Tag: New York 2023

S.M. el Rey entrega el World Peace and Liberty Award a Andrew Young, icono de los derechos civiles en EEUU

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Se trata del máximo galardón que entrega la World Jurist Association y reconoce el trabajo de Young por ser “líder de la lucha de los derechos civiles y parte de la historia contemporánea de Estados Unidos y del mundo en su lucha por los derechos humanos”.

Durante la jornada se han entregado también las Medallas de Honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg 2023 a Navi Pillay, Lady Brenda Hale, Ambiga Sreenevasan, Imrana Jalal y Asifa Kakar.

Su Majestad el Rey ha entregado el World Liberty & Peace Award a Andrew Young, destacado líder de los derechos civiles estadounidenses. El máximo galardón que concede la World Jurist Association (WJA) y que está considerado como el Premio Nobel del derecho. En palabras de S.M. el Rey, Andrew Young “ha contribuido a cambiar a mejor el curso de la historia de Estados Unidos y lo hizo con su propia experiencia y con el esfuerzo de toda una vida; el servicio a los demás ha definido su carrera siempre con un espíritu de humildad, pacifismo y serenidad”.

Al recoger su galardón, Andrew Young ha asegurado que “estoy dispuesto a seguir dándole duro, con su confianza y la fe en la justicia y esa voluntad de trabajar en favor del derecho”.

Por su parte, Javier Cremades, presidente de la World Jurist Association (WJA) ha señalado que “es un líder de la lucha de los derechos civiles y parte de la historia contemporánea de Estados Unidos y del mundo en su batalla por los derechos humanos”. En esta línea ha afirmado que este reconocimiento busca resaltar la labor internacional de Young en favor del “progreso social, político y económico de los oprimidos de todo el mundo”. Y ha añadido que “Young representa los valores de la World Jurist Association porque a lo largo de toda su carrera profesional ha sido un ejemplo para la humanidad por su defensa del Estado de Derecho”.

La laudatio ha corrido a cargo de Leonel Fernández, presidente de la República Dominicana entre los años 1996 y 2000 y entre 2004 y 2012, quien ha concluido subrayando que se trata de “una poderosa voz para la paz, un verdadero modelo para todos los que persiguen la prosperidad y el bienestar”. Y ha reconocido “su liderazgo y su incansable dedicación en favor de la dignidad humana, la justicia y la igualdad”.

Esta jornada, que se ha celebrado con motivo de la Opening Session Madrid como antesala al World Law Congress Nueva York 2023, ha tenido como protagonistas a las premiadas con las Medallas de Honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg que concede la World Jurist Association y que se han entregado por segunda vez. Se trata de un reconocimiento que han recibido Brenda Hale, presidenta del Tribunal Supremo de Reino Unido entre 2017 y 2020 y primera mujer en desempeñar este cargo, Ambiga Sreenevasan, abogada, activista malaya por elecciones libres, por los derechos de la mujer y defensora de los derechos humanos, Imrana Jalal, presidenta del Panel de Inspección del Banco Mundial, abogada especializada en derechos humanos y fundadora del movimiento por la equidad de género en su natal Fiyi, Asifa Kakar, jueza de la Corte Suprema de Afganistán y miembro de la Comisión redactora de la Constitución de Afganistán en 2003, en nombre de la Asociación de Juezas Afganas Refugiadas, y Navi Pillay, jueza de la Corte Penal Internacional entre 2003 y 2008, alta comisionada de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos entre 2008 y 2014 y presidenta del Tribunal Penal Internacional para Ruanda. Pillay ha recogido este año en persona la medalla que le fue entregada en 2021 y que aceptó de forma virtual debido a las restricciones de viaje establecidas en ese momento.

El encargado de clausurar el acto junto a S.M. el Rey ha sido Didier Reynders, Comisario europeo de Justicia, quien ha destacado la importancia de “rendir un homenaje a mujeres excepcionales que han promovido el estado de derecho y la igualdad, que han demostrado una persistencia y una capacidad sin precedentes para favorecer la paz y la justicia”. Sobre el galardón concedido a Andrew Young, ha dicho que “es verdaderamente admirable que se reconozca la trayectoria y su lucha contra la opresión, que ha sido encomiable”.

World Law Congress New York 2023

Durante el día de hoy se ha presentado, además, la 28ª edición del World Law Congress (WLC) que se celebrará en Nueva York el 20 y 21 de julio y que coincide con el 60 aniversario de la Fundación.

