On Friday, November 6, 2015, the Environmental Law Program (ELP) hosted a Colloquium at the William S. Richardson School of Law to provide updates on the progress of the new Hawai‘i Environmental Court.
The Hawai‘i Environmental Court was established on July 1, 2015 to ensure the fair, consistent, and effective resolution of cases involving the environment.

Associate Justice Michael D. Wilson and Dean Denise Antolini discussed how the court has functioned over the past four months. Justice Wilson currently serves as Chair of the Environmental Court Working Group, which implements the Hawai‘i Environmental Court. Justice Wilson observed that the Hawai‘i Environmental Court will better position Hawai‘i “to safeguard one of the most treasured environments in the world.”

Justice Wilson drew comparisons between the Hawai‘i Environmental Court and the specialized environmental courts that were established in India to strengthen and revitalize environmental governance. Although Hawai‘i and India face different environmental challenges, both places can benefit from the focused courts to resolve environmental disputes involving scientific and technical questions.

Legal Fellow Tyler Hee also provided updates about his work to engage law students to attend and report on environmental cases that are being heard by the Environmental Court.

The Colloquium followed the Hawai‘i Environmental Court Symposium, held at the Law School over the summer to introduce the law school community to the Hawai‘i Environmental Court. If you have questions about either event please contact the ELP program at hiectsymposium@gmail.com.