius authorities which adopt a highly conservative test requiring applicants to prove a personal prejudice arising out of the project under challenge. Eco Sud appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed that the test for standing in environmental law should be liberalised in line with the English authorities, to allow persons with a ‘sufficient interest’ to bring a claim.
Peter Lockley worked pro-bono, together with Stephen Tromans KC of 39 Essex St and Carol Day of Leigh Day solicitors, to help Eco-Sud and its Mauritian team secure this major win. They contributed analysis that traced the liberalisation of English law on standing in judicial review and statutory appeals, in particular for environmental claims, which formed the basis of the judgment of the Supreme Court.