Con motivo de este próximo evento, S.M el Rey ha señalado la importancia que tiene cada nueva edición del WLC puesto que “el aprendizaje mutuo y el intercambio de ideas y conceptos jurídicos son cruciales para construir un consenso jurídico mundial basado en la dignidad inherente a todas las personas y que, por tanto, la reconozca”. Para Su Majestad, el nombre de la próxima edición del congreso La Paz a través del derecho “se convierte en una llamada a abrazar el Derecho en un mundo cada vez más convulso; muchas partes del mundo están sufriendo una erosión en el funcionamiento y la adhesión a la democracia, lo que también debilita naturalmente el Estado de Derecho. Lo que está en juego es la preservación del mejor modelo que la civilización ha creado para garantizar la coexistencia pacífica: un Estado constitucional y democrático de Derecho”.

Rule of Law Digital Center Madrid

 La Opening Session Madrid 2023 ha sido el escenario también para la inauguración del Rule of Law Digital Center Madrid, el primer centro para la promoción del Estado de Derecho que pone en marcha la World Law Foundation (WLF) y la World Jurist Association en colaboración con el bufete de abogados Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo. Nace con el objetivo de ser un escaparate, una ventana física y digital al mundo a través de la cual la WLF, la WJA y las comunidades jurídicas y empresariales internacionales puedan unir sus fuerzas y llevar a cabo acciones comunes para promover el Estado de Derecho y tener un impacto positivo en la sociedad.

Cremades ha reconocido que “el estado de derecho es el máximo bastión para defender a los ciudadanos y difundir este concepto es indispensable para mantener el imperio de la ley”. Al respecto, Su Majestad el Rey ha asegurado que “realmente representa un paso más de la comunidad jurídica internacional para avanzar, para adaptarse y adecuar sus capacidades a través de los medios digitales, con el fin de mantener el rumbo de la causa de la justicia, y navegar a través de estos tiempos de rápidos cambios”. Es por ello que “Madrid se convierte así en una de las grandes capitales mundiales del Derecho, y en un punto de encuentro abierto a la conversación y al diálogo”. Este nuevo espacio será el escenario de una campaña permanente en defensa de la paz y la libertad, con el Derecho como la herramienta más fundamental para conseguirlo”.

links en medios de comunicación online:

Andrew Young recibe el World Peace and Liberty Award (lawyerpress)

Santo Domingo será sede de la Conferencia Mundial de Derecho en 2025 (elperiodico.com.do)

Santo Domingo será la capital mundial del Derecho (acento.com.do)

Felipe VI entrega el Premio Mundial de la Paz y la Libertad a Andrew Young (epe.es)

Andrew Young, Premio Mundial de la Paz y la Libertad (Telemadrid)

Felipe VI entrega el Premio de la Paz y la Libertad a Andrew Young, colaborador de Martin Luther King (RTVE)

El comisario de Justicia pide ante el Rey que se renueve el CGPJ y se cambie el sistema “antes” de que España presida la UE el 1 de julio (El mundo)

Opening Session Mexico “Rule of Law and Greenhouse Emissions”

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On March 16, 2023, the World Jurist Association (WJA) held the Opening Session Mexico of the upcoming World Law Congress New York 2023. The conference took place within the framework of the WJA’s Energy and Climate Transition Forum.

Under the title “Rule of Law and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: National Commitments in the Western World“, the panel addressed relevant legal aspects of the energy transition, with a focus on Nationally Determined Contributions for the reduction of greenhouse gases. The panel also discussed the importance of the energy transition as a necessary tool to improve air quality; the need to migrate from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources; and the key role of the Rule of Law in this process.

The Opening Session Mexico was moderated by Héctor Herrera, Founding Partner of Herrera y Sato and President of the Mexican Bar Association (2019-2021). Rule of Law, key to curbing humankind effects on the environment.

Javier Cremades, President of the World Jurist Association, was in charge of opening the meeting, highlighting the importance of the Rule of Law to guarantee a global response to the great challenge that humanity is currently facing with emission levels.

Subsequently, Héctor Herrera (Mexico), explained how greenhouse gas emissions affect all countries in the world, stressing the importance of complying with the Nationally Determined Contributions to reduce them. “This is a global emergency that needs coordinated solutions,” he said.

Carrie Gaard (Argentina), Founder of Carrie Gaard Bureau, an expert in environmental management, made an analysis of how in the last century gas emissions have been gradually increasing, calling for the need to take actions in which all countries are involved. Gaard also stated that current objectives and policies are insufficient to achieve the goals set to curb climate change.

Lucila (Luli) Hemmingsen (USA), Partner at King & Spalding, and member of the International Arbitration Practice Group, referred to the situation in the United States, the second largest energy consumer in the world. Hemmingsen explained that the U.S. is far from achieving its environmental goals. “Current U.S. policies will only reach 20-30% of its Nationally Determined Contribution by 2025,” she warned. Adding, furthermore, that to reach its commitments, additional regulation and healthier economic development are urgently needed.

