English
In this case the court is required by a collective of 203 petitioners to rescind the provisions of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) (Noise and Excessive Vibration Pollution) (Control) Regulation, 2009 contained in Legal Notice No. 61 of 2009.
The petitioners, which are mostly working in the music industry, claim that those regulations had for consequences a loss in their business as their sound equipment had been confiscated. They claim that the Minister did not have the power to prescribe offence under the Environmental Management and Coordination Act and that therefore it was contrary to the section 34 of the Interpretation and General Provisions Act which states that such provisions must be approved by the general assembly. Finally, they pointed out that those regulations violate their fundamental rights because they are arbitrary and disproportionate.
The court dismissed the case of the petitioners as it considered that the EMCA give the power to the minister to take such regulations and that he could do it without consulting the parliament. It also considered that those regulations were necessary to reduce noise pollution and that they were proportionate done in the name of the general interest.