More 'green' judges needed

The call was made by Surendra Shrestha, director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Asia Pacific Region during the first Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Environmental Justice and Enforcement.

"As climate change becomes a new threat, we need to develop new laws and legal processes in preparing for environmental damage and cases related to climate change," he said.

Shrestha hoped the three-day conference organised by Unep would spark an awareness of environmental challenges among judges, prosecutors and advocates.

More than 80 participants, including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, legal experts and advocates from 38 countries are taking part in the conference at the Amari Watergate hotel which ends tomorrow.

Shrestha said although many countries had already established environment courts, judges in the region still lacked awareness of environmental challenges and very few courts were aware of their role in environmental protection.

He mentioned India as a good example, saying the Supreme Court there had been able to make rulings and enforce environmentally friendly policies.

He also expressed admiration for Thailand, which established an Environment Division in the Supreme Court in 2005.

Sobchok Sukharomna, president of the Environment Division, said the court alone - dubbed by judges as the "Green Bench" - was not enough to ensure justice on environmental issues in Thailand.

"The country also needs to invest in producing 'green judges'. We have learnt that the green division needs skilled judges who have not only mastered environmental laws but also understand the philosophy of environmentalism and ecology. This means we need to have sensitivity for environmental justice and injustice," said Sobchok, who took the position in October.

Sobchok said the investment required for producing "green judges" included systematic training programmes, publishing of good environmental books, the creation of a database on environmental laws and the immediate change of the routine rotation system among judges.

"Judges uphold the rule of law in environmental management, interpret environmental status, implement and enforce environmental laws and promote sustainable development by balancing the environmental, social and development considerations in their decisions," he said.

However, Sobchok did not comment on what would be an adequate number of "green judges", saying only that there were currently 14 judges in the division who had been trained in environmental law.

Pennapa Hongthong

The Nation