Around 30 students and faculty attended a talk at the NYU School of Law on Tuesday, where Pakistani Supreme Court judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah discussed the relationship between human rights and environmental policy.
At the event, hosted by law professor César Rodríguez-Garavito, Shah cited three cases from Pakistani history to show how democracy, equality and social justice are connected to environmental rights. He referenced cases about enforcing the national climate change policy, preventing the expansion of cement plants and a calling for more attention to urban development.
“Most of the climate change jurisprudence that comes from Pakistan has a very interesting intersection between the right to life, the right to liberty and the right to dignity,” Shah said at the event.
The talk was part of an environmental law initiative at NYU called The Earth Rights Research and Action Clinic — a program which works closely with nonprofits, UN agencies and grassroots communities. Shah, who served as the chief justice of the provincial Lahore High Court from 2016 to 2018, is expected to take oath as the chief justice of the Pakistani Supreme Court next month. He was also a judge on the Pakistani Supreme Court, where he focused on constitutional law, human rights and sustainability.
As a part of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, the TERRA Clinic at NYU Law prepares students for careers in human rights and environmental advocacy by facilitating their work with scientists, lawyers and social movements on a variety of cases and projects.
Melina De Bona, a clinical law professor and organizer of the event, said that TERRA strives to form international partnerships to globalize its teachings in an interview with WSN.
“A part of the effort means making connections with judges, who are the people at the forefront of a lot of important decisions,” De Bona said. “We want to create spaces that are non-hierarchical to hold conversations for everyone to talk about issues like climate change that are threatening our future.”
Andrew Liu, a law student at the TERRA Clinic who attended the event, said that engaging in conversations about the environment and human rights could help law students broaden their knowledge of climate justice.
“Just by tapping into this network, you hear about things that perhaps you wouldn’t have encountered, especially if you’re focusing on one area of the law,” Liu said. “There’s all these centers and institutes at NYU Law that are so phenomenal in what they do and have the name brand to draw people like that to be part of a really intimate conversation with you, and that’s really special.”
Contact Liyana Illyas at [email protected].
