African Judiciaries meeting in Nairobi to discuss climate change litigation

President William Ruto with Chief Justice Martha Koome when he opened the Third regional symposium on greening judiciaries in Africa at Safari Park hotel on Monday, April 03,2023. [Collins Kweyu,Standard] To ensure a sustainable future, President William Ruto has asked judiciaries across Africa to prioritize climate governance. The head of state emphasized the significance of judiciaries in deciding whether African institutions are ready to handle green future mandates. Ruto has asked African judiciaries to collaborate to effectively deal with disputes, standards, rights, and responsibilities related to natural resources, financing climate action, carbon trading and exchanges, and transition management frameworks The president was speaking during the third regional symposium on Greening Judiciaries in Africa where he highlighted the critical role of judiciaries in determining whether African institutions are equipped to handle the mandates required for a green future. "To fully play your part in arbitrating and auditing Africa's aspiration to lead a new industrial revolution, our judiciaries will have to collaborate across the length and breadth of our continent, engage with diverse knowledge domains and interact with numerous sectors," said Ruto. Areas to address He identified areas such as land and natural resource use, financing climate action, and carbon trading as examples of the types of disputes and standards that judiciaries will need to address. To successfully handle these complex issues, Ruto urged judiciaries to broaden their knowledge base beyond the traditional legal disciplines and engage with experts from fields such as ecology, agriculture, and finance. Ruto emphasized that "greening our judiciaries will be inevitably multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary" and encouraged collaboration across the continent to formulate a unified understanding of sustainability. He also challenged judiciaries to be creative in their approach, and to develop jurisprudence that enhances climate action based on the polluter-pays-principle. Africa can drive the mitigation agenda Although climate change is a universal existential threat, Ruto said Africa has a unique responsibility to drive the agenda of mitigating its effects due to the disproportionate impact it has on the continent. He noted that while Africa is the least polluting continent, it is the most adversely affected by climate change, with the entirety of industrial and economic activity from all of the continent's economies contributing less than five percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions. "The brunt of these adverse impacts has been borne by vulnerable African populations residing in the less developed parts of the world," he said. Ruto pointed out that Africa has all the resources necessary to power green industrialization, including clean and green power potential, abundant mineral resources, and a skilled workforce. This he said, shows Africa has the potential to become the world's green economic superpower. Role of Kenya's courts Chief Justice Martha Koome emphasized the critical role that Kenya's courts have played in advancing environmental justice in the country. She noted that Kenya has made significant progress in promoting transformative environmental constitutionalism. The judiciary has interpreted and applied the Constitution and other laws to promote the sustainable use and management of land and natural resources. She further stated that African judiciaries have a responsibility to take a proactive role in combating climate change, and to develop jurisprudence that is uniquely African and responsive to shared concerns. "As guardians of the rule of law and the protectors of the constitutional rights of people, judiciaries have a unique responsibility to ensure that their decisions and judgments contribute to a greener, more resilient, and sustainable Africa," she added. Increase in climate change litigation Judge Nambitha Dambuza of the Constitutional Court in South Africa highlighted the increase of climate change litigation in judicial institutions. "The battles relating to climate change have started to trickle into our judicial institutions, although at a slower pace than the rest of the world. All indications are that that trickle of climate change litigation is likely to increase and soon," she While acknowledging the lack of comprehensive regional climate change legislation, Judge Dambuza emphasized the power of courts to shape jurisprudence that accommodates specific climate change narratives and advances the goals set in climate change policies by African legislatures. "Courts do have the capacity to shape jurisprudence in such a manner that it accommodates specific change narratives," she said. Judge Dambuza also highlighted the importance of respecting the principle of separation of powers and the fact that judicial officers are not experts in matters of science and policy regulation. She stated, "Jurisprudence must be founded on existing law, and judicial officers are not experts in matters of science and broad and complex policy regulation." During the three days symposiums that started on April 3, chief justices and heads of delegations will deliberate on the place of judicial leadership in environmental rule of law. mmbenywe@standardmedia.co.ke

African Judiciaries meeting in Nairobi to discuss climate change litigation

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