Laws need to be changed

Laws should be changed for the environment court system's effective functioning, said Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday, assuring to take up the issue to the environment and forests ministry, and the prime minister soon.

  The environment is an evolving issue and so relevant laws should be changed from time to time, he said, adding that Bangladesh has been facing serious threats to the environment.

He was addressing a workshop, "Functioning of Environment Courts: The Regional Experience", organised by Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (Bela) in the capital's Brac Centre Inn. The first court was set up in 2000 during the Awami League's tenure, the law amended in 2010 a second tenure and now the current government will again make the court functional as it does not lack in political will on addressing environmental issues, he said.

Advocate Ritwick Dutta of the Indian Supreme Court said their "National Green Tribunal" (NGT) was independent and any aggrieved person or representative could file petitions, even if they think a development project might damage the environment. It comprises 10 judicial members and 10 environment experts with either a Supreme Court judge or a retired High Court chief justice as the chairperson.

Ritwick cited an instance when NGT cancelled an environment and forests ministry-approved 2,640MW coal-fired power plant project in Andhra Pradesh, for the larger interest of the nation from the point of view of ecology and the environment. Chairing the session, Bela Chief Executive Rizwana Hasan lamented that Bangladesh's environment court was not functioning properly despite being set up a decade before NGT. Bangladesh's environment court can only try offences under the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995 (amended 2010), which is complicated, she said.

An environmental inspector can investigate a case after taking permission of the Department of Environment's (DoE) director general, she added.

Advocate Rose Liza Eisma Osorio of the Philippines delivered a speech on "environment justice system in the Philippines".

Joint District Judge Ashikul Kabir of Dhaka's environment court; DoE Director (Law) Jafar Siddique; Rajshahi University law department Chairman Associate Prof ANM Wahid; and Jerome Sayre, team leader, community legal services, UKaid, also spoke.