Second Global Symposium on the Judiciary and the Environment |

The Second Global Symposium on the Judiciary and the Environment took place at the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court on January 31 and at the Law School on February 1.

Second Global Symposium participants at the Hawai’i Supreme Court

This historic Symposium was organized by former Associate Dean Denise Antolini, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court, particularly Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald and Associate Justice Michael Wilson; and external partners including the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL); the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment (GJIE); the Organization of American States (OAS); the Environmental Law Institute (ELI); and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This Symposium was a prequel to the Conference of Chief Justices of the United States, which held its annual meeting in Honolulu on the following four days, with an educational program also focused on environmental law, and featured speakers from around the U.S. including ELP Professors Kapua Sproat and Maxine Burkett. The Law School played a key hosting role and faculty, staff, and over 30 law student volunteers provided invaluable support for this major event.

From left: May Nachum ’21, Prof. Denise Antolini, and Emily Gaskin ’17

Five U.S. Chief Justices from California, Texas, Washington, Vermont, Virgin Islands, and a Supreme Court Justice from Guam arrived early to attend the Symposium at the Law School; over thirty high-level judges and distinguished lawyers, academics, and partners attended from around the U.S. and globally; more than 30 Richardson Law students served as “VIP ambassadors” to assist the special guests and participate in the Symposium; and numerous members of the Hawaiʻi State Bar Association Energy and Environmental Resources Section attended for CLE credit. The first such Symposium that focused on judges and the environment, also co-sponsored by ELP, took place in Washington D.C. in August 2018 in conjunction with the Chief Justices Conference.