Asia Pacific Judicial Colloquium on Climate Change: Using Constitutions to Advance Environmental Rights and Achieve Climate Justice

Registration of participants

Inaugural Session

Moderator: Ms. Irum Ahsan, Senior Counsel, Law and Policy Reform, ADB

• Welcome Address by Hon. Mr. Justice Yaawar Ali, Chief Justice, Lahore High Court (10 minutes)
• Opening Remarks by Ms. Elizabeth Mrema, Director of the Law Division, UN Environment (10 minutes)
• Opening Remarks by Mr. Sunil Mitra, Deputy Country Director, Pakistan Resident Mission, ADB (10 minutes)
• Introduction and overview by Professor James R. May, Widener University Delaware Law School (10 minutes)
• Address by Hon. Mr. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan

Coffee break and group photo

Evolution and Innovations in Environmental Constitutionalism and Rights

Moderated by Mr. Andy Raine, Regional Coordinator for Environmental Law and Governance, UN Environment

• (Topic TBD) by Hon. Ms. Justice Ayesha Malik, Judge, Lahore High Court, Pakistan (15 minutes)
• The Interdependence of Human Rights and the Environment by Professor John Knox, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment (15 minutes)
• Judicial Commissions and Climate Justice in Pakistan by Dr. Parvez Hassan, Chairperson, Climate Change Commission, Lahore, Pakistan (15 minutes)
• Climate Justice for Future Generations by Atty. Antonio Oposa, Jr, Environmental Lawyer, Philippines (15 minutes)
• Q&A

Lunch

Global and Regional Developments in Climate Justice

Moderated by Professor Erin Daly, Widener University Delaware Law School

• Climate Justice and the Global Pact by the Rt. Hon. Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (20 minutes)
• Global and Regional Developments [TBC] by Hon. Mr. Justice Tassaduq Jilani, Former Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Pakistan (20 minutes)
• Recent Climate Litigation Concerning Environmental Rights by Hon. Justice Brian Preston, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court, NSW, Australia (20 minutes)
• Climate Change and Vulnerable Groups-Global and Regional Developments by Ms. Irum Ahsan, Senior Counsel, Law and Policy Reform, ADB (10 minutes)
• Q&A

Coffee break

The Convergence of Environmental Constitutionalism, Rights, and Climate Justice

Moderated by Ms. Elizabeth Mrema, Director of the Law Division, UN Environment

• (Topic TBD) by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, Judge Lahore High Court, Pakistan (15 minutes)
• Constitutionalism and Climate Justice by Professor James R. May, Widener University Delaware Law School (10 minutes)
• Climate-induced migration, justice and the courts by Professor Ben Boer, Wuhan University (10 minutes)
• Intersections of Climate Justice and Human Rights: Lessons from South Asia by Dr. Sumudu Anopama Atapattu, Director of Research Centers and Senior Lecturer at UW Law School, Affiliated Professor with RWI (10 minutes)
• Q&A

Dinner for International Delegates and Speakers by (TBC)
End of Day 1

Special Issues in Judicial Implementation of Environmental Constitutionalism, Rights and Climate Justice

Moderated by Denise Antolini, Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, The William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii; and Deputy Chair, World Commission on Environmental Law

Format: One speaker in plenary, followed by five breakout groups that report back to plenary and Q&A. Breakout groups will be led by Moderators and facilitated by the rapporteurs from Pakistan's organizing team. The organizing team will inform participants of breakout group composition on the day.

Speaker: Professor Erin Daly, Delaware Law: Widener University (10 minutes)

*45 minutes for breakout groups discussion
*45 minutes reporting back to plenary
*Coffee and tea will be available during breakout groups

Discussion Topics for Breakout Sessions

• Interpretation and application of environmental constitutional provisions in international, regional, national, and subnational law, with attention to how the various layers interrelate with and complement one another
• Direct implementation of constitutional provisions, and other problems of constitutional interpretation
• How environmental constitutional provisions can be used for climate justice

Judges, the Environment, and Access to Justice in Asia Pacific-Panel Discussion

Moderated by Professor James R. May, Widener University Delaware Law School

Panelists:

• Hon. Mr. Justice Jawad Hassan, Judge, Lahore High Court, Pakistan
• Hon. Judge Fleur Kingham, President of the Land Court of Queensland, Australia
• Ms. Marlene Oliver, Former Environment Commissioner, New Zealand
• Justice Mariano Del Castillio, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Philippines

Topics:

• The role of judges in protecting the environment and advancing climate justice, considering separation of powers, environmental rule of law, and the relationship with environmental constitutionalism " The role of judges in protecting the environment and advancing climate justice, considering separation of powers, environmental rule of law, and the relationship with environmental constitutionalism
• The role of citizens, the public, and NGOs in bringing cases to the courts. Also role of other pillars of the justice system
• Access to justice issues: costs, standing, statutes of limitations, burdens of proof, interim relief, strategic lawsuits against public participation, access to justice by vulnerable groups (e.g., women, indigenous people) and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms

Lunch

Judicial Remedies and Enforcement

Moderated by Ms. Irum Ahsan, Senior Counsel, Law and Policy Reform, ADB

Format: Two speakers in plenary, followed by five breakout groups that report back to plenary and Q&A. Breakout groups will be led by Moderators and facilitated by the rapporteurs from Pakistan's organizing team. The organizing team will inform participants of breakout group composition on the day.

*45 minutes for breakout groups discussion
*45 minutes reporting back to plenary

Speakers:

• [Topic TBC] Ms. Saima Amin Khawaja, Managing Partner Progressive Advocates and Legal Consultants, Pakistan (10 minutes)
• Climate Litigation: A Suitable Discourse for China's Green Courts by Professor Qin Tianbao, Research Institute of Environmental Law (10 minutes)

Discussion Topics for Breakout Sessions:

• Environmental courts and tribunals: developing special rules for environmental/climate change cases; green benches and specialized tribunals
• Remedial orders: judicial responses to a finding of a violation of rights including orders to restore the environment, pay damages, clean up environmental harms, or prevent environmental damage, other innovative orders
• Evidentiary issues in environmental and climate change litigation
• Remedies and enforcement, including the judicial role in coordinating the execution of judgments with other branches of government
• Trends, progress, and challenges in guaranteeing and implementing of environmental constitutionalism for climate justice in countries of the region

Coffee Break

Next Steps, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Moderated by Professor Erin Daly, Delaware Law: Widener University

Speakers:

• Hon. Mr. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Judge, Supreme Court, Pakistan (15 minutes)
• Professor John Knox, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment (15 minutes)
• Mr. Andy Raine, Regional Coordinator for Environmental Law and Governance, UN Environment (15 minutes)
• Ms. Irum Ahsan, Senior Counsel, Law and Policy Reform, ADB (15 minutes)

Closing Ceremony

Moderated by Mr. Andy Raine, Regional Coordinator for Environmental Law and Governance, UN Environment

Closing Address by Hon. Mr. Justice Muhammad Anawaarul Haq, Judge, Lahore High Court, Pakistan(10 minutes)

Closing Remarks by Mr. Nils Henrik Rolf Ring, Deputy Director, Raoul Wallenberg Institute (5 minutes)

Closing Remarks by Ms. Elizabeth Mrema, Director of the Law Division, UN Environment (5 minutes)