BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 6. Environmental law stands as the focus of International Association of Judges (IAJ) Duro Sessa said during the Law & Climate International Conference in Baku today, Trend reports.
"Environmental law and the role of judges in protecting the environment have been central to our attention for several years, starting with our meeting in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, in 2014, where it was decided to actively work on this topic and participate in relevant meetings.
Let me highlight recent developments that, in my view, elevate the protection of the environment and the role of courts to a new level. The decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has sparked significant discussions within the legal community, both in terms of approval and concern about the direction the Strasbourg court is taking. In the KlimaSeniorinnen case, the issue of granting associations the right to access justice when protecting goals of significant public importance was discussed.
The European Court recognized that climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, affecting not only the environment but also human communities. The court ruled that relying solely on existing environmental legislation is insufficient, and a new approach is required, one that takes into account the unique aspects of climate change," he also said.
According to him, in this decision, associations defending rights from threats caused by climate change were granted victim status.
"It was also determined that the Swiss courts violated the sixth article of the convention by not addressing relevant issues in their actions. This decision has set a new standard for protecting the procedural rights of associations in legal proceedings related to environmental threats. However, there is concern that national courts did not address the complaints of the KlimaSeniorinnen association, and the European Court of Human Rights had to refer the case back to the national courts for reconsideration," he added.
To note, IAJ, founded in Salzburg in 1953, is a professional, non-political international organization uniting national associations of judges. The main goal of the association is to protect the independence of the judiciary, which is the most important condition for ensuring justice and guaranteeing human rights and freedoms.
The organization currently includes 92 national associations or representative groups from all continents.
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