The European Union Forum of Judges for the Environment

							 The European Union Forum
 of Judges for the
 Environment

        Prof. Dr. L. Lavrysen
Justice Belgian Constitutional Court
         President EUFJE
Context
 UNEP’s Global Judges Symposium on the
  Role of Law and Sustainable Development
  (Johannesburg, August 2002)
 Johannesburg Principles on the Role of Law
  and Sustainable Development
     Judges should promote the implementation,
      development and enforcement of international
      and national law relating to the environment
      and sustainable development
     Need for training – regional and sub-regional
      cooperation
The European Union Forum of Judges
for the Environment
 European Union = Very important
  environmental law maker: 70 to 90 % of
  domestic environmental law is now EU driven
 27 Member States – more states applying for
  membership
 500 million people
 Diversity of legal systems – civil law/ common
  law/mixture
 Important role of the Court of Justice of the
  European Union
 Creation of the Forum: February 2004
     Mr. Guy Canivet (than First President Cour de
      Cassation – France)
     Lord Robert Carnwath (UK)
     Justice Amedeo Postiglione (Italy)
     Justice Luc Lavrysen (Belgium)
 Aim:
     Exchange of experiences in area of training of
      the judiciary in environmental law
      Contribute to a better knowledge of
       environmental law
      Share experiences with environmental case
       law
      Contribute to a more effective enforcement of
       environmental law
 Membership:
   Open for all judges within the EU (and EEA)
    with a special interest in environmental law
   Judges from states that have applied for
    membership can follow activities as observers
 Supported by DG Environment of the
  European Commission
 Annual Conferences:
     The Hague 2004 : organisation of the national
      judiciaries in relation tot environmental law –
      training in the field of environmental law
     London 2005: waste legislation and case law
     Helsinki 2006: nature protection
     Luxembourg 2007: criminal enforcement of
      environmental law
     Paris 2008: soil pollution
     Stockholm 2009: integrated pollution
      prevention and control
     Brussels 2010: application of European
      biodiversity law at national level
 Other activities:
   Involvement in working bodies of the UNECE
    Convention on Access to Information, Public
    Participation in Decision-making and Access
    to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus
    Convention)
   Task Force on Access to Justice
   Training for Judges in different sub-regions
  ( Kiev, Tirana…)

 Developing dialog between EU national
  judges in EU Environmental Law
     Training programme sponsored by EC in
      collaboration with national judicial training
      institutes – training seminars on nature, waste,
      EIA…
 More information


 www.eufje.org