Abu Dhabi: The UAE should have courts dedicated to environment issues to implement green justice and boost environmental awareness among the people, a group of judges who are also environmental activists said.
"Only with an effective environmental court system will we be on our way to providing our children the legacy of a better place to live," said Dr Magdi Ebrahim Qasim, former chief justice of the Court of Appeals in Egypt and lecturer at the Institute of Training and Judicial Studies.
The call comes in the backdrop of a record rise in temperatures worldwide, devastating droughts in Russia and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis wrought severe floods in Pakistan.
Dr Qasim told the audience at a seminar at the Ministry of Environment and Water that an environmental court system will help nurture a unique partnership between local government organisations and the community that solves old problems with innovative, new solutions and strengthens the environmental consciousness.
"Only with an environmental court system, will law enforcement officials and citizens no longer battle a system that is incapable of following through on their recommendations and needs," he said.
Dr Mohammad Mahmoud Al Kamali, director of the institute, agreed and said green courts are needed to look into pressing environmental concerns that impede our efforts to promote a clean and healthy environment. "The UAE should keep pace with the international trend in having environmental courts and specialised judges to look into environment-related case."
Dr Yassir Mohammad Nabeel Mustafa, adviser for chemical and hazardous waste at the Ministry of Environment and Water, also said dedicated courts would bring about a positive change in public behaviour. "Knowing they can be charged and punished will deter people from doing things that harm the environment, such as littering in public places and throwing waste matter in waterways, using smoke-belching vehicles and causing noise pollution," he said.
Justice Juma Bu Rashid of the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals, warned against "poor environmental law enforcement".
Civil defence: Big responsibility
Major General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, director general of Dubai Civil Defence and acting commander in chief of the UAE Civil Defence, said the civil defence is tasked with the protection of life and property from the hazards of all environment-related hazards and not just fire.
The type of violations reported to green courts may include failure to remove hazardous materials, dangerous accumulation of waste, failure to instal smoke detectors, arson and failure to install proper fire protection systems, he said.
How effective do you think this initiative will be in fast tracking environmental issues? Would stricter regulations help curb the number of such cases?
