MANILA, PHILIPPINES — High court judges from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reaffirmed their commitment to environmental law and climate change at a roundtable meeting last weekend in Cambodia.
The Fifth ASEAN Chief Justices’ Roundtable on Environment was organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and hosted by the Supreme Court of Cambodia in Siem Reap on 4-5 December, 2015. High court judges from all 10 ASEAN countries and ADB’s General Counsel, Christopher Stephens, discussed the challenges faced by ASEAN countries when applying laws on the environment and climate change, and determining complex issues of environmental impact, damage assessment, and valuation and adjudication.
The Chief Justices’ Roundtable, which ADB has been sponsoring since 2011, is unique to the Asia Pacific region. Together with the Chief Justices’ Roundtable for the South Asia Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which ADB also started in 2012, Asia is the only region in the world that convenes Chief Justices’ roundtables dedicated to environmental issues, and ADB is the only regional multilateral development bank supporting such meetings.
Among the key issues discussed at the ASEAN roundtable were balancing the realities of economic development in the region and the need for environmental protection. Participants recognized the need for capacity building in areas such as environmental damage assessment; statutory penalties; the technical and financial issues of cleanup; restoration and remediation; and public interest environmental litigation.
The roundtable also highlighted the significant progress made in creating national or regional working groups on environment, “greening benches”, and building capacity for environmental adjudication, including judicial training and certification programs on the environment.
“Each of the ASEAN countries has signed relevant treaties on environmental protection and have most of the necessary national laws and regulations required to protect the environment but gaps still remain in the application and enforcement of those laws, and much of that gap arises from lack of capacity and resources among judiciaries,” said Mr. Stephens. “The ASEAN judiciaries hold a powerful leadership role in steering domestic and regional action towards environmentally sustainable development.”
ASEAN member countries are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
Similar roundtables have also been held in South Asia in the past few years. A few days before the ASEAN Chief Justices’ Roundtable, ADB and the Supreme Court of Nepal co-organized the Fourth South Asia Judicial Roundtable on Environmental Justice in Kathmandu on 28-29 November. The event brought together Chief Justices and senior judges, legal professionals, and multi-disciplinary experts from South Asian countries, Brazil, the UK, and the US. At the end of the roundtable, the participants reaffirmed their continuing commitment to promote environmental protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation through more effective jurisprudence in South Asia.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2014, ADB assistance totaled $22.9 billion, including cofinancing of $9.2 billion.
Arrival of the ASEAN Judicial Delegates
Welcomed and picked up by the Supreme Court of Cambodia
(SCC: Vice president and or Secretary General and Protocol Officers)
Optional sightseeing of Siem Reap City for all participants (sponsored by the Supreme Court of Cambodia)
Opening Ceremony
The session will start with a video presentation from Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin who will introduce recent international developments in environmental justice and speak to the important role of the judiciary as environmental decision makers.
The facilitator will frame key challenges in balancing economic development with environmental protection, and thereby furthering environmental justice outcomes. The speakers will then present on their country’s experiences in addressing the often inherent conflict between economic and environmental interests, with a focus on their environmental impact assessment process and the role of the judiciary in this regard.
Speakers will discuss the methods of assessing environmental damages, the value of proper environmental damage assessment in deciding environmental cases and progress and challenges experienced by the courts in this regard.
The facilitator will frame the challenges relating to implementing and enforcing statutory penalties for environmental violations. The speakers will share their thoughts on the strengths or weaknesses of the penalties prescribed under their national laws and the impact of alternative sentencing or creative penology in deterring environmental crime.
The facilitator will frame the key issues facing judges in respect to clean up and restoration of environmental damage. The speakers will discuss landmark cases on cleanup and restoration within their respective jurisdictions.
The facilitator will frame the session by highlighting the various domestic and transboundary environmental challenges confronting the region. He will then invite the speakers to share their experiences in dealing with these challenges within their respective jurisdictions.
The facilitator will identify the benefits of environmental public interest litigation as well as the challenges to bringing successful public interest cases. The speakers will discuss landmark environmental public interest cases in their respective jurisdictions.
The facilitator will frame benefits of providing mutual legal assistance among judiciaries in addressing transboundary environmental challenges and handling environmental cases impacting more than one jurisdiction. The speakers will present their insights on transboundary environmental challenges requiring judicial cooperation on environment and their experience working with other judiciaries in the region.
Chair: H.E Dith Munty, President of the Supreme Court of Cambodia
Co-Chair: Mr. Christopher Stephens, General Counsel, Asia Development Bank
Endorsement:
All participants will be invited to comment on the proposed statement and to endorse the statement
Justice Vijith Malalgoda, Justice and President of the Court of Appeals, Sri Lanka
Ben Boer, Deputy Chair, IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, Distinguished Professor, Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University and Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney
Rt. Hon. Tun Arifin bin Zakaria, Chief Justice, Federal Court of Malaysia
Justice Tan Sri Ahmad bin Maarop, Federal Court Judge, Federal Court of Malaysia
Carol Adaire Jones, Visiting Scholar, Environmental Law Institute
Hon. Chiv Keng, Vice President, Supreme Court of Cambodia
Justice Aung Zaw Thein, Supreme Court of the Union of Myanmar
Justice Takdir Rahmadi, Civil Chamber, Supreme Court of Indonesia
Ben Boer, Deputy Chair, IUCN World Commission on EnvironmentalLaw, Distinguished Professor, Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University and Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney
John Pendergrass, Acting Vice President, Research and Policy, Environmental Law Institute
Justice Tan Sri Ahmad bin Maarop, Federal Court Judge, Federal Court of Malaysia
Justice Takdir Rahmadi, Civil Chamber, Supreme Court of Indonesia
Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Supreme Court of the Philippines
Justice Hima Kohli, Delhi High Court of India
Session Facilitator: Ben Boer, Emeritus Professor, Deputy Chair, IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, Distinguished Professor, Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University and Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney
Justice Tan Sri Ahmad bin Maarop, Federal Court Judge, Federal Court of Malaysia
Justice Magdangal De Leon, Court of Appeals, Philippines
Justice Vijith Malalgoda, Justice and President of the Court of Appeal, Sri Lanka
