Judges trained on environmental matters at OSCE event in Kazakhstan

An OSCE-supported training seminar on the judicial application of environmental legislation in civil cases took place on 29 November 2016 in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The event was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana along with the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan and the Justice Academy under the Supreme Court, and gathered some 35 regional courts judges from across the country.

Supreme Court judges and an expert from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) delivered training on how to resolve disputes arising from the implementation of the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention). The focus was on civil cases, other international instruments and current national legislation with respect to reviewing administrative and criminal cases in the area of environmental violations.

The participants also discussed engaging directly in order to tackle potential noncompliance cases, practical cases of environmental legislation violation and the possibility of judicial review of environmental disputes at the UN International Court of Justice.

The event is part of the Office’s multi-year activities to build capacity in the host country to help it meet its commitments to the national institutional and legal frameworks of the Aarhus Convention.