Maccsand: Intergovernmental relations and the doctrine of usurpation

Abstract

Maccsand (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town involved an appeal to the Constitutional Court against an interdict initially granted by the Western Cape High Court and affirmed on appeal by the Supreme Court of Appeal. The dispute between the parties revolved around the application of the Land Use Planning Ordinance 15 of 1985 (LUPO) and the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) to land that had also become the subject of mining authorisations granted in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA). (The focus of this note falls on the conflict between the LUPO and the MPRDA and the NEMA issues will not be elaborated upon further.)