Judges and judicial institutions stand in a unique position in the fight against environmental degradation. As the branch of government charged with interpreting and implementing laws, the judiciary is empowered to ensure that both the spirit and the letter of environmental laws are complied with. Because environmental violations very often have transboundary aspects, however, judicial proceedings addressing such violations will also have international aspects and will benefit from cooperation between the relevant judges. Moreover, given the rapid development of environmental laws, however, judges are challenged to keep abreast of developments in this field. By working together, the world’s judges can improve their abilities in this regard.
On the eve of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), UNEP brought together the largest gathering of the world’s Chief Justices ever convened at a Global Judges Symposium. At this Symposium, the judges affirmed their commitment to combating environmental degradation through the application of environmental law. In the “Johannesburg Principles,” adopted at the Symposium, the world’s judges called for improved environmental education, including for the judiciary. Since then, UNEP has been facilitating regional judges training workshops, designed to improve the judiciary’s knowledge and understanding of environmental law.
In addition to the case studies below, additional discussion and examples relating to judicial matters may be found following Guidelines 32
, 41(a)(v), 41(c)(vi), 41(i), 41(o), 43(c), 43(d), and 46.