Bangkok, Thailand | 27 September 2024 — From 26 to 27 September 2024, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI), together with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ), convened a Regional Judicial Dialogue at the TIJ Training Center in Bangkok. The event brought together 29 judges and legal professionals from six ASEAN countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Over the course of two days, judges exchanged national experiences, case law, and procedural innovations in addressing environmental and climate-related cases, including pollution, biodiversity loss, and deforestation. Presentations and discussions addressed the role of the judiciary in upholding environmental rule of law, ensuring access to justice, and incorporating human rights and gender considerations into legal proceedings.
The Dialogue included focused technical sessions on national rules of procedure for environmental cases, court-annexed alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and the evolving use of legal remedies in climate litigation. Delegates from each country presented key jurisprudence and challenges, including enforcement gaps, lack of judicial specialization, and the need for clearer procedural rules and evidentiary standards in environmental cases.
Participants also discussed barriers to effective adjudication, such as low-quality evidence, complex scientific data, and overlapping jurisdictional challenges between civil, criminal, and administrative courts. Through interactive polls and breakout groups, judges identified common procedural impediments and expressed broad support for relaxed standing (locus standi), greater use of expert witnesses, and inclusion of indigenous and customary perspectives in environmental evidence.
The Dialogue concluded with strong regional backing for the development of a practical handbook on environmental rules of procedure. This initiative, led by RWI in consultation with Southeast Asian legal actors, aims to consolidate national experiences, facilitate harmonization, and inform ASEAN’s broader work on the Environmental Rights Declaration and its Implementation Plan. A follow-up roundtable to advance the handbook is scheduled to take place in Jakarta in 2025.
The event was part of RWI’s Regional Asia Pacific Programme (RAPP 2), supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), which aims to foster climate-resilient, rights-based transitions through regional collaboration.