Cost orders and SLAPP suits as challenges to public interest environmental litigation in South Africa : a jurisprudential critique of recent developments

Abstract

Adverse cost orders and strategic litigation/lawsuits against public participation suits are potentially significant challenges to public interest environmental litigation. As a country that is in a developmental stage, there is bound to be clashes between those protecting the environment and those protecting their investments for example. When these two clashes, cost orders and strategic litigation/lawsuits against public participation suits usually enter the fray. This study thus investigates how both aspects have been adjudicated by the courts and how they manifest as challenges to public interest environmental litigation