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29 Pace Envtl. L. Rev. 441 (2011-2012)
Environmental Courts in Comparative Perspective: Preliminary Reflections on the National Green Tribunal of India

handle is hein.journals/penv29 and id is 443 raw text is: ARTICLE

Environmental Courts in Comparative
Perspective: Preliminary Reflections on the
National Green Tribunal of India
DOMENICO AMIRANTE*
I.    INTRODUCTION
Environmental law is undoubtedly a pillar of environmental
protection, but after many decades it is still suffering in most of
the world due to poor implementation.     As a result, the
organization of the courts and their environmental sensibility, as
well as the national systems of access to justice, have become
crucial issues in the implementation of both environmental law
and the principle of sustainable development. In this perspective,
especially in developing or recently developed countries, the
current trend has been to build up specialized courts and
tribunals to deal with environmental cases and to make the
access to justice easier for citizens, NGOs, and disadvantaged
groups.  This article discusses the pros and cons of the
establishment of green tribunals in the Indian context, from a
comparative perspective. It begins by analyzing the European
and American experience - generally more favorable to general
courts and tribunals - and comparing it to recent trends
indicating a strong preference towards specialized jurisdictions.
The article continues by fully examining the case of India in its
regional context, considering that specialized judicial institutions
must be designed according to their specific legal culture (and
constitutional/administrative  system)  and  the  particular
environmental and developmental needs of each country or
region. In this perspective the green tribunals appear to be
very useful tools to satisfy the growing needs of environmental

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