Chief Justice Martha Koome Wednesday committed to advocate for environmental sustainability in the Kenyan justice sector through upholding the rule of law, protecting rights, ensuring sustainable development and promoting ecological sustainability.
Speaking during the launch of a Strategic Guiding Framework for Greening Kenya’s Justice System, the CJ said the quest for justice is intertwined and inseparable from environmental sustainability and the justice sector should lead by example and be the pacesetter to be emulated by other sectors.
“Through this Strategic Guiding Framework, we are affirming our renewed commitment towards integrating environmental sustainability into the functioning of our justice institutions”, said CJ Koome.
Justice Koome acknowledged that the justice system has in the past not always been fully conscious of the environmental impact of its operations. Hence, the quest to embed sustainability within the justice system requires a renewed commitment to change and a concerted effort towards efficient and effective administration of justice.
“The push for a greener justice system requires relentless efforts as it is about reorienting our practices to ensure we have a livable planet for the future generations. Going forward, we as agencies and stakeholders in the Kenyan justice sector are committed to ensuring that we promote the goal of environmental sustainability”, said the CJ.
CJ Koome noted that Strategic Guiding Framework calls for agencies within the justice system to integrate green practices into their core and operational functions.
“The Strategy provides specific recommendations for National Council on Administration of Justice agencies, covering upscaling green investigations and arrests, enhancing green prosecution, institutionalizing environmental safeguards to resolve cases within our courts, greening our sentencing practices, greening correctional services, promoting green legal empowerment and embedding a human rights approach in each greening element”, noted CJ Koome.
The CJ further undertook to conduct civil and criminal justice reforms that support green justice, to ensure laws and legal practices actively promote environmental sustainability.
“At the grassroots level, we will upscale greening interventions through Court Users Committees (CUCs), bringing environmentally conscious practices closer to the communities we serve”, said Justice Koome.
The Strategic Framework also requires justice actors to implement reforms and interventions to enhance the administration and access to justice for vulnerable and marginalized persons, particularly those disproportionately affected by climate change such as children, women, survivors of gender-based violence, and youth.
Others who addressed the forum are Hon. Aden Duale CS Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Mr. Renson Mulele Ingonga, Vice Chairperson of the NCAJ & Director of Public Prosecutions and PS Correctional Services Ms. Salome Beacco among others.
