Greening Justice: Creating and Improving Environmental Courts and Tribunals.

• Author: Woodruff, Erica
• Position: Book review

GEORGE PRING & CATHERINE PRING, GREENING JUSTICE: CREATING AND IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL COURTS AND TRIBUNALS (2009).

Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development declares that states shall provide citizens with "[e]ffective access to judicial and administrative proceedings." (1) This tall order leaves states wondering how they should structure their court systems to best address environmental issues and concerns. In Greening Justice, George "Rock" Pring, a University of Denver Sturm College of Law professor, and Catherine "Kitty" Pring, a professional mediator, offer a comprehensive guide to environmental courts and tribunals across the globe and the best ways for a state to both create and maintain these tribunals. (2) This guide is the culmination of two years of research and interviews across twenty-four countries, representing one hundred and fifty-two existing or proposed environmental courts and tribunals ("ECTs"). (3) Because countries have differing legal systems and face diverse environmental problems, this guide highlights the wide variety of ECT structures, and considers which characteristics should be emphasized when states determine what type of ECT is best for their citizens.

Based on their research, the authors focus on twelve "building blocks" that are elements of what they believe form a successful ECT: type of forum; legal jurisdiction; ECT decisional levels; geographic area; case volume; standing; costs; access to scientific and technical expertise; alternative dispute resolution ("ADR"); competence of ECT judges and decision-makers; case management; and enforcement tools and remedies. (4) By focusing on these elements, a nation can ensure that its ECT will enhance a citizen's access to courts on environmental issues: Of these factors, the authors considered standing, costs, access and ADR to be the most important components because they have a direct impact on a citizen's initial access to ECTs. (6) Throughout this guide, the authors also give examples of effective and non-effective designs for each factor, as well as create a list of the "best practices" for each of the categories based on their interviews with experts and the authors' own experiences. (7) This perspective not only offers insight into some of the world's smallest ECTs, but also provides inspiration for countries looking to reform their own ECTs or possibly create a new one entirely.

Type of Forum

The first "building block" that the authors consider is the type of forum that would be most appropriate for citizens to voice their concerns about environmental issues. (8) During their research, the authors examined several different types of forums, including freestanding specialized environmental courts, "green chambers," and "green judges." (9) Within a normal, non-specialized court, a "green chamber" is a court that takes only environmental law cases. (10) Similarly, "green judges" are specific judges on a general court who are only assigned environmental cases. (11) After considering all of these options, the authors determined that the "best practice" for a forum is a "clearly identified independent judicial court that is easily identified by the public, whose decision makers are highly trained in environmental law, and whose decisions are documented and published." (12) This type of forum provides the public with reassurance that the ECT is an accessible, legitimate, unbiased place for citizens to bring their concerns about the environment. (13)

The authors especially emphasize that independence is a critical factor for any type of forum. (14) To ensure that an ECT is truly independent, a neutral third party must nominate the ECT's judges, and these judges should not be influenced or controlled by the government. (15) One example of a "best practice" independent environmental tribunal is the Environmental Review Tribunal of the Province of Ontario, Canada, which has the legislative authority to make binding decision on environmental issues. This type of tribunal stands as a separate entity...