Why Judicial Specialization? The challenge for addressing environmental problems is enormous The increase in environmental litigation The need for special expertise in environmental adjudication

Currently there are more than 380 environmental courts/tribunals and green benches around the world. Asia-Pacific is an region that has the most such innovative judicial institutions: Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, plus Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia in ASEAN. In addition, Japan, South Korea and others have specialized environmental dispute resolution bodies.

Question 1 What is your experience in institutionalizing environmental expertise? –How does it work? –How it contributes to effective environmental adjudication? –What is working and what is not?

Question 2 What are the challenges? How to address them? –Judges capacity? –The capacity for training judges? –Conflict of the jurisdiction? –Cooperation with others players of the enforcement chain (prosecutors, police, experts and environmental agencies)?

Question 3 What are the lessons? What advice you would like to give to other countries if they want to undertake their judicial reform?