Environmental Courts and Tribunals

Environmental Courts and Tribunals (ECTs) are essential to achieve environmental rule of law by giving litigants access to justice and a venue for effective and speedy dispute resolution. ECTs are deemed to be instrumental in attaining United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 on providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. ECTs have been proven to be effective in many national and sub-national jurisdictions. Successful ECTs are posited to be better able to address the pressing environmental disputes and are better positioned than an ordinary court or tribunal to develop innovative remedies and holistic solutions to environmental problems. Hence, ECTs have been seen as a potent mechanism to safeguard environmental rule of law and the effective settlement of environmental disputes across jurisdictions.

Environmental Courts and Tribunals in Southeast Asia

Environmental Courts and Tribunals (ECTs) in Southeast Asia are still being developed, although a number of jurisdictions have specialised approaches to environmental dispute resolution. Rules of procedure for environmental cases and its practical application in dispute resolution for environmental matters offer best practices and impacts on promoting access to justice. Effective and modernised rules of procedure and principles can be applied to achieve environmental justice, specifically in terms of standing, evidence, access to remedies, compliance, and enforcement.

Pacific Environmental Dispute Resolution Mechanism

Environmental problems subject to litigation are often complex, technical and cross-cutting. Especially in transboundary environmental litigation as the resolution of such disputes require clear processes. As it stands, anInternational Environmental Court (IEC) has proven to be elusive as a specialised mode of dispute settlement and the achievement of various environmental goals of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). To fill this gap, states have frequently pursued regional arrangements as a mode of cooperation for dealing with common problems.

Regional bodies for environmental dispute settlement are a particularly sound proposition for states with similar legal regimes facing many shared threats such as the South Pacific region¹.The persistent threats of environmental destruction in Pacific Island states call for an innovative approach to dispute settlement in the region.

ARIEL recommends the creation of an Environmental Tribunal for the Pacific (ETP) aims to mainstream environmental access to justice and promote compliance of various MEAs, thereby contributing to the achievement of inclusive sustainable development across Pacific island countries.