Key Facts
- •Energybuild Mining Ltd. held a coal mining licence granted in 1996 (varied in 2013) with conditions precedent for the authorisation to come into force.
- •Section 26A of the Coal Industry Act 1994 (inserted by the Wales Act 2017), effective April 1, 2018, requires Welsh Ministers' approval for coal mining operations in Wales.
- •Conditions precedent were met in September 2020, after Section 26A came into force.
- •Welsh Ministers decided Section 26A didn't apply because the licence predated the section.
- •Coal Action Network challenged this decision via judicial review.
Legal Principles
Statutory interpretation: The objective is to identify the meaning of words used by Parliament in light of their context and the purpose of the provision.
Rakusen v Jepsen [2023] UKSC 9, paragraph 34; R. (on the application of O) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (paragraph 29); R. v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, ex parte Spath Holme Ltd. [2001] A.C. 349 (at p.396)
Presumption against retrospectivity: Legislation is presumed not to operate retrospectively unless explicitly stated.
Common law principle of statutory interpretation
Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights: Protection of property rights, including against arbitrary deprivation.
European Convention on Human Rights
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
Section 26A applies to licences granted *after* its enactment, not to authorisations within pre-existing licences, even if those authorisations only came into effect later. The 'licence' itself, not the 'authorisation' within it, is the relevant instrument for determining the application of Section 26A. The Court determined that the natural and ordinary meaning of Section 26A is that it only relates to licenses granted after April 1st 2018.