"East Africa Court of Justice hands down judgment frustrating civil society’s pursuit of justice in EACOP case"

...Today, in a crucial ruling that will negatively impact the environmental rights of the people of Uganda and Tanzania, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) handed down a judgment in the case that challenges the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) by TotalEnergies, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and the Ugandan and Tanzanian governments.

The EACJ ruled that the preliminary objection on jurisdiction raised by the Tanzanian and Ugandan governments, regarding the date when the case was filed, was out of the required timeframe and thus time barred. The  EACJ found that the applicants should have filed the case as early as 2017 rather than in 2020 and, as a result, the court does not have jurisdiction to hear the matter. 

As a result, the court has determined that the Applicants, who include the civil society organisations, Natural Justice (NJ), Centre for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT), Centre for Strategic Litigation (CSL) and Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), are unable to proceed with the merits of the case in the EACJ.