Wakilii

Eryau v Environmental Action Network (Civil Appl. No. 39 of 2001)

High Court · [2002] UGHC 133 · 2002 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to be heard in opposition to main application arising from Miscellaneous Application No. 39 of 2001
Decision
Applicant not permitted to participate further in the main application concerning restrictions on smoking in public places

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court dismissed the application for leave to be heard in opposition. Held that while the applicant, a smoker, would be a person affected under Rule 4 of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Enforcement) Procedure Rules 1992, he had been sufficiently heard during the application hearing and his concerns about defining which public places should exclude smoking would be considered in the main application. The Court found the applicant to be an obstructionist offering nothing useful if allowed further participation.

Outcome

Applicant not permitted to participate further in the main application concerning restrictions on smoking in public places

Facts

Joseph Eryau, a smoker and former British American Tobacco Quality Controller, applied for leave to be heard in opposition to Miscellaneous Application No. 39 of 2001 filed by the Environmental Action Network. The main application sought declarations that smoking in public places violates constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment and to life. The Court had previously struck out prayers 3 and 4 of the main application seeking to criminalise smoking in public and order prosecution. Eryau claimed the remaining prayers would compromise his own fundamental rights as a smoker. During examination, he admitted he does not smoke in all public places indiscriminately and acknowledged the need to respect certain places by not smoking there. He testified that he smoked at home and while employed by BAT would go outside to smoke rather than inconvenience office colleagues.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant qualifies as 'a person affected' under Rule 4 of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Enforcement) Procedure Rules 1992 entitling him to be heard in opposition to the main application seeking to restrict smoking in public places.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • No need for the applicant to be heard in Miscellaneous Application No. 39 of 2001.
  • Miscellaneous Application No. 39 of 2001 to proceed to hearing without further interference.

Rules and key headnotes

Fundamental Rights — Locus Standi — Person Affected
A person qualifies as 'a person affected' under Rule 4 of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Enforcement) Procedure Rules 1992 if the relief sought would directly affect their rights, even where the Court has already struck out the most concerning prayers from the application.
Interlocutory Applications — Leave to be Heard — Discretion
Where an applicant seeking leave to oppose a main application has been sufficiently heard during the leave application itself and the Court has taken note of his concerns for consideration in the main hearing, the Court may exercise its discretion to refuse further participation if the applicant is found to be obstructionist and offering nothing useful.
Right to Clean and Healthy Environment — Smoking in Public Places — Balancing Rights
When considering restrictions on smoking in public places to protect the right to a clean and healthy environment, it is necessary to define which specific public places should be excluded from smoking rather than imposing a blanket exclusion from all public places, as the latter would be inappropriate and unacceptable.
Right to Health — Passive Smoking — Judicial Notice
Courts may take judicial notice of overwhelming scientific evidence that cigarette smoke is harmful not only to direct smokers but more so to passive unknowing smokers who directly inhale cigarette smoke without the safeguards available to the smoker such as cigarette filters.

Legislation cited (10)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Eryau v Environmental Action Network (Civil Appl. No. 39 of 2001) [2002] UGHC 133 (19 June 2002)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.