In
recent years UNEP has paid increasing attention to the judiciary and other
legal stakeholders as focal point for the promotion of environmental law
at the national level. The Judiciary is a crucial partner in the development,
interpretation, implementation and enforcement of environmental law. UNEP
has thus started a Judges Programme, targeted at the more specific needs
of judicial stakeholders. The initiative is based on the idea that the
role of the Judiciary is fundamental in the promotion of compliance with
and enforcement of international and national environmental law. It aims
at promoting judiciary networking, sharing of legal information, and harmonisation
of the approach to the implementation of global and regional instruments.
Courts of Law of many countries have demonstrated sensitivity to promoting
the rule of law in the field of sustainable development through their
judgements and pronouncements, e.g. through applying international environmental
law principles such as the polluter pays principle, the precautionary
principle and the principle of intergenerational equity. (For further
reference, see the three Volumes
of UNEP Compendia of Summaries of Environment Related Cases).
UNEP’s commitment to this end is based on the specific mandate provided
for in the Programme for the Development and Periodic Review of Environmental
Law for the First Decade of the Twenty-first Century (Montevideo
Programme III). The Programme, adopted in 2001, identifies the Judiciary
as one of the key target groups for capacity building activities in the
field of environmental law.
UNEP’s work, focusing on the judiciary, commenced with the organisation
of Regional Judges Symposia on
environmental law, sustainable development and the role of the Judiciary.
Based on the outcome of these Symposia, UNEP convened the Global
Judges Symposium on Sustainable Development and the Role of Law in
Johannesburg, South Africa, on 18-20 August 2002, as a parallel event
to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The outcome of the Global
Judges Symposium, the Johannesburg
Principles on the Role of Law and Sustainable Development, was presented
to the UN Secretary General and to the World Summit on Sustainable Development
(WSSD).
Following the Global Judges Symposium UNEP prepared a practical plan of
work, and organised a meeting of a small group of judges representative
of the world’s legal systems and regions, to secure their advice
on the plan of work. The meeting, the Judges
Ad Hoc Meeting for the Development of a Plan of Work as a Follow-Up
to the Global Judges Symposium Relating to Capacity Building of Judges,
Prosecutors, and Other Legal Stakeholders, was held in Nairobi, Kenya
one week before the 22nd session of the Governing Council of UNEP.
The participants
adopted a final document, containing suggestions on how to develop and
implement the capacity building programme, which was presented to the
Governing Council of UNEP at its opening session on 3 February 2003 by
the Chief Justice of South Africa.
The 22nd session of the Governing Council, held in Nairobi on 3-7 February
2003, endorsed UNEP’s commitment in this field in its decision
22/17 on Governance and Law, part II, A on Follow-up to the Global
Judges Symposium focusing on capacity-building in the area of environmental
law. To implement UNEP Governing Council decision 22/17 II(A) UNEP has
embarked upon an extensive work programme (the Global Judges Programme),
developed and carried out with the advise and guidance of a UNEP Ad
hoc Advisory Group of Chief Justices and other Judges drawn from around
the world, headed by the Chief Justice of South Africa.
The goal of this
programme of work is for UNEP to carry out, on a cohesive, structured
and sustained basis, national activities under the direction and guidance
of the respective Chief Justices, for strengthening the role of the judiciary
in securing environmental governance, adherence to the rule of law and
the effective implementation of national environmental policies, laws
and regulations including the national level implementation of multilateral
environmental agreements. Several governments, including the governments
of the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway have provided significant financial
support to UNEP for the implementation of this programme of work.
The programme, set
out in a Road Map, is implemented by the Environmental Law Branch of UNEP's
Division of Policy Development and Law, in collaboration with relevant
Divisions and Regional Offices of UNEP as well as several partner agencies.
To facilitate the
conduct of capacity-building activities at national level that were
carried out beginning in 2004 UNEP convened throughout 2003 and the first
half of 2004, eleven Regional
Chief Justices Needs-Assessment and Planning Meetings. These Meetings
have drawn up needs-responsive and country specific national programmes
of work for strengthening judicial capacity in the area of environment
and sustainable development.
These national programmes
of work are implemented at the national level by the Chief Justices
and the respective national judicial training institutions, and are
supported by UNEP in partnership with a global alliance of partners, including
the World Bank Institute, the United Nations University, UNITAR, IUCN,
the global academia and regional and national institutions with relevant
capabilities in the area of environmental law, training and education.
The programme also
includes the development of a series of environmental law training materials,
to be translated into the official languages of the UN. These materials
include:
In February 2005, prior to the
23rd Session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC-23/GMEF), UNEP organised a Roundtable Dialogue on advancing MDGs through the rule of law, affirming that an independent judiciary is one of the key elements of a legal system operating under the rule of law and that the judiciary is also a crucial partner in achieving the appropriate balance between environmental, social and developmental considerations to achieve sustainable development: moreover, ensuring an informed and active judiciary is crucial to achieving the MDGs. To read more about the roundtable dialogue click here>>
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