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The transformative potential of climate change litigation and adjudication in South Africa

Dissertation (LLM (Environmental Law))--University of Pretoria, 2022.

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Other Authors: Murcott, Melanie
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Murcott, Melanie
author_browse Murcott, Melanie
author_facet Murcott, Melanie
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (LLM (Environmental Law))--University of Pretoria, 2022.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:12.012Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/88906 The transformative potential of climate change litigation and adjudication in South Africa Murcott, Melanie nicola.irving@nortonrosefulbright.com Irving, N.G. Climate litigation Climate adjudication Transformative constitutionalism Transformative environmental constitutionalism Anthropocene epoch UCTD Dissertation (LLM (Environmental Law))--University of Pretoria, 2022. In this dissertation, the author addresses the following central question: Can transformative adjudication, through transformative environmental constitutionalism, enhance a social justice-oriented approach to climate litigation in South Africa? One of the foremost assumptions in this dissertation is that climate change is not only an environmental issue; rather, it is an existential issue for humanity that is deeply embedded in notions of (in)justice. Proceeding from the point of departure that climate change is a scientific reality with significant justice implications for human populations and the environment, this dissertation is premised on the following central hypothesis: Transformative climate adjudication is consistent with (and a logical extension of) the legal theory of transformative environmental constitutionalism, which suggests, albeit indirectly, that environmental law disputes ought to be conceived in a manner consistent with an Earth system approach. The dissertation is structured as follows: Chapter 2 explores the concept of climate litigation and how climate litigation has occurred in South Africa. Chapter 3 examines the legal theory of transformative environmental constitutionalism – as an incident of transformative constitutionalism – as well as its application to climate litigation and adjudication in South Africa. Here, the dissertation discusses and expands on Murcott’s criteria for the framing of environmental law disputes, along environmentally transformative lines. In Chapter 4, the author demonstrates the value of transformative environmental constitutionalism as a legal framework for climate adjudication by conducting a critical analysis of the challenges to Shell’s seismic blasting on South Africa’s Wild Coast. This is followed by a short conclusion in Chapter 5 that reflects on the transformative potential of climate litigation and adjudication in South Africa. Public Law LLM (Environmental Law) Unrestricted 2023-01-19T12:00:36Z 2023-01-19T12:00:36Z 2023-05-15 2022 Dissertation * https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/88906 en © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle Climate litigation
Climate adjudication
Transformative constitutionalism
Transformative environmental constitutionalism
Anthropocene epoch
UCTD
The transformative potential of climate change litigation and adjudication in South Africa
title The transformative potential of climate change litigation and adjudication in South Africa
title_full The transformative potential of climate change litigation and adjudication in South Africa
title_fullStr The transformative potential of climate change litigation and adjudication in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed The transformative potential of climate change litigation and adjudication in South Africa
title_short The transformative potential of climate change litigation and adjudication in South Africa
title_sort transformative potential of climate change litigation and adjudication in south africa
topic Climate litigation
Climate adjudication
Transformative constitutionalism
Transformative environmental constitutionalism
Anthropocene epoch
UCTD
url https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/88906