Working Group on Strengthening Judicial Institutions and Jurisprudence

(Participants from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Dominica, Guyana, Suriname and USA).

The working group on strengthening judicial institutions and jurisprudence in the Americas proposed that work should be undertaken in the following areas:
Training judges;

1.      Training the authorities in charge of compliance with environmental laws and policies;

2.      Modernizing environmental legislation at the national level;

3.      Developing new agreements at the international level concerning environmental juridical institutions;

4.      Promoting the exchange of information and experiences relating to environmental cases among judges and judicial officers;

5.      Creating mechanisms to facilitate the exchange of information;

6.      Promoting national capacity to implement the commitments that each country assumes under international agreements;

7.      Establishing efficient mechanisms to monitor compliance with the environmental laws within countries and across borders; and

8.      Creating awareness of environmental issues among the population.

The group agreed that tools to achieve the above objectives at the hemispheric level include the following:

Organize workshops or seminars at the hemispheric, regional or national level for judges and judicial officers;
Facilitate internet access for judges and judicial officers;

1.      Publish a directory of FIDA members;

2.      Create working groups or specific fora to support the strengthening of judicial institutions in the countries of the hemisphere;

3.      Collaborate and facilitate the publication and exchange of cases and experiences among countries and authorities;

4.      Organize video conferences or internet broadcasting of meetings so more interested people may have access to them;

5.      Study the need for environmental legislative reform in OAS member states; and

6.      Promote public participation in the decision-making process related to environment.

The proposed activities will have as a result the strengthening of judicial institutions and jurisprudence, as well as the strengthening of environmental laws, through the exchange of information, laws and case studies among the different countries of the hemisphere.