The fourth ASEAN Chief Justices’ Roundtable on the role of the judiciary in environmental protection opened on December 13th in Hanoi by the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
This regional multilateral forum of ASEAN Chief Justices aims to confirm the role and the vision of judiciary in an effort of protecting environment. At this forum, chief justices and magistrates will share their experience, national and international laws on environmental protection and discuss effective measures to control challenges towards the environment.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam Truong Hoa Binh stressed that the roundtable opens in the context that the environmental issues have become a global pressure. Many countries have alarmed environmental pollution and its bad consequences considering environmental protection a common urgent task of countries all over the world.
The Vietnamese Chief Justice also informed the delegates of the 2014 Law on Environmental Protection of Vietnam with many amendments to contribute to sustainable development. He also hoped to receive more shared experience on setting light on environment-related cases and to find suitable cooperation mechanism of ASEAN courts in environmental protection.
In his speech, ADB General Counsel Christopher Stephens highly appreciated Vietnam’s law reforms with a remark on Vietnam’s target of green growth and low carbon economy and expressed the deep impressions on Vietnam’s progresses in environmental protection.
Themed “Environmental challenges and the role of judiciary”, the two-day roundtable will discuss ASEAN courts’ cooperation in environment, balancing locals’ interests and environmental protection, deforestation, illegal logging, wild animal smuggling, operations of environment-related regulations, and ASEAN courts’ cooperation program.
Arrival and Registration of participants at the hotel
Welcomed and picked up by the SPC
Welcome Dinner
Hosted by Hon. Bui Ngoc Hoa, Permanent Deputy Chief Justice, the Supreme People’s Court of Viet Nam
Attire: Smart Casual
Chair: Hon. Bui Ngoc Hoa, Permanent Deputy Chief Justice
The Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam
Morning Session
Chair: Hon. Bui Ngoc Hoa, Permanent Deputy Chief Justice
The Supreme People’s Court of Viet Nam
Session 1: ASEAN Judiciaries’ Cooperation on the Environment: The Jakarta Common Vision and the Proposed Hanoi Plan of Action
Jakarta Common Vision
ASEAN Judicial Working Group on Environment: First Meeting (10 minutes)
Proposed Hanoi Action Plan to Implement the Jakarta Common Vision (20 minutes)
ASEAN Judiciaries’ Report on their Implementation of the Jakarta Common Vision (10 minutes)
Q&A (25 minutes)
The speakers will summarize: (i) their achievements and challenges in implementing the Jakarta Common Vision, (ii) the results of the first ASEAN Judicial Working Group on Environment meeting, and (iii) the draft Hanoi Action Plan to implement the Jakarta Common Vision.
Afternoon Session
Chair: Hon. Bui Ngoc Hoa, Permanent Deputy Chief Justice
The Supreme People’s Court of Viet Nam
Session 2: Balancing the Rights of Indigenous People and Environmental Protection
Session Facilitator: Atty. Harsha Fernando, Consultant, Sri Lanka Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank
Speakers:
Panel Remarks: Brief Comment
Q&A (30 minutes)
Speakers will present on the basic rights of indigenous people in accordance with their legal system and the enforcement of these rights while ensuring the protection of environment, encroachment on public lands and the means of protecting the environment, while ensuring balance between justice and economic development. Panelists will be given time to briefly comment on the speakers’ presentations or to share an update from their own jurisdiction. The facilitator will then frame the issues and invite participants to share their country’s experiences on these issues.
Session 3: Illegal Logging and Deforestation, Timber Trafficking and Trade
Session Facilitator: Mr. Michael Dyson, Law Enforcement and Governance Specialist (Consultant), Asian Development Bank
Speakers:
Panel Remarks: Brief Comment
Q&A (45 minutes)
The facilitator will frame the issues, while the speakers will give overview presentations on relevant legal provisions and their country’s recent achievements related to the settlement of cases involving deforestation and violations of law on logging, managing and protecting forest. Panelists will be given time for to briefly comment on the speakers’ presentations, or to share an update from their own jurisdiction. The facilitator will then invite the participants to share their country’s experiences on these issues, focusing on their achievements since the Third Roundtable in terms of legislation and adjudication.
Reception hosted by Hon. Truong Hoa Binh, Chief Justice, Supreme People’s Court of Viet Nam
Attire: Smart Casual
Hon. Bui Ngoc Hoa, Permanent Deputy Chief Justice
Supreme People’s Court of Viet Nam
Session 4: Illegal Wildlife Crime, Trafficking and Trade
Session Facilitator: Mr. Scott Roberton, Viet Nam Country Representative, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Speakers:
Panel Remarks: Brief Comment
Q&A (35 minutes)
The facilitator will frame the session by discussing the issues of biodiversity loss and wildlife crimes, especially the illegal wildlife trade. Speakers shall give overview presentations on their country’s relevant legal provisions, enforcement agencies and recent achievements related to the settlement of cases involving the wildlife crimes. The facilitator will then invite participants to share their country experiences on these issues. The presentations and discussions shall focus on the achievements since the Third Roundtable in terms of legislation, enforcement, and adjudication. Panelists will be given time to briefly comment on the speakers’ presentations, or to share an update from their own jurisdiction. Participants will then be invited to share their country’s experiences on these issues.