Lucio Ghia (Italy), President of the World Association of Jurists (1995-1997) and Founding Partner of Studio Legale Ghia, also participated in this meeting, highlighting that “climate change represents a threat to humanity that requires a comprehensive ecological policy, in which companies are also involved”. He also explained how environmental policy affects human and business activities, and highlighted how the law can become an incentive for companies to take measures to reduce their carbon footprint, offering them in return credit benefits, for example.

Meanwhile, Luis Fernando Macías (Colombia), Founding Partner of Macías Gómez & Asociados, founding member and former Head of the Legal Office of the Colombian Ministry of Environment, assured that “climate change represents a challenge for the Rule of Law because of the effects it has, especially in poor countries, such as Colombia, which find it difficult to comply with the objectives of the Paris Agreement”. In addition, Macías clarified how many aspects of our lives are a consequence of climate change and, therefore, there is a need to rely on the Rule of Law and democracy to control and mitigate this situation.

Diego Solana (Spain), International Advisor of the World Law Foundation and Program Coordinator of the World Law Congress, oversaw the closing of the Opening Session Mexico. He emphasized the importance of holding such debates, which will continue at the World Law Congress New York 2023, to be held on July 20 and 21.

He also announced the opening of registration at the World Law Congress New York 2023 to professionals, activists, and students around the world, through the website www.worldlawcongress.com and invited everyone to participate in this major global legal meeting. In addition to environmental and energy law issues, topics such as freedom of expression in the digital world, the regulation of stable cryptocurrencies, judicial independence, gender equality, and arbitration, among many others, will be addressed at the Congress.

 

 

Digital Resources for Climate Law

Digital Resources for Climate Law

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On December 1, the World Jurist Association (WJA) and World Law Foundation (WLF) organized the Opening Session London of the World Law Congress New York 2023. Co-organized with Climate Policy Radar, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment of the London School of Economics, and Laws Africa, environmental law experts discussed about open source “Digital Resources for Climate Law”.

The online session addressed how digital technology can facilitate the effective use of legal data for climate law research, policy making and litigation. All of this, with a focus on protecting human rights and preserving the Rule of Law around the world.

In his introduction, Diego Solana, international advisor of the World Law Foundation, contextualized the current European energy crisis derived from the invasion of Ukraine, emphasizing its great impact on the economy and the Rule of Law. Likewise, he pointed out that this debate is a continuation of the Permanent Forum on Energy Transition and Climate, which will culminate in the World Law Congress New York 2023, to be held on July 20 and 21, 2023.

Open access to climate data and legislation is a guarantee of rights

The panel was chaired by Lord Robert Carnwath, former judge of the UK Supreme Court, member of Landmark Chambers and associate professor at the LSE Grantham Research Institute. Panelists included Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University and leader of Climate Change Litigation Database, USA; Michal Nachmany, CEO and founder of Climate Policy Radar, UK; Greg Kempe, Chief Technical Officer and co-founder of Laws.Africa; and Catherine Higham, Coordinator of the Climate Change Laws of the World program at the LSE Grantham Research Institute.

After commenting on the relevance of access to climate legislation, case studies and jurisprudence for all nations, the former British judge gave the floor to Michael Gerrard, who presented two databases on climate change litigation that he and his team began working on in 2007. This exhaustive research also refers, with the United States as a sample for analysis, to the legal models for the pursuit of decarbonization and climate regulation around the world. “With these databases we have found the particularity that they can be used globally for climate litigation and their usefulness and functionality for society lies in the fact that they are freely accessible in all parts of the world.”

After a round of questions to Gerrard on the challenges and limitations in research, Carnwath passed the floor to Michal Nachmany, who explained that “sharing knowledge” was the “motivation” for starting Climate Policy Radar, a contribution to the academic community, but also to society. “We are building the world’s largest and most comprehensive open knowledge base on climate policy, law and litigation.” The database is structured, intuitive, available in multiple languages, and is also “open source and free”, which allows “discovering national climate legislation from any country of the world”.

Greg Kemple then stressed that, in Africa, there is no transparency or free access to the country’s own climate laws, which is a barrier to securing rights. This is a challenge that requires special attention, especially considering that the effects of climate change in African countries are greater than in other latitudes. Considering that the fundamentals for the use of legal information are impact, use, understanding, access, knowledge, and availability, Kemple ended his speech by stressing that “enabling free and effective access to the law is essential for government, administration, business, the fight against corruption, the environment, and human rights”.

After Carnwath’s review of the presentation, the floor was given to Catherine Higham who emphasized the need for lawyers to be updated and aware of the uses of artificial intelligence, technology and the different open access databases presented throughout the session. The coordinator of Climate Change Laws of the World focused on the global and individual importance of climate legislation and practical cases, pointing out as a problem that “not all countries in the world have access to legal data on climate policies and laws”. Therefore, it is necessary to understand “what is the impact of failing in a climate case against cooperation” and the importance of an international consensus agreeing the digitization and liberalization of information on climate litigation.

