UNEP is pleased to announce the release of the Environmental Courts and Tribunals – 2021: Guide for Policy Makers. The publication, an update of the 2016 report, seeks to guide policymakers, judges, academics, and stakeholders interested in improving the adjudication of environmental disputes, in the establishment of environmental courts and tribunals.
The guidance provided takes into account a country’s unique ecological, historical, legal, judicial, religious, economic, cultural, and political conditions. The guide also sets out the main Environmental Courts and Tribunals models which can be those instituted in the judicial branch of government or, the ones instituted in either the executive or administrative branch of government.
The guide further notes that the Environmental Courts and Tribunals may have different degrees of independence. They may be constituted to include legally trained judges possessing a diverse range of environmental law expertise, and even non-law actors (e.g. policymakers and technical experts).
