OSCE supports training seminar on judicial application of environmental legislation in Kazakhstan

An OSCE-supported training seminar on the judicial application of the national environmental legislation and the Aarhus Convention principles took place on 17 August 2018 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The OSCE Programme Office in Astana, in co-operation with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, organized the event for 25 judges from across Kazakhstan.

Judges from Belgium and Sweden, whose participation in the seminar was made possible through OSCE financial support, discussed the European Union’s legislative system, the principles and bodies of the Aarhus and Espoo conventions.  They also presented specific court case studies on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.

Beibut Shermukhametov, a Supreme Court judge from Kazakhstan, discussed the upcoming revisions in the national environmental code and collected recommendations from the participants on its further improvement. This event was also an opportunity for judges to discuss challenges in reviewing court cases on environmental matters and to exchange views on how to resolve them according to national and international best practices.

The seminar is part of the Programme Office’s multi-year activities to promote good environmental governance and to build capacity of Kazakhstan’s judiciary in meeting its commitments under the Aarhus Convention.