Constitutional courts of other jurisdictions should follow the example set by the Supreme Court of India and give "constitutional standing" to environmental rights of their people, international jurists have said.
The jurists were speaking at a panel discussion on the role of judiciary in dealing with climate change at Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) in Haryana's Sonipat.
Strongly urging students and the academia to be sensitive towards environmental cause, the judges expressed hope that the constitutional courts of many other countries would follow the Supreme Court of India in giving environmental rights a constitutional standing through "contemporaneous interpretation".
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The judges who spoke on the occasion included Justice Michael D Wilson, Judge from Supreme Court of Hawaii; Justice Antonio Benjamin, Judge from National High Court of Brazil; Justice Emmanuel Ugarishebuja, President of East African Court of Justice; and Justice Luc Lavrysen, Judge at Constitutional Court of Belgium.
The jurists threw light on their experiences from their own jurisdictions to highlight the role played by judicial bodies in upholding the rule of law which gives environment its due place in the system.
Prof. C Raj Kumar, vice-chancellor of O P Jindal Global University, said, "Inter-generational equity is the most important aspect of our fight against climate change and the responsibility of upholding this principle falls equally upon all the stakeholders including the judiciary.
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