OSCE trains judges on environmental matters in Kazakhstan

A two-day training seminar on the judicial application of environmental legislation in civil cases began on 10 September 2015 in Astana.

The event is co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana along with the Supreme Court and the Justice Institute of the Public Administration Academy under the President for some 40 judges from the Supreme Court and regional courts from across the country.

Discussions led by the Supreme Court judges and national experts from environmental NGOs will focus on ways to resolve the disputes arising from the implementation of the Aarhus Convention, other international instruments and current national legislation. The participants will also learn about compliance mechanisms for the norms of international environmental agreements.

They will discuss, most notably, access to environmental information, cases of environmental legislation violation and judicial review of administrative violations in the environmental sphere. The judges will learn about the review mechanism of States’ compliance with the international obligations and be given a chance to engage in practical exercises based on real cases.

The event is part of the Office’s multi-year activities to enhance the host country in meeting its commitments to the national institutional and legal frameworks of the Aarhus Convention.