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This Chapter establishes the Water Tribunal to hear appeals against certain decisions made by a responsible authority, catchment management agency or water management institution under this Act. The Tribunal is an independent body, whose members are appointed through an independent selection process, and which may conduct hearings throughout the Republic. A person may appeal to a High Court against a decision of the Tribunal on a question of law. This Chapter also provides for disputes to be resolved by mediation, if so directed by the Minister.
146.(1): The Water Tribunal is hereby established.
146.(2): The Tribunal is an independent body which -
146.(2)(a): has jurisdiction in all the provinces of the Republic; and
146.(2)(b): may conduct hearings anywhere in the Republic.
146.(3): The Tribunal consists of a chairperson, a deputy chairperson and as many
additional members as the Minister considers necessary.
146.(4): Members of the Tribunal must have knowledge in law, engineering, water resource
management or related fields of knowledge.
146.(5): The chairperson, the deputy chairperson and the additional members of the
Tribunal are appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of the Judicial Service
Commission contemplated in section 178 of the Constitution.
146.(6): The chairperson and the deputy chairperson may be appointed in a full-time or
part-time capacity while the additional members must be appointed in a part-time capacity.
146.(7): The Minister must determine the employment conditions and the remuneration of the
chairperson, the deputy chairperson and all other members of the Tribunal in consultation
with the Minister of Finance.
146.(8): The Minister may, after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission
referred to in subsection (5), and after giving the member an opportunity to make
representations and considering such representations, for good reason terminate the
appointment of any member of the Tribunal.
147.(1): Subject to section 146(4), after having considered the necessary field of
knowledge for the purposes of hearing a particular matter, the chairperson may nominate
one or more members of the Water Tribunal to hear a matter and a decision by such member
or members constitutes a decision by the Tribunal.
147.(2): Administrative support for the Tribunal must be provided by officials of the
Department designated by the Director-General, subject to the laws pertaining to the
secondment of officers in the Public Service.
147.(3): The expenditure of the Tribunal must be defrayed out of money appropriated by
Parliament for that purpose or from any other source.
147.(4): Neither the Tribunal, the chairperson, the deputy chairperson nor any other
member is liable for an act or omission committed in good faith while performing a
function in terms of this Act.
148.(1): There is an appeal to the Water Tribunal -
148.(1)(a): against a directive issued by a catchment management agency under section 19(3) or 20(4)(d), by the recipient thereof;
148.(1)(b): against a claim by a catchment management agency for the recovery of costs
under section 19(5) or 20(7) by the person affected thereby;
148.(1)(c): against the apportionment by a catchment management agency of a liability for
costs under section 19(8) or 20(9), by a person affected thereby;
148.(1)(d): against a decision of a water management institution on the temporary transfer
of a water use authorisation under section 25(1), by
a person affected thereby;
148.(1)(e): against a decision of a responsible authority on the verification of a water
use under section 35 by a person affected thereby;
148.(1)(f): against a decision of a responsible authority on an application for a licence
under section 41, or on any other application to
which section 41 applies, by the applicant or by any other person who has timeously lodged
a written objection against the application;
148.(1)(g): against a preliminary allocation schedule published by a responsible authority
under section 46(1), by any interested person;
148.(1)(h): against the amendment of a condition of a licence by a responsible authority
on review under section 49(2), by any person
affected thereby;
148.(1)(i): against a decision of a responsible authority on an adjudication of claims
made under section 51(1), by any person affected
thereby;
148.(1)(j): against a directive issued by a responsible authority under section 53(1), by the recipient thereof;
148.(1)(k): against a claim by a water management institution for the recovery of costs
under section 53(2)(a), by the person against
whom the claim is made;
148.(1)(l): against a decision by a responsible authority on the suspension, withdrawal or
reinstatement of an entitlement under section 54, or on the surrender of a licence under section 55, by the person entitled to use water or by
the licensee; and
148.(1)(m): against a declaration made by, directive given by or costs claimed by the
Minister in respect of a dam with a safety risk under section 118(3) or (4).
148.(2): An appeal under subsection (1) -
148.(2)(a): does not suspend a directive given under section
19(3), 20(4)(d) or 53(1); and
148.(2)(b): suspends any other relevant decision, direction, requirement, limitation,
prohibition or allocation pending the disposal of the appeal, unless the Minister directs
otherwise.
148.(3): An appeal must be commenced within 30 days after -
148.(3)(a): publication of the decision in the Gazette;
148.(3)(b): notice of the decision is sent to the appellant; or
148.(3)(c): reasons for the decision are given, whichever occurs last.
148.(4): The procedure for lodging, hearing and deciding -
148.(4)(a): an appeal under subsection (1); and
148.(4)(b): an application for the determination of compensation under section 22, is
contained in Part 2 of Schedule 6.
148.(5): The chairperson may make rules which -
148.(5)(a): govern the procedure of the Tribunal, including the procedure for lodging and
opposing an appeal or an application and the hearing thereof by the Tribunal;
148.(5)(b): may provide for application or appeal fees payable by a claimant or appellant;
and
148.(5)(c): must be approved and published in the Gazette by the Minister.
149.(1): A party to a matter in which the Water Tribunal -
149.(1)(a): has given a decision on appeal under section 148, may, on a question of law,
appeal to a High Court against that decision; or
149.(1)(b): has determined the liability for compensation or the amount of compensation
under section 22(9), may, on a question of law,
appeal to a High Court against that determination.
149.(2): The appeal must be noted in writing within 21 days of the date of the decision of
the Tribunal.
149.(3): The notice of appeal must -
149.(3)(a): set out every question of law in respect of which the appeal is lodged;
149.(3)(b): set out the grounds for the appeal;
149.(3)(c): be lodged with the relevant High Court and with the Water Tribunal; and
149.(3)(d): be served on every party to the matter.
149.(4): The appeal must be prosecuted as if it were an appeal from a Magistrate's Court
to a High Court.
150.(1): The Minister may at any time and in respect of any dispute between any persons
relating to any matter contemplated in this Act, at the request of a person involved or on
the Minister's own initiative, direct that the persons concerned attempt to settle their
dispute through a process of mediation and negotiation.
150.(2): A directive under subsection (1) must specify the time when and the place where
such process must start.
150.(3): Unless the persons concerned have informed the Minister at least seven days
before the date specified in terms of subsection (2) that they have appointed a mediator,
the Minister must appoint a mediator.
150.(4): Notwithstanding subsection (3), the parties may at any time during the course of
mediation or negotiation proceedings, by agreement between them, appoint another person to
act as mediator.
150.(5): A person appointed by the Minister in terms of subsection (3) must either be an
official of the Department or an independent mediator.
150.(6): Where the Minister or the Department is a party to the dispute, the mediator may
not be an official of the Department.
150.(7): The contents of all discussions which took place and of all submissions made as
part of a mediation process under this section are privileged in law, and may not be
received in evidence by any court of law, unless the parties agree otherwise.
150.(8): The fees and expenses of a mediator must be paid by -
150.(8)(a): the Department, if the Minister has appointed the mediator; or
150.(8)(b): the parties, if they have appointed the mediator.
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