The Deputy Chief Justice, Richard Buteera, has encouraged Judicial officers to exploit all avenues available to widen their knowledge about climate justice for efficiency and effective handling of related cases.
Buteera made these remarks while delivering a keynote speech at the third annual training on Climate Justice in Uganda held at Mestil hotel.
The two-day event was organised by the Judicial Training Institute(JTI) in partnership with Greenwatch under the theme: Understanding climate change and exploring the role of the Judiciary in implementing climate Justice.
Addressing a cross-section of judicial officers, Buteera noted that climate change is one of the greatest challenges affecting the world today.
He emphasized the need for continuous judicial instruction.
“Continuous judicial training and education is an important tool in ensuring good governance and strengthening the rule of law. With better understanding and knowledge of the concepts of climate change and climate justice, enforcement of climate laws, policies, rules and regulations will be made easier for the courts,”he said.
Buteera commended Greenwatch for taking the lead in seeking judicial redress in climate-related disputes as well for playing their role in several cases.
The director, legal counsel of Greenwatch, Samantha Atukunda Mwesigwa, explained that the training’s major objective was to ensure that environmental law principles are incorporated in government policies and legislation.
Damalie Lwanga, the executive director JTI, emphasized that great effort must be made to prevent or mitigate climate change’s adverse impact on Ugandans’ livelihood.
“I hope that this training will promote awareness of international law policies and climate change initiatives among judicial officers and also enable courts to positively adjudicate climate justice matters and provide tools for continuous learning and reference even after this workshop,” she said.
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