Kenya’s Supreme Court hosts Supreme People’s Court of China
The Supreme Court of Kenya hosted a delegation led by Hon. Justice Yang Linping, Deputy Chief Justice and Vice-President of the Supreme People’s Court of China in a collaborative endeavour to strengthen South-South cooperation in green justice and environmental governance.
These engagements, ahead of the upcoming UNFCCC COP 28 serve to enrich our perspectives, deepen our understanding, and pave the way for innovation within our respective legal frameworks especially the role of Judiciaries in enforcing climate justice.
The gathering, which discussed ‘Judicial Practice on Environmental and Resource Protection with a focus on Biodiversity’ comes at a time when the world confronts the triple planetary crisis; climate change, pollution and biodiversity depletion.
It also follows the 3rd Regional Dialogue on Greening Judiciaries in Africa, which ended with a pivotal plea to Member States to acknowledge the transboundary nature of climate change factors and formulate relevant regional frameworks to combat climate change.
Further, there was a resounding call for the Executive and Legislative branches of Member States to develop forward-thinking policies, enact laws, and implement reforms aimed at addressing climate change.
These included issues related to climate financing and the establishment of specialised courts and tribunals to adjudicate matters concerning the environment and climate change.
In their capacity as custodians of the rule of law and justice, the courts have a paramount role in confronting these challenges and ensuring preservation of the environment and natural resources, including biodiversity.