Session 5: Updates on Judicial Environmental Institutions: Courts, Rules and Access to Environmental Justice
Session Facilitator: Justice Rachel Pepper, Judge, Land and Environmental Court of New South Wales, Australia
Speakers:
Panel Remarks: Brief Comment
Q&A (30 minutes)
Speakers shall update the Roundtable on the process of decision-making in their environmental courts and decisions since the last Roundtable. As the judiciaries are generally familiar with these courts and institutions, speakers and panelists will focus on specific institutional, case, and rule updates that have affected the rights of the public to access environmental rights, since the last Roundtable. The facilitator will share her experiences from an Australian perspective and then frame the legal provisions and practical experiences of the judiciary which can improve the access of the public, media and judges to information related to the cases. Panelists will be given time to briefly comment on the speakers’ presentations, or share an update from their own jurisdiction. Participants will then be invited to share their country’s experiences on these issues.
Session 6: The Judiciary, the Executive and Environmental Protection
Session Facilitator: Justice Presbitero Velasco, Jr., Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Philippines
Speakers:
Panel Remarks: Brief Comment
Q&A (10 minutes)
Representative from the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam and Lahore High Court, Pakistan will give a general presentation on the coordination among the legislative, executive and judicial agencies in protecting the environment in general, and in deciding environmental disputes, in particular. The coordination among these agencies is mostly in drafting laws and deciding environmental cases. In contrast, in Singapore and some other common law countries, judicial independence requires complete separation between the executive and the judiciary. Panelists will be given time to briefly comment on the speakers’ presentations, or share an update from their own jurisdiction. Participants will then share their experiences with other state agencies in protecting the environment, particularly in deciding environmental cases.
Session 7: Assessment of Damages in Environmental Cases
Session Facilitator: Justice Rachel Pepper, Judge, Land and Environmental Court of New South Wales, Australia
Speakers:
Q&A (20 minutes)
The facilitator will frame the issues. The speakers will then present their judiciary’s method(s) of assessing damages in environmental cases in accordance with their legal system, the advantages of their chosen method(s), and the challenges they face in assessing such damages. The facilitator will then invite the participants to share their country’s experiences on these issues.
Session 8: Environmental Institutional Reforms and Training Institutes
Session Chair: Justice Adolfo Azcuna, Chancellor, Philippine Judicial Academy
Co-Facilitator: Dr. Kala Mulqueeny, Principal Counsel, Asian Development Bank
Speakers:
Panel Remarks: Brief Comment:
Q&A (15 minutes)
The facilitator will frame the issues, while the speakers will then present their judicial training institute’s method(s) of incorporating environment law and issues into their training curriculum at the candidate judge level and senior judge level. They will propose improvements as needed. Panelists will be given time to briefly comment on the speakers’ presentations, or share an update from their own jurisdiction. Participants will then be invited to share their country’s experiences on these issues.
Session 9: Cooperation amongst ASEAN Judiciaries on Environmental Protection
Chair: Representative of ADB and of the SPC of Vietnam
Participants will then be invited to share their opinions on these issues.
Chair: Hon. Bui Ngoc Hoa, Permanent Deputy Chief Justice
Supreme People’s Court of Viet Nam
Souvenir Presentation
Closing Remarks
Check-out and departure
Jakarta Common Vision
Justice Takdir Rahmadi, Justice, Civil Chamber, Supreme Court of Indonesia
ASEAN Judiciaries' Cooperation on the Environment
Dr. Kala Mulqueeny, Principal Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, Asian Development Bank
Mr. Ngo Cuong
Director General of International Cooperation Department, Supreme People’s Court of Viet Nam
Ms. Lucille Karen E. Malilong-Isberto
Head, Executive Council of the Committee on Monuments and Sites, Philippine National Commission for Culture and the Arts
Mr. Rizal Bukhari
National Forestry Policy Senior Manager, The Nature Conservancy Indonesia
LLM. LE Van Minh
Director Institute for Judicial Science, SPC
Ms. Lucille Karen E. Malilong-Isberto
Head, Executive Council of the Committee on Monuments and Sites, Philippine National Commission for Culture and the Arts
Gusti Agung Sumanatha.,SH.,MH
Justice of The Supreme Court of Republic of Indonesia
Justice Dam Van Dao
Deputy Chief Judge of Administrative Court, the Supreme People’s Court of Viet Nam
Mr. Scott Roberton
Wildlife Conservation Society
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah
Judge, Lahore High Court, Pakistan
Ms. Aye Aye Hlaing
Deputy Director International Relations Unit Research Department Office of the Supreme Court of the Union
Justice Somsack Taybounlack
Vice President, People’s Court of the Middle Region of Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Justice Ubonrath Luivikkai
Judge, Supreme Court of Thailand
Justice Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr.,
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Philippines
Justice Takdir Rahmadi
Justice, Civil Chamber, Supreme Court of Indonesia
Mr. Duong Thanh An
Head, Law Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah
Judge, Lahore High Court, Pakistan
Mr. Aedit Bin Abdullah
Judicial Commissioner, Supreme Court of Singapore
Justice Rachel Pepper
Judge, Land and Environmental Court of New South Wales, Australia
Justice Merideth Wright
Distinguished Judicial Scholar, Environmental Law Institute, formerly Vermont Environment Court
Justice Chu Xuan Minh
Director, Judge Training School, Viet Nam
Justice Agung Sumanatha
Head, Judicial Training Center for Judiciary, Supreme Court of Indonesia