Minister of LHK Reveals Government's Strategy to Increase Knowledge of Environmental Case Judges

JAKARTA - The Minister of Environment and Forestry (LHK), Siti Nurbaya emphasized that the government continues to encourage the enhancement of the capability of environmental judges to strengthen law enforcement. Moreover, the dynamics of environmental law move quickly.

Minister Siti Nurbaya said environmental matters had complex characteristics and were full of scientific evidence. So certain steps and knowledge are required in front of the judge who is trying.

"Sometimes it must be sought and it will be linked to using which legal basis, what is the articulation, why is it happening like this. Therefore, on various legal issues, even though I am not an expert, not a school of law, I always ask to try to find whether the legal examination is correct or not, maybe my terminology is wrong, but I mean try to explore it, explore it again," said Siti in a statement in Jakarta, Tuesday, February 14.

On February 12, 2023, Minister Siti Nurbaya held an audience with Chief Justice Syarifuddin in Jakarta. The meeting was to respond to the fast-moving dynamics of environmental law.

Since 2011, the Supreme Court has established a certification system for environmental judges so that environmental cases can be handled by judges who have adequate knowledge, understanding, and skills.

Minister Siti Nurbaya and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Syarifuddin have the same view on re-implementing environmental judge certification.

Education and training for certification of environmental judges is important to increase the effectiveness of handling environmental cases in fulfilling a sense of justice.

In addition to certification, they also assessed that judges needed to be updated on developments on the environment on a regular basis with the aim that judges understood and could keep abreast of the latest environmental issues.

Siti said the environmental judge certification step required around 80 personnel per year. For operational law enforcement, a sufficient number of environmental judges is needed.

"We have designed it with a workshop model, maybe divided into several batches, for example one batch of 200 or 300 people, it can be hybrid, so you can be there together and you can also be online," she said.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Supreme Court, and the non-governmental organization ICEL proposed that before conducting a series of five or six batches of workshops, it was agreed to conduct a workshop first at the central level on initiative.

The topics discussed are new thematically quite dynamic related to climate change, such as the NDC. In addition, there are issues of the carbon economy that also require understanding and guidance from legal aspects.

Minister Siti said that the Government of Indonesia is currently intensively campaigning for a carbon emission reduction program through the FOLU Net Sink 2030. So, the rules and law enforcement are strict.

"Apart from that, there is a green economy, blue economy, and zero emissions. On the other hand, pollution, environmental damage, waste, and garbage have a lot to do with the circular economy," she said.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Syarifuddin, said that his party welcomed the holding of a follow-up workshop for environmental judges, in connection with the latest developments that judges also need to be aware of.

Until now, there are 1.417 alumni of environmental certification judges spread across judicial institutions throughout Indonesia.

“The amount is quite a lot, but it has been going on for a long time, so it is possible that now someone will become a Supreme Court Justice or High Court Justice. We will provide data on how many judges at the first level are needed to take part in environmental judge certification," said Syarifuddin.