Cullinan & Associates Inc.

03/02/2025

Another milestone reached in our application to the Pretoria High Court to release the Johannesburg Zoo Elephants!

CASE NO: 32881/2022
In the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria in the matter between, Animal Law Reform, EMS Foundation, Chief Stephen Fritz and Johannesburg City Parks and Zoos and the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality the final affidavit was served on the respondents electronically today 31st January 2025, and has been uploaded onto CaseLines.

The EMS Foundation would like to take this opportunity of thanking our co applicants, our legal team from Cullinan and Associates and Group 261 and all the many experts and witnesses who have so graciously assisted us with this ground breaking litigation.

We eagerly await the next part of the legal process all the while we are cognisant of the three souls in captivity.

21/08/2024

Charlie, an elephant who was in a circus before spending more than two decades at the Pretoria Zoo, has now arrived at his new home at the Shambala Private Reserve in Limpopo! Sarah Kvalsvig and Lesai Seema, biodiversity lawyers at Cullinan & Associates, have been advising the EMS Foundation on this project to retire Charlie to the Reserve.

The campaign to free Pretoria Zoo’s elephants lasted for years and included accusations and protests. But finally, the zoo’s last elephant, Charlie, is back in the wilds.

20/08/2024

Cullinan & Associates Director Cormac Cullinan published his groundbreaking book, Wild Law, 21 years ago. Since then it has only become more relevant. In this in-depth interview with Don Pinnock for the Daily Maverick, Cormac outlines his vision for how we can re-imagine our legal systems to make ecological conservation and living harmoniously with Nature their central purpose, instead of focussing on legitimising the exploitation of Earth.

Two armchairs by a fire, with rain pelting down outside, provided a cosy setting for a disconcerting conversation with a leading environmental lawyer about the state of the planet.

06/08/2024

Our future's at stake. Help save our land, home to 1 in 3 surviving African elephants.

31/07/2024

Charley, an elephant who was in a circus before spending more than two decades at the Pretoria Zoo is at last being relocated to a nature reserve for his last years. Sarah Kvalsvig and Lesai Seema, biodiversity lawyers at Cullinan & Associates, have been advising the EMS Foundation on the project to retire Charley to Shambala Private Nature Reserve. It is hoped he will eventually be integrated into Shambala’s resident elephant herd!

The African elephant bull has never lived in the wild.

03/07/2024

We a privileged to be representing Natural Justice and Greenpeace Africa in applying to the ConCourt to put an end to Shell's right to explore for oil and gas off the Wild Coast.

Wild Coast communities and environmental organisations ask the apex court to rule against an earlier SCA decision.

04/06/2024

The Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal by Shell, Impact Africa and the Department of Mineral Resoruces and Energy of the Makhanda High Court judgement which set aside the exploration right and subsequent renewals granted to Shell to conduct oil and gas exploration off the Wild Coast. The High Court found that the right was granted unlawfully because of the failure to notify and consult affected communities.

While the SCA has agreed and upheld this decision, Ponnan J declined to set aside Shell's exploration right and renewal decisions in their entirety, favouring what he termed a more “pragmatic” approach “in crafting just and equitable remedies in the exercise of its wide remedial powers.” As a result, it held that, while the exploration right was granted unlawfully, a renewal of the unlawfully granted right may yet be granted.

Shell is refocusing its business on opening new oil and gas fields that will fuel catastrophic climate change and threaten the lives and human rights of millions of people, particularly in Africa. There is a tragic irony in the SCA using its constitutional powers to grant “a just and equitable remedy” not to protect the human rights of current and future generations, but to preserve Shell’s application to renew its exploration right.

Bloemfontein, 03 June 2024: The Supreme Court of Appeal today dismissed an appeal by Shell, Impact Africa and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy of the Makhanda High Court judgment which set aside the exploration right and subsequent renewals granted to Shell to conduct oil and gas explo...

15/05/2024

On Friday 17 May 2024, Wild Coast communities and supporting organisations, including Cullinan & Associates, will be in the Supreme Court of Appeal to defend the groundbreaking High Court judgement which set aside Shell’s exploration right to explore for oil and gas off the Wild Coast of South Africa.

The persistence by Shell, Impact Africa and the state to overturn the judgment is a clear indication that these entities care more about corporate gains than upholding the rights of communities and protecting our planet.

9 May 2024, Bloemfontein: On 17 May 2024, Wild Coast communities and supporting organisations will be in the Supreme Court of Appeal to defend the groundbreaking High Court judgment which set aside Shell’s exploration right to explore for oil and gas off the Wild Coast of South Africa.  In Septem...

18/04/2024

Read below our statement on the constitutional challenge to the criminalisation of psilocybin mushrooms!

Constitutional challenge to the criminalisation of Psilocybin mushrooms Our Cases Constitutional challenge to the criminalisation of Psilocybin mushrooms Read below our statement on the constitutional challenge to the criminalisation of psilocybin mushrooms, brought forward by the Cullinans Earth Me...

05/04/2024

Limonero Films has picked up world rights to distribute environmental documentary “Wild Coast Warriors,” which follows the court case brought against Shell in 2021 to halt their oil and gas exploration off the Wild Coast. Cullinan & Associates represented Natural Justice and Greenpeace in this case, as they were among the environmental and human rights organisations who, along with Wild Coast communities, opposed Shell's proposed seismic survey. In 2022, the High Court in Makhanda ruled that Shell’s oil and gas exploration right was granted unlawfully and therefore set it aside. The judgement was internationally recognised as a resounding victory for social and environmental justice.

The film will launch at Mipdoc, which runs April 6-7 in Cannes, ahead of the MipTV market and conference.

Limonero Films has picked up world rights to distribute environmental documentary 'Wild Coast Warriors,' which launches at Mipdoc.

27/11/2023

Read our attorney Paul-Michael Keichel's latest article on the proposed Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill which, if passed, could lead to the iterative opening up of a cannabis industry in South Africa.

🔊 You can also listen to Paul-Michael discuss the Bill and its implications with John Maytham at the following link: https://omny.fm/shows/the-john-maytham-show/paul-michael-keichel-high-hopes-that-new-cannabis

If the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill is passed in its current draft, it could lead to the iterative opening up of a cannabis industry, writes Paul-Michael Keichel.

23/11/2023

The six South African defendants, including Cormac Cullinan, have reached an out-of-court agreement in the SLAPP defamation case brought by Australian mining company MRC.

Six South African defendants have reached an agreement with Mineral Commodities Ltd