At the end, after a final presentation of ideas by the speakers and a debate on the subject, Diego Solana concluded the session by explaining the importance of experts in international and climate law. He also emphasized the importance of raising awareness and freeing access to databases on climate laws and enabling the development of the Rule of Law in different countries around the world, such as Africa. To conclude the Opening Session, Solana stated: “if it is not accessible, it does not exist“.

FULL VIDEO ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/EvcEikQ4zEU

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Rule of Law, Energy Transition and Climate

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The Opening Session Helsinki of the World Law Congress New York 2023 gathered prestigious judges and academics who presented current environmental cases and their relevance in protecting human rights and the Rule of Law.

On November 7, 2022, the World Jurist Association (WJA) held the Opening Session Helsinki on Rule of Law, Energy Transition and Climate, which featured presentations by expert practitioners and academics from different countries. The presentations included theoretical and practical presentations of current international cases on environmental and climate mitigation issues, highlighting the relevance of sentences and sustainable energy policies in the global context and as a guarantee of the protection of human rights and the environment for future generations.

The online meeting, prior to the 28th edition of the World Law Congress to be held in New York on July 20 and 21, 2023, was presented by the executive director of the WJA, Teodora Toma, and moderated by the president of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland, Kari Kuusiniemi. It also featured presentations by Ekaterini N. Iliadou, Professor at the Law School of Athens, Greece; Luc Lavrysen, President of the Constitutional Court of Belgium and President of the European Union Judges Forum for the Environment; Brian Preston, Chief Judge of the New South Wales Land and Environment Court, Australia; Ania Rytel-Warzocha, Professor at the University of Gdansk, Poland; and Christina Voigt, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oslo, Norway.

Advocating for the Rights of Future Generations: Climate Policy and Sustainable Energy

In his introduction, judge Kuusiniemi described the impact of human activity on the “radical changes” in the environment and the European complexity given that “Russia is using energy as a weapon, which makes the energy transition necessary”. He then pointed out that “institutions must take care of the environment, support human rights and protect future generations.”

Meanwhile, Professor Iliadou focused on the European Union’s policies towards energy transition, emphasizing the need to establish climate laws as a top priority. She stressed that, being “energy a common public good, both in companies and homes, public intervention to guarantee it is essential”, adding that energy “impacts on the environment and on local and regional pollution”. She also justified the need for public intervention in the energy sector, as it traditionally rests on three pillars that protect future generations: “security of supply, affordability, and environmental protection”.

Judge Lavrysen then focused on the nexus between environmental and energy guarantees and the separation of powers and constitutionalism to protect the Rule of Law. “Climate change policies are complemented by constitutional rights such as corporate freedom, equality before the law, non-discrimination.” He reviewed European jurisprudence towards climate neutrality. The president of the Belgian Constitutional Court concluded, asserting that “the demanded policies are insufficient in relation to compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights, potentially conflicting with the separation of powers and thus with the Rule of Law.”

In this vein, Justice Preston explained the Australian government’s accountability in the face of climate litigation. He referred that the government “must take the lead in establishing and implementing the strategic, policy and legal frameworks necessary for effective climate action.” However, Preston stated that the administration, in some cases, “adopts policies, but does not implement them” and it is then when “the judiciary must hold the administration accountable for compliance”. Among some of the incidences he identified and exemplified in his intervention are the failure to adopt climate policies, the adoption of illegal policies, the failure to implement policies or their inadequate or illegitimate implementation, and the failure to take adequate measures or the failure of the duty to take them.

All this can lead to climate change affecting fundamental rights, such as the rights to a clean and safe environment, life, health, food, water and development, among others. Prof. Rytel-Warzocha further elaborated on this issue, adding that “in the global context, those most affected by climate change are usually those who contribute the least to it”, and that “its impact will also affect the rights of future generations”. Exemplifying the case of Poland, she concludes that environmental regulations are extensive, but reflect “the need for legal instruments to ensure that climate change is effectively combated to avoid its impact on the human rights of current and future generations”.

For her part, Professor Voigt presented a Norwegian case study in which the government was accused of violating fundamental rights by granting ten licenses for oil exploration in the Barents Sea, which would generate a large export of CO2 emissions. After passing through various Norwegian courts, the case is currently before the European Court of Human Rights. Despite Norway’s request to dismiss the case, it is a juncture that “opens the door to the recognition of climate damage as a violation of human rights”.

Judge Kuusiniemi closed the panel by inviting those present to continue the discussion at the World Law Congress New York 2023 and stressing that “this Opening Session is one further step towards the mitigation of climate change by legal means, by the efforts of the courts and academia”. 

FULL VIDEO ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/B8AALFCM-Rw