Mining charters defy constitution, court hears
Lawyer in bid to have ‘ambiguous’ and ‘irrational’ documents set aside to avoid client confusion
The ambiguous wording of the mining charters, which the Department of Mineral Resources enforces with vigour, affects the entire mining community and the administration of justice by courts of law, says advocate Leon Bekker. It was in the interests of justice and the economy that certainty was obtained on the legality of the Mining Charters of 2004 and 2010, Bekker told the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday. He said this was also important for courts that had to adjudicate disputes arising from the charters. Bekker was representing mining lawyer Hulme Scholes and the firm Malan Scholes, at which Hulme is a director. Scholes and his firm first brought an application in August 2015 against the then minister of mineral resources, Ngoako Ramatlhodi, which seeks to have the Mining Charters of 2004 and 2010 set aside on the basis that their vague, contradictory and "irrational provisions" are contrary to what the constitution requires for the principles of the rule of law. The minister, n...
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