Introduction History Factors in Success List of Courts Court Guidelines References

GREEN COURTS

GREEN COURTS
Also called green benches, environmental courts Specialized Courts and Judges appointed to resolve environmental disputes

HISTORY

1993
Oposa

v. Factoran, Jr., G.R. No. 101083, July 30, 1993 (224 SCRA 792) legal standing of minors to sue in an environmental case growing number of cases involving violations of forestry laws prompt Supreme Court to issue Administrative Order No. 15-13-93 designating special courts to handle violations of the Forestry Code

HISTORY

1998

Republic Act 8557 - Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) was created as training school for justices, judges, court personnel, lawyers and aspirants to judicial posts
Offered

the ff. training programs: a. Orientation Program for New Judges A two-hour course on Introduction to Environmental Law b. Specialized Training A three-day intensive training using case studies on environmental issues and involving other sectors (prosecutors, environmental law groups, environmental agencies and scientists

HISTORY

Feb. 2005
Identification

of the challenges and concerns confronting environmental adjudication by a roundtable discussion of environmental law practitioners, academics, representatives of the lower court and the Court Administrator, and PHILJA

HISTORY

2006 (July 21) Roundtable Discussion on Green Benches

with support from the Environmental Cooperation-Asia (ECO-Asia) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Development Programme-Global Environment Facility-Small Grants Programme (UNDP-GEF-SGP) and Haribon Foundation, that the participants revisited the activities since 2001 and underscored the importance of sustaining the momentum propelled by these activities Realization of the need to further crystallize the concept of a Green Bench and explore the strengthening of all pillars of the justice system

HISTORY

2007
(July) PHILJA, in partnership with USAID, AECEN, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Asia Pacific Jurist Association (APJA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Supreme Court Project Management Office (PMO), hosted the Asian Justices Forum on the Environment (Of the 101 existing Forestry courts, only 45 could then be designated as environmental courts = environmental cases would need to be distributed court-wide and at the appellate level) Php 35,000,000.00 budget for PHILJA programs and activities

A.M. NO. 07-11-12-SC

Resolution dated 20 November 2007, as amended on 22 January 2008 (A.M. No. 07-11-12-SC) designated 117 environmental courts, comprising first and second level courts, to handle all types of environmental cases arising from at least fourteen environmental laws : (Revised Forestry Code, Marine Pollution Law, Toxic Substances and Hazardous Waste Act, Peoples Small-Scale Mining Act, National Integrated Protected Areas Act, Philippine Mining Act, Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, Philippine Fisheries Code, Clean Air Act, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, National Caves and Cave Resources Management Act, Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act, Chainsaw Act, and Clean Water Act)

A.M. NO. 07-11-12-SC

The Court approved the recommendations made by PHILJA for improved environmental adjudication, namely: (1) the designation of one hundred seventeen (117) courts as environmental courts by assigning all single sala first and second level courts as special courts to hear and decide environmental cases; (2) the court-wide raffle of all appealed environmental cases in the Court of Appeals; and (3) the conduct of capacity building trainings and seminars by PHILJA for the personnel of the environmental courts and appellate courts after their formal designation as such

FACTORS FOR SUCCESSFUL ADVOCACY

(a) Judicial leadership (b) Judicial Education and Training (c) Strategic Networking

HISTORY

2008
Administrative

Order No. 23-2008 Designating special courts to hear, try and decide environmental cases
Took

effect upon its issuance on Jan. 28, 2008 Designation of Special Courts to try and decide violations of environmental laws

LIST OF COURTS
REGIONAL TRIAL COURTS 8. NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION 1. Br. 1, Manila 9. 2. Br. 41, Manila 10. 3. Br. 101, Quezon City 11. 4. Br. 108, Pasay City 12. 5. Br. 127, Kaloocan City 13. 6. Br. 58, Makati City 7. Br. 152, Pasig City (cases 14. originating from Pasig 15.

City) Br. 266, Pasig City (cases originating from Taguig City) Br. 170, Malabon City Br. 272, Marikina City Br. 208, Mandaluyong City 2 Br. 196, Paraaque City Br. 201, Las Pias City Br. 205, Muntinlupa City Br. 171, Valenzuela City

LIST OF COURTS
FIRST JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 16. Br. 5, Baguio City 17. Br. 10, La Trinidad, Benguet 18. Br. 12, Laoag City 19. Br. 28, San Fernando City 20. Br. 39, Lingayen, Pangasinan 21. Br. 44, Dagupan City, Pangasinan 22. Br. 47, Urdaneta City

LIST OF COURTS
SECOND JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 23. Br. 5, Tuguegarao City 24. Br. 9, Aparri, Cagayan 25. Br. 17, Ilagan, Isabela 26. Br. 27, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya

LIST OF COURTS
THIRD JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 27. Br. 1, Balanga City 28. Br. 19, Malolos City 29. Br. 29, Cabanatuan City 30. Br. 32, Guimba, Nueva Ecija 31. Br. 36, Gapan City 32. Br. 41, City of San Fernando, Pampanga 33. Br. 51, Guagua, Pampanga 34. Br. 59, Angeles City 35. Br. 65, Tarlac City 36. Br. 69, Iba, Zambales 37. Br. 75, Olongapo City

LIST OF COURTS
FOURTH JUDICIAL 46. REGION 47. STATION/BRANCH 48. 38. Br. 4, Batangas City 49. 39. Br. 11, Balayan, Batangas 50. 40. Br. 88, Cavite City 41. Br. 20, Imus, Cavite 42. Br. 27, Sta. Cruz, Laguna 43. Br. 32, San Pablo City 44. Br. 36, Calamba City 45. Br. 51, Puerto Princesa City 3

Br. 60, Lucena City Br. 70, Binangonan, Rizal Br. 71, Antipolo City Br. 75, San Mateo, Rizal Br. 78, Morong Rizal

LIST OF COURTS
FIFTH JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 51. Br. 1, Legaspi City 52. Br. 13, Ligao City 53. Br. 15, Tabaco City 54. Br. 25, Naga City 55. Br. 32, Pili, Camarines Sur 56. Br. 35, Iriga City 57. Br. 38, Daet, Camarines Norte
58. 59.

Br. 53, Sorsogon City Br. 47, Masbate City

LIST OF COURTS
SIXTH JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 60. Br. 2, Kalibo, Aklan 61. Br. 11, San Jose, Antique 62. Br. 15, Roxas City 63. Br. 28, Iloilo City 64. Br. 44, Bacolod City

LIST OF COURTS
SEVENTH JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 65. Br. 23, Cebu City 66. Br. 28