The World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability was held in Brazil, from 17-20 June 2012, with the aim to contribute to the support of Chief Justices, Attorneys General, Auditors Generals and other legal experts to the achievement of sustainable development and to provide inputs to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio +20.
The meeting, held at the Portobello Resort in Mangaratiba, and at the Supreme Court of the State of Rio de Janeiro, was hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Association of Judges of the State of Rio de Janeiro (AMAERJ), the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and the Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Partners in organizing the event included the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the World Bank, the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The Congress gathered high-level judges, prosecutors, auditors and other legal experts for four days of interchange of experiences and discussion on leading cases and challenges in promoting a healthy environment from the legal field. The aim of the World Congress was to foster a common vision and principles on how to use justice, law and governance to promote sustainable development.
More than 200 participants attended the Congress and emphasized the value of exchanging experiences at the national level and the need for enhancing international cooperation. After lively exchanges of views on how to reflect their ideas in a final document, participants agreed to include views in a declaration to be presented to the Rio +20 Conference. The “Rio +20 Declaration on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability” sets out three main sections on: messages to Heads of State and government and the world community; procedural and substantive principles to advance the rule of law on environmental matters; and on an institutional framework for the advancement of justice, governance and law for environmental sustainability. The Declaration reflects participants’ demand for a follow-up process suggesting that UNEP lead the establishment of an international institutional network to continue engaging high-level legal officers, and promote information exchange, education and capacity building of members of the judicial, auditing and prosecuting agencies.
The first Global Judges Symposium was convened by UNEP in 2002, in conjunction with the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). Since then, the importance of the judiciary in environmental matters has resulted in a rich corpus of decisions, as well as in the creation of specialized environmental courts. Involvement by the judiciary in environmental policy implementation and enforcement has been recognized to have a lasting effect on improving social justice, environmental governance and the further development of environmental law, especially in developing countries.
Preparatory meetings for the World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability were convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 12-13 October 2011 and in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 23-24 April 2012. The “Kuala Lumpur Statement” highlights, among other issues, the key role of the legal community in advancing national and international efforts to attain environmental sustainability goals. The Statement notes the need to strengthen the operational linkages between social justice and environment in areas such as environmental impact assessment, procedural principles, including principles regarding access to information, participation and access to justice, balancing environmental and development considerations in judicial decision-making and public prosecution, and wider use of environmental audits, as a means of promoting social justice. It also provides that legal foundations for the advancement of environmental sustainability must be strengthened through mutual support to safeguard the environment and human rights.
The Buenos Aires Statement identified the following themes for consideration and discussion during the Congress: (i) social justice and environmental sustainability: new approaches; (ii) the challenge of environmental governance at national, regional and global levels: improving effectiveness; and (iii) the future of environmental law: emerging issues and opportunities. A list of proposals to be further considered at the Congress, and a summary of discussions on the three core topics were included in the Statement, providing a content-rich background for participants at the World Congress.
Overview for Judges
Annotated Provisional Programme
Buenos Aires Statement
Concept Note