After a protracted court battle of seven years, a small South African environmental organisation won a major legal victory against the multinational agri-chemical and seed giant Monsanto.

In a judgment in South Africa's highest court, the Constitutional Court, this month, Judge Albie Sachs overturned a previous ruling by a High Court judge that Biowatch had to pay the costs of Monsanto and the government's department of agriculture.

This judgment followed after a number of court cases which started in 2002 when Biowatch launched court proceedings in the High Court demanding access to information about genetically modified (GM) crops produced by Monsanto. Biowatch is a non-profit organisation that campaigns for sustainable agricultural practices.

"Although Biowatch won the case, it was ordered that we pay all costs of both the department of agriculture and Monsanto. It would have destroyed us if we had to pay the costs," Rose Williams, Biowatch director, told IPS.

In his judgment Sachs said "public interest litigation could be jeopardised by the severe financial penalty that costs orders would impose on the organisations bringing these suits. The protection of environmental rights will not only depend on the diligence of public officials, but on the existence of a lively civil society willing to litigate in the public interest."

Sachs also said that this case is "a matter of great interest to the legal profession, the general public, and bodies concerned with public interest litigation".

An elated Williams responded by saying that, "the constitutional court victory proves that constitutional rights of South Africans are being protected. We believe that there are a number of health and environmental risks resulting from GM technology. The information about these risks has to be made public."

Responding to the Constitutional Court judgment, Monsanto said: "Monsanto will naturally abide by the court decision."

Article Continues: IPS

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