The Lecture on Tribunalisation of Environmental Justice took place at The Rajiv Gandhi Cyber Law Centre of National Law Institute University, Bhopal on 12th April, 2019. The guest lecturer for the session was Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dalip Singh. Notably present on the dais were, Professor in Business Law and Dean in Undergraduate Studies, Prof.(Dr.) Ghayur Alam, Hon’ble Registrar of NLIU, Ms. Giribala Singh, and Faculty in-Charge of The Cell for Awareness and Research in Environmental Studies as well as Professor in Environmental Law, Prof.(Dr.) Rajiv Khare.
The Programme started with a welcome note for the dignitaries, and an introduction of the guest of honour, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dalip Singh to the gathering. This was followed by the lighting of the lamp by the dignitaries on the dais. On completion of the lighting of the lamp, tokens of gratitude in the form of potted plants were given to the guest of honour, Justice Dalip Singh, Prof.(Dr.) Ghayur Alam, Registrar of the University, Ms. Giribala Singh, and Faculty in-Charge of The Cell for Awareness and Research in Environmental Studies, Prof.(Dr.) Rajiv Khare. After this, Prof. (Dr.) Ghayur Alam was called upon to address the gathering. Without taking much time, Dr. Alam welcomed the gathering and thanked Justice Singh for agreeing to deliver a guest lecture. He further threw light on the topic of discussion, and put forward his views with regard to the same. He ended his speech by stressing on the importance of a Tribunal or constituent statutory body for administering environmental justice.
With the completion of Dr. Alam’s address, Prof. (Dr.) Rajiv Khare was called upon to address the gathering. Without spending much time, Dr. Khare chose to cut to the chase after welcoming the guest of honour, as he immediately pointed out towards the need for specialized institutions in the form of Tribunals and Courts in India for the purpose of dealing with environmental issues and administering justice in cases involving the environment. He then brought out the need to administer environmental justice in the right way as he stressed on the ‘right way of doing it’.
With the completion of Dr. Khare’s address, Justice Dalip Singh was called forward to address the gathering and deliver his lecture. Before he started, Justice Singh pointed out that he looked forward to have an interactive session rather than a conventional one-sided lecture. He started speaking from a point raise by Dr. Alam in his speech previously, which was with regard to man being at the centre in his (every man’s) view, and the environment being of least importance. He stated that there would be a disaster if we proceed at this pace. He then spoke of the irony that is created in the 21st Century whenever an industrially developed country speaks of pollution and rising emissions, as it is them who contribute the maximum to such pollution. He then spoke volumes of the Stockholm Declaration, and explicitly pointed out that it was Declaration that caused evolution of legislations with regard to the environment in India. He then pointed out to the role of Public Interest Litigation in resolving environmental issues, as he pointed out to it as a boon to the field of environmental litigation. According to him, it was the PIL that allowed to environmentalists to raise issues of environmental degradation caused to the activities of an individual or party. In this regard, he lastly pointed out that PIL allowed for innovation of jurisdiction in environmental matters. He then pointed out towards an effective structure of an environmental administrative tribunal, after which he stressed on the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility” and the role of the international community, which he supported with illustrative examples, and significantly brought out the ABVP case.
In his concluding remarks, Justice Singh spoke volumes on the progress and achievements of the National Green Tribunal, and raised multiple approaches that could be possibly employed depending on their flexibility for resolving environmental disputes legally and legitimately. He then spoke about the importance of a flexible approach, and notably stated that it was the flexibility of the courts which NGT to deal with environmental issues, following which he stated that India should take examples from countries like the USA, UK and New Zealand for resolving Municipal issues. Lastly, he stated that it was the involvement of the government that brought about change and development in resolution of environmental issues.
The session was followed by a Q&A session wherein a plethora of questions, ranging from implementation of UNFCCC in India to the possible use of Arbitration in environmental issues were raised. All the questions raised were answered effectively, ensuring that the audience were satisfied with the explanation given. Towards the end, the Registrar of the University, Ms. Giribala Singh, was called upon to deliver the vote of thanks. She thanked the students for attending the programme with interest, and thanked Justice Singh for taking time out and agreeing to deliver the guest lecture.
All in all the session was a fruitful one, as essentials of conservation of environment, need to have specialized institutions and involvement and progress of the NGT were thrown light on and students were provided with an opportunity to interact with Justice Singh and raise all sorts of queries that they had with regard to the topic of discussion.