Bato Star Fishing (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism — Key terms (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, provisions, and interpretive principles from the Bato Star fishing case and related constitutional/administrative-law framework.

Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA), 18 of 1998

South Africa’s primary statute for conserving and managing marine living resources, including the allocation of fishing rights and transformation policies.

Section 2(j) MLRA

Obligation to restructure the fishing industry to address historical imbalances and achieve equity across all branches.

Section 18(5) MLRA

Provision requiring the Minister to have particular regard to the need to permit new entrants when granting rights to meet section 2 goals.

Total Allowable Catch (TAC)

The maximum quantity of hake (or stock) that may be caught in a given period; allocation among sectors is based on TAC.

Equity pool (redistribution pool)

A portion of the 2001 quotas set aside and redistributed proportionally to applicants based on scores.

Transformation (in MLRA context)

Efforts to restructure ownership, management, employment, and access to address past discrimination and promote equality.

New entrants (HDI entrants)

Historically disadvantaged individuals or groups admitted to rights; emphasis varies by sector, with capital-intensive sectors favoring internal transformation.

Policy Guidelines GN 1771 (27 July 2001)

Guidelines identifying evaluation criteria for rights applications, including investment, past performance, transformation, and job creation; promote transformation.

Advisory Committee (allocation process)

Body that screens applications against policy criteria and compiles scores used to inform the Chief Director’s allocations.

Chief Director, Marine and Coastal Management

Department official who makes the final allocation decision under the Act, applying the scores and guidelines.

Deep-sea hake four sectors

Sectors defined by fishing method: deep-sea trawl, in-shore trawl, long-line, hand-line.

Deep-sea trawl sector

Largest, most capital- and labour-intensive hake sector; allocated the majority of TAC.

In-shore trawl sector

Second sector; generally smaller in scale; part of TAC distribution.

Long-line sector

Sector using long-lines; identified as potential for HDI transformation (SMEs).

Hand-line sector

Low-tech, low-capital sector identified as suitable for HDI transformation; smaller scale.

Four-year allocation (2002–2005)

Planned multi-year allocation to enable investment and reform rather than one-year rights.

Section 33 of the Constitution

Right to lawful, reasonable, and procedurally fair administrative action; right to written reasons.

Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA)

Statute setting out grounds for judicial review of administrative action and codifying the constitutionally-based review power.

PAJA section 6(2) grounds: (b) improper procedure

Review ground when the administrator did not follow an applicable procedure or empowered process.

PAJA section 6(2) grounds: (d) error of law

Review ground asserting the decision-maker misapplied or misunderstood the governing law.

PAJA section 6(2) grounds: (e)(iii) irrelevant considerations

Review ground alleging the decision relied on irrelevant factors or ignored relevant ones.

PAJA section 6(2) grounds: (h) unreasonableness

Standard of review asking whether the decision is so unreasonable that a reasonable decision-maker could not have reached it.

Wednesbury unreasonableness

English-law standard for reasonableness; the test is whether a reasonable authority could reach the decision.

Judicial deference

Court posture of giving weight to expert administrative decisions while maintaining ability to review; not a blank check.

Contextual statutory interpretation (section 2(j) case)

Interpreting statutes by considering context, purposes, and constitutional goals (e.g., equality and transformation) rather than literal words alone.