Published on 12/09/2024
The Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA) pledged to champion environmental justice in response to rising climate crises.
Recognizing that these challenges affect every facet of life, they vowed to act decisively. Their goal is to integrate justice with sustainability, protecting both people and the planet. Together, they aim to foster a future were law and nature work in harmony.
As curtains fall on the CMJA Annual Conference, which was taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, from September 8 to 12, 2024, under the theme of “Environmental Justice,” member states have committed to allocate more resources and time to address urgent issues affecting citizens such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution from legal and judicial perspectives.
Addressing members of the media jointly on Wednesday, Dr. Faustin Ntezilyayo, Chief Justice of Rwanda, and Justice Lynne Leitch, President of the CMJA, who co-chaired the conference, which was opened by President Paul Kagame on Monday, said that the Kigali Conference was a major success and came up with key resolutions that will guide member states on the next course of action.
“We have had very good discussions about the theme we had but also about other issues and subjects that are of interest for us, particularly relating to environmental justice, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. We agreed to go back to our countries and ensure that our citizens receive justice as they should and in a timely manner,” Dr. Ntezilyayo said.
The Chief Justice said that they leave Kigali understanding that there cannot be environmental justice in the absence of environmental laws, independent and efficient judicial institutions entrusted with environmental issues as well as all matters of justice and each country will do what it can, within its means, and collectively, they can make a difference.
On her part, Justice Leitch said that the Kigali Conference, which followed the 2023 Cardiff Conference was attended by 317 delegates from across the Commonwealth, representing 44 jurisdictions, who discussed the way forward on some of the pertinent issues the Commonwealth family is facing relating to the environment and the role magistrates and judges can play.
“The Commonwealth shares common values for respect of the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary, and our association which represents magistrates and judges across the Commonwealth was formed to promote education within the Judiciary, enhance the administration of justice across the Commonwealth,”
“We also have a duty to promote respect for the independence of the Judiciary and I can say our meeting here in Kigali was already a success before it even started because of the large number of delegates who have attended from so many jurisdictions,” Justice Leitch said, commending Rwanda for successfully hosting the meet.
Dr. Ntezilyayo added that the meeting came up with several resolutions that the CMAJ Secretariat will follow up closely on to ensure that they are implemented, adding that it was further agreed that each country puts in place mechanisms to implement the resolutions, to serve the interests of the citizens.
“From my perspective, in Rwanda, we will continue to enhance the training and improve the capacity of our judges in order to be familiar with all these aspects related to environmental justice, because it is about delivery of justice in regard to disputes related to the environment,” Rwanda’s Chief Justice said.
Dr. Ntezilyayo said that in Rwanda, like many other developing countries, environmental crimes are committed but justice systems in these countries are yet to have a full understanding of how they can be prosecuted or tried.
“The first thing is delivering justice with regard to complaints that would be filed in our courts. But also when it comes to other principles that guide the functioning and administration of justice, independence of the judiciary, impartiality and integrity of our judicial system, are some off the things that people are looking for,”
“We can’t deliver justice without having the trust of the population. We will continue to be guided by those principles and to implement them in our daily activities as Judicial officers,” Chief Justice Ntezilyayo said.
Common Challenges
Justice Leitch said that from the discussions they had, and the years she has been involved with CMAJ, she noticed that Judiciaries throughout the Commonwealth face very common challenges and share common experiences, meaning that there is a lot they can learn from each other.
“The issues may have differing degrees of problems, but across the Commonwealth, the human issues that courts deal with are very much the same and we learn from each other. There are opportunities to learn about practices and other jurisdictions that might be helpful to implement in the jurisdictions where the delegates come from,” the Canadian judicial official said.
She pointed out that as they leave Kigali, they share a common understanding to collaborate more, all in the the interest of serving the publics they serve in their respective countries.
“We’re very much motivated to enhance and maintain public confidence and public trust In the Judiciaries. It’s incredibly important to democracy, to have the public’s confidence in decision making within their country. Throughout our conferences, that is our focus.
In his keynote address on Monday, September 9, President Kagame reiterated the importance of countries within the Commonwealth establishing judicial systems which put the interests of the people first and deliver justice quickly and equitably, in order to achieve a fairer and peaceful world for all.
The Head of State said that the meeting in Kigali was a follow up to the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM), which Rwanda hosted two years ago to discuss the urgent threat of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions which are disproportionately impacting Africa and small island developing States.
He pointed out that no country can afford to be complacent as all over the world temperatures are rising at unprecedented rates, which impact the quality of the air people breathe, which is constantly declining, putting everyone at risk, thereby urging the judges to take action.
CMJA is a global network dedicated to promoting and enhancing the independence, integrity, and competence of the judiciary across the Commonwealth.
