Regional Judges Symposia

In order to promote the role of the judiciary in sustainable development UNEP has convened Regional Symposia for Judges on the Role of the Judiciary in Promoting the Rule of Law in the Area of Sustainable Development. The Symposia brought together Chief Justices and Prosecutors from countries in the different regions with the aim to:

Mombasa, Kenya (1996)
The first Symposium was held in Mombasa, Kenya in October 1996 and targeted African countries. UNEP organised it under the Joint UNEP/UNDP Project on Environmental Law in Africa funded by the Dutch Government. Judges and judicial officers from Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda were in attendance.

Colombo, Sri Lanka (1997)
Encouraged by the outstanding results of this pioneering initiative, UNEP organised the second Symposium for countries in South Asia in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in July 1997. The Symposium was organised in collaboration with the South Asia Cooperative Environment Program (SACEP), with funding from the Royal Norwegian Government through Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). Delegations from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka attended.

Manila, Philippines (1999)
Another Symposium, the Southeast Asian Justices Symposium: ‘The Law on Sustainable Development’ was held in Manila, Philippines, from 4–7 March 1999. The event was organised by UNEP in partnership with UNDP, the Government of the Philippines and the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The Chief Justice of the Philippines hosted the Symposium. Participants included Chief Justices, Deputy Chief Justices, Judges and Senior Government Officials from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Mexico City, Mexico (2000)
A fourth Symposium, on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development: Access to Environmental Justice in Latin America, was held in Mexico City, Mexico, 26-28 January 2000. The Symposium, organised by UNEP with the collaboration of the Federal Attorney General’s Office for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) of the Mexican Government, was attended by Supreme Court Justices and other high-level judges from the following countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Peru. A publication with the proceedings, the judges' presentations and the core working paper of the symposium was prepared and released by UNEP in September 2000.

Castries, Saint Lucia (2001)
The fifth Judicial Symposium, on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development: Access to Environmental Justice for the Countries of the English Speaking Caribbean, was held in Castries, Saint Lucia, on 8-10 April 2001. The event was organised by UNEP and the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE), including the World Bank, Commonwealth Secretariat, US Environmental Protection Agency, CIDA-ENACT Jamaica and the Natural Resources Conservation Authority of Jamaica. Thirty-four high-level judges and prosecutors participated in the programme.

Brisbane, Australia (2002)
The last Symposium, the Pacific Symposium on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, was held in Brisbane on 4-8 February 2002. Chief Justices and Judges from 9 Pacific Island States participated: the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Commonwealth Secretariat and the United Nations University (UNU).

The Chief Justices and Judges made presentations on their National Environmental legal systems in view of the challenges and Recent Trends in the Development of Environmental Jurisprudence. A Statement of Conclusions and Recommendations was adopted at the end of the Symposium. One of the main recommendations was to identify an institution in Queensland that could serve as a Regional Centre for Capacity Building in the field of Environmental Law and MEAs, for the benefit of Pacific Island States.

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