This is an interesting possibility for us. During our conception of the International Environmental Criminal Court (IECC) we’d been considering some rather grander mechanism, such as the International Criminal Court at The Hague, because the nature of the ‘crimes’ we are facing on our planet Earth are that important. Yet, we’ve always asked where does the common man or woman go for Environmental Justice, when governments deliberately prevent Justice from being done (through poor or complicated legislation, vested interests, or by making the court system too expensive for the disadvantaged ~ as Westminster has just done by scrapping large parts of the Legal Aid system)?
In Britain, at least, we have had Small Claims Courts that deal with many of the minor situations that cannot be resolved without redress to the Law. Often simple matters, but each side in the dispute is adamant that they are correct and the opposition is wrong. The impartial summing up of the evidence is often enough to see fair play & Justice done.
So another possibility for us is to consider online courts, especially for low cost or small claims. Modern technology fits easily around this scenario. The article explains how such activities can work. The BA conducts all of its meetings and business online, so we know how easy this is. Documents are uploaded for review, revision & approval. We already have a database in place to manage our posts & comments; soon it will be recording membership and field projects. So we have the technological capability.
Personally, I’ve never used e-bay so have no idea how its dispute resolution works; but I have participated in an online trial via Skype. Residing in a very remote location it was not possible for witnesses to attend the High Court in the national capital. Despite poor internet bandwidth it was possible to establish reasonable links with the Judge, and most of what he needed to know was delivered online. So, again, it is possible. I’m very interested to hear your feedback on this as a way ahead. Thanks, Mike 🙂
Dear friends, please find linked the ultimate version of our justification for establishing an International Environmental Criminal Court. Thank you, Mike & Ven.
Hello everyone, just found this group, who seem to be working along some similar lines to us.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ClientEarth
The connection is that they have successfully challenged London’s government about its terrible air pollution record; including doing nothing to reduce fossil fuel use. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/air-pollution-to-blame-for-60000-early-deaths-per-year-government-to-be-warned-9893810.html
Client Earth did get cases into ECJ ~ but I noticed the limitations of that Court too. Notwithstanding that ~ these people are a ready made group already active. Perhaps once we get going then we can approach them directly … they already have their own funding base. They should certianly know other advocates too.
We know that other cities also have terrible air pollution, so we are on the right track I think, Mike 🙂
