Restorative justice : a driver for sustainable socio-economic and developmental growth in the mining industries

Abstract

Restorative justice is not expressly envisaged in the mining and or environmental laws in South Africa. It is a principle which is often applied in criminal cases, be that as it may, it directly holds the perpetrators accountable for their unlawful conduct or activities. This to note, it is a maxim that may be applied in the mining industries to directly hold the erring companies liable or accountable for non-conformity with environmental prerequisites. It is used to encourage erring mining companies to be responsible for harm done to the environment and or affected mining communities and to some extent, it allows negotiations between the erring companies and affected communities to explore measures that may be put in place to ensure that future harm or hazards resultant from their activities are prevented if not totally avoided. It echoes the commitment of the Minerals Petroleum Resources and Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA) and National Environmental and Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) on sustainable and responsible mining. Instead of resorting to retributive justice wherein the erring companies are imposed with punitive sanctions, the restorative justice aims to ensure that mines take responsibility for harm caused or inevitable threat of harm and implement measures to circumvent it. The restorative justice would mean that all relevant stakeholders play their role in ensuring that environmental transgression is avoided or mitigated by those responsible for causing harm or hazards. This paper adopted a non-numeric method wherein legal jurisprudence, case laws and statutes were used. The author aims to explore restorative justice as progressive tool necessary to ensure that erring mining companies admit accountability and provide measures to remedy harm caused to the environment and tools to deal with the aftermath of the environmental transgression. It is concluded that restorative justice must be adopted in addressing environmental violations by mining companies and it is found that this principle encouraged transparent negotiation with affected people on ways to deal with the aftermath of the environmental violations. It is concluded that restorative justice is a driving tool for socio-economic and developmental growth in the mining communities.