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Polluter Pays Principle as an Environmental Law Principle in Kenya

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By Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD (Leading Environmental Law Scholar, Policy Advisor, Natural Resources Lawyer and Dispute Resolution Expert from Kenya), Winner of Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021, ADR Publication of the Year 2021 and CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award 2021*

The polluter pays principle has been a dominant concept of environmental law since the 1970s. The principle provides that the costs of pollution should be borne by the person responsible for causing the pollution.[1] In other words, polluter pays principles is to the effect that those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment. This means that where a factory produces a potentially poisonous substance as a by-product of its activities, it must be held responsible for its safe disposal. The polluter pays principle is the backbone of most of the regulation of pollution affecting land, water and air.[2]

In Kenya, the polluter pays principle is one of the principles that guide courts in enforcing the right to a clean and healthy environment in section 3 (5) (e) of Environmental Management and Conservation Act, No. 8 of 1999. It is an important tool in natural resources management as it aims at preventing harm to the environment using a liability mechanism. It is defined in section 2 of EMCA as the cost of cleaning up any element of the environment damaged by pollution, compensating victims of pollution, cost of beneficial uses lost as a result of an act of pollution and other costs that are connected with or incidental to the foregoing, is to be paid or borne by the person convicted of pollution under this Act or any other applicable law. It is evident that the polluter of the environment must pay the cost of pollution abatement, the costs of environmental restoration and costs of compensating victims of pollution, if any.[3]

The polluter pays principle promotes the right to a clean and healthy environment and gives appropriate remedies to victims of pollution.[4] In this way, the polluter pays principle is key in enhancing access to environmental justice. It also acts as an economic policy tool by internalizing the costs of pollution as required by Principle 16 of the Rio Declaration. Principle 16 states that national authorities should endeavour to promote the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the application that the polluter should in principle bear the cost of pollution with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment. However, the application of the polluter pays principle in natural resource management is limited by the fact that not all forms of environmental damage can be remedied by means of the liability mechanism.[5]

For a liability mechanism to be effective, the polluter must be identified, damage must have occurred, and must be quantifiable and a causal link must be established between the damage and the polluter. The issue of causation and the difficulty of identifying the polluter to establish liability for environmental damage was noted in Natal Fresh Produce Growers Association v. Agroserve (Pty) Ltd,[6] where a South African court held that the manufacturer of herbicides was not liable since the use of hormonal herbicides anywhere in South Africa could not result in damage to fresh produce in Tala Valley. The effectiveness of the polluter pays principle is also reliant on the ability of the polluter to pay the costs of pollution.[7] This may limit its efficacy in natural resources management. In Kenya, there are efforts aimed at preventing environmental pollution and environmental damage through the internalization of externalities.

Section 108 of EMCA provides for environmental restoration orders which can be issued by NEMA to deal with pollution. Such an order may require the person to whom it is issued to restore the environment, prevent any action that would or is reasonably likely to cause harm to the environment, require payment of compensation and levy a charge for abatement costs. Likewise, a court can issue an environmental restoration order to address pollution with similar effects.[8] Section 25 (1) establishes the National Environment Restoration Fund consisting of fees or deposit bonds as determined by NEMA, and donations or levies from industries and other project proponents as contributions to the fund. This fund acts as a supplementary insurance for the mitigation of environmental degradation, where the polluter is not identifiable or where exceptional circumstances require NEMA to intervene towards the control or mitigation of environmental degradation.[9]

The polluter pays principle was one of the principles applied by the court in Peter K. Waweru v Republic.[10] In this case, the Applicants and the interested parties had been charged with the offences of discharging raw sewage into a public water source and the environment and failing to comply with the statutory notice from the public health authority under sections 118(e) of the Public Health Act (Chapter 242, Laws of Kenya) and section 120(1) of the said Public Health Act. The Court observed that sustainable development has a cost element which must be met by the developers. The Court also held that the right to a clean and healthy environment was equivalent to the right to life which ought to be protected at whatever cost. The court interpreted these principles in connection with international declarations and explained how they had to be applied in national law. The court concluded its analysis by declaring that the Government was under a statutory duty to establish treatment works and held that no further development in the township should be undertaken without satisfying all environmental requirements.[11]

*This article is an extract from the Article Fostering the Principles of Natural Resources Management in Kenya, 8(1) Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development, p. 1 by Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD, Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021 (Nairobi Legal Awards), ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and ADR Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 (CIArb Kenya). Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a foremost Environmental Law and Natural Resources Lawyer and Scholar, Sustainable Development Advocate and Conflict Management Expert in Kenya. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a Senior Lecturer of Environmental Law and Dispute resolution at the University of Nairobi School of Law and The Center for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP). He has published numerous books and articles on Environmental Law, Environmental Justice Conflict Management, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Sustainable Development. Dr. Muigua is also a Chartered Arbitrator, an Accredited Mediator, the Africa Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. Dr. Muigua is recognized as one of the leading lawyers and dispute resolution experts by the Chambers Global Guide 2022. 

References

[1] Moutondo, E., “The Polluter Pays Principle,” in Industries and Enforcement of Environmental Law in Africa-Industry Experts Review Environmental Practice (UNEP/UNDP Joint Project on Environmental Law and Institutions in Africa, 1997), p.43.

[2] Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, “Explainer: What is the Polluter Pays Principle,” London School of Economics and Political Science, 11 May 2018, Available at: https://www.lse.ac.uk/ granthaminstitute/explainers/what-is-the-polluter-pays-principle/ (Accessed on 20/02/2022)

[3] Section 2 of EMCA.

[4] Moutondo, Ibid.

[5] Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992, A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. I).

[6] [1990] (4) SA 749.

[7] Moutunda, Ibid.

[8] S. 111 of Act No. 8 of 1999.

[9] Section 25(2) and (4) of EMCA.

[10] Misc. Civil Application No. 118 of 2004; https://www.globalhealthrights.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2013/02/ HC-2004-Peter-Waweru-v.-Republic-of-Kenya.pdf (Accessed on 20/02/2022).

[11] Summary of Peter K. Waweru vs Republic, available at https://www.informea.org/en/court-decision/peter-k-waweru-applicant-and-republic-respondent(Accessed on 20/02/2022).

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The Roles of the Three Parts of the Permanent Court of Arbitration

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H.E. Amb. Marcin Czepelak, the Fourteenth Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)

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Brief History of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)

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By Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD, C.Arb, Current Member of Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Representing the Republic of Kenya.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a 124 Years Old Intergovernmental Organization currently with 122 contracting states. It was established at the turn of 20th Century during the first Hague Peace Conference held between 18th May and 29th July 1899. The conference was an initiative of then Russian Czar Nicholas II to discuss peace and disarmament and specifically with the object of “seeking the most effective means of ensuring to all peoples the benefits of a real and lasting peace, and, above all, of limiting the progressive development of existing armaments.” The culmination of the conference was the adoption of a Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, which dealt not only with arbitration but also with other methods of pacific settlement, such as good offices and mediation.

The aim of the conference was to “strengthen systems of international dispute resolution” especially international arbitration which in the last century had proven effective for the purpose with number of successful international arbitrations being concluded among Nations. The Alabama arbitration of 1871-1872 between the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) under the Treaty of Washington of 1871 culminating in the arbitral tribunal’s award that the UK pay the US compensation for breach of neutrality during American Civil War which it did had demonstrated the effectiveness of arbitration in settling of international disputes and piqued interest of many practitioners in it as a mode of dispute resolution during the latter years of the nineteenth century.

The Institut de Droit International adopted a code of procedure for arbitration in 1875 to answer the need for a general law of arbitration governing for countries and parties wishing to have recourse to international arbitration. The growth of arbitration as a mode of international dispute resolution formed the background of the 1899 conference and informed its most enduring achievement, namely, the establishment of the PCA as the first global mechanism for the settlement of disputes between states. Article 16 of the 1899 Convention recognized that “in questions of a legal nature, and especially in the interpretation or application of International Conventions” arbitration is the “most effective, and at the same time the most equitable, means of settling disputes which diplomacy has failed to settle.”

In turn, the 1899 Convention provided for the creation of permanent machinery to enable the setting up of arbitral tribunals as necessary and to facilitate their work under the auspices of the institution it named as the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). In particular, Article 20 of the 1899 Convention stated that “[w]ith the object of facilitating an immediate recourse to arbitration for international differences which it has not been possible to settle by diplomacy, the signatory Powers undertake to organize a Permanent Court of Arbitration, accessible at all times and operating, unless otherwise stipulated by the parties, in accordance with the rules of procedure inserted in the present Convention.” In effect, the Convention set up a permanent system of international arbitration and institutionalized the law and practice of arbitration in a definite and acceptable way.

As a result, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was established in 1900 and began operating in 1902. The PCA as established consisted of a panel of jurists designated by each country acceding to the Convention with each country being entitled to designate up to four from among whom the members of each arbitral tribunal might be chosen. In addition, the Convention created a permanent Bureau, located in The Hague, with functions similar to those of a court registry or secretariat. The 1899 Convention also laid down a set of rules of procedure to govern the conduct of arbitrations under the PCA framework.

The second Hague Peace Conference in 1907 saw a revision of the 1899 Convention and improvement of the rules governing arbitral proceedings. Today, the PCA has developed into a modern, multi-faceted arbitral institution perfectly situated to meet the evolving dispute resolution needs of the international community. The Permanent Court of Arbitration has also diversified its service offering alongside those contemplated by the Conventions. For instance, today the International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration serves as a registry in important international arbitrations. In 1993, the Permanent Court of Arbitration adopted new “Optional Rules for Arbitrating Disputes between Two Parties of Which Only One Is a State” and, in 2001, “Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Natural Resources and/or the Environment”.

Reference

PCA Website: https://pca-cpa.org/en/about/introduction/history/ (accessed on 25th May 2023).

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Former KCB Company Secretary Sues Over Unlawful Dismissal

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Former KCB Group Company Secretary Joseph Kamau Kania who has sued the Bank for Unlawful Dismissal

Former KCB Group Company Secretary Joseph Kamau Kania has sued the lender seeking reinstatement or be compensated for illegal sacking almost three years ago. Lawyer Kania was the KCB Group company secretary until restructuring of the lender in 2021 that saw some senior executives dropped.

Through the firm of Senior Counsel Wilfred Nderitu, Kamau wants the court to order KCB Group to unconditionally reinstate him to employment without altering any of the contractual terms until his retirement in December 2025.

In his court documents filed before Employment and Labour Relations Court, the career law banker seeks the court to declare the reorganization of the company structure a nullity and amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to fair labour practices as guaranteed in Article 41(1) of the Constitution. He further wants the court to declare that the position of Group Company Secretary did not at any time cease to exist within the KCB Group structure.

He further urged the Employment Court to declare that the recruitment and appointment of Bonnie Okumu, his former assistant, as the Group Company Secretary, in relation to the contemporaneous termination of his employment, was unprocedural, insufficient and inappropriate to infer a lawful termination of his employment.

“A declaration that the factual and legal circumstances of the Petitioner’s termination of employment were insufficient and inappropriate to infer a redundancy against him, and that any redundancy declared by the KCB Group in relation to him was therefore null, void and of no legal effect and amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to fair labour practices as guaranteed in Article 41(1) of the Constitution,” seeks lawyer Kamau.

Kamau says he was subjected to discriminatory practices by the KCB Bank Group in violation of his fundamental right to equality and freedom from discrimination as guaranteed in Article 27 of the Constitution and the termination of his employment was unfair, unjustified, illegal, null and void.

Lawyer Kamau further seeks the court to declare that the Non-Compete Clause in the 2016 Contract is unenforceable by the KCB Group as against him and is voidable by him as against the Bank ab initio, byreason of the termination of the Petitioner’s employment having been a violation of Articles 41(1) and 47(1) and (2) of the Constitution, and of the Employment Act.

He also wants the Employment Court to find that finding that KCB’s group legal representation by Messrs of Mohammed Muigai LLP Advocates law firm in respect of his claim for unlawful termination of employment resulted in a clear conflict of interest by reason of the fact that a Founding and Senior Partner at the said firm lawyer Mohammed Nyaoga is also the Chairman of the CBK’s Board of Directors.

“A Declaration that the circumstances of KCB’s legal representation by Messrs. Mohammed Muigai LLP Advocates resulted in a violation of the Petitioner’s fundamental right to have the employment dispute decided independently and impartially, as guaranteed in Article 50(1) of the Constitution,” seeks lawyer Kamau.

Kamau is seeking damages against both KCB Group and Central Bank of Kenya jointly and severally for the violation of his constitutional and fundamental right to fair labour practices.

He wants  further wants court to declare that CBK is liable to petitioner on account of its breach of statutory duty to effectively regulate KCB Group to ensure that KCB complied with the Central Bank of Kenya Prudential Guidelines and all other Laws, Rules, Codes and Standards, and that, as an issuer of securities, it complied with capital markets legislation.

Kamau through his lawyer Nderitu told the court that he was involved in Shareholder engagement in introducing the Group aide-mémoire that significantly improved the management of the Annual General Meetings, including obtaining approval without voting through the Memorandum and Articles of Association of Kenya Commercial Bank Limited among others.

He said that during his employment at KCB Bank Kenya and with the KCB Group, he initially worked well with former KCB CEO Joseph Oigara until 2016 when the CEO allegedly started sidelining him by removing the legal function from his reporting line.

He further claims he was transferred from the Group’s offices at Kencom House to its offices Upper Hill under the guise that the Petitioner was merely to support the KCB Group Board.

He adds that at that point his roles were given to Okumu for reasons that were not related to work demands.  He stated that Oigara at one time proposed that he should leave his role in the KCB Group and go and serve as the Company Secretary of the National Bank of Kenya Limited, a subsidiary of the Group, a suggestion which he disagreed with to Oigara’s utter annoyance.

Kamau stated that his work was thenceforth unfairly discredited, leading to his being taken through a disciplinary process whose intended outcome failed miserably, and the Petitioner was vindicated.

“More specifically, the Petitioner contends that the purported creation of a new organizational structure towards the end of 2020 was in fact Oigara’s orchestration targeted to remove certain individuals by requiring them to undergo interviews in the pretext that new roles were created, and amounted to a further violation of the Petitioner’s fundamental right to fair labour practices under Article 41(1) of the Constitution,” said in his court documents.

He further adds that this sham reorganization demonstrates how the role of the KCB Group Company Secretary purportedly ceased to be and was then very briefly replaced with a new role of the KCB Group General Counsel. The role of KCB Group Company Secretary then ‘resurfaced’ immediately thereafter, in total violation of legal and regulatory requirements.

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