In 1998, the Governor of Khartoum State issued a directive establishing a specialised court to deal with environmental transgressions at the state (i.e., sub-national) level. The court is supervised by the Khartoum Centre Development Corporation (KCDC), which has approximately 100 environmental officers in its environmental monitoring unit. The judges of the court are appointed by the Judiciary Corporation, and the court has a special police force under its service. The court deals with an array of cases regarding environmental violations, such as cutting of trees, improper waste disposal, and sewage spills. The court applies a number of environmental and conservation laws, including the Environmental Protection Act of 2001. A salient feature of this Act is the right of any person to lodge a civil claim in a case where there has been some environmental damage – and the person does not have to prove his or her connection with such damage.
The court has heard and decided a number of cases. Some of these cases involved governmental institutions that violated environmental laws and were brought to the court by the KCDC, and the institutions were fined and ordered to mitigate the environmental damage. Recently, a private company that cut down two trees was fined approximately US$5,000, and the company was ordered to plant a number of trees and look after them until the trees are mature.
Due to the success of this court in protecting the environment, two other environmental courts were established in Khartoum North and Omdurman Towns in 2000.
For more information, contact Mr. Adil Ali at hcenr@sudanmail.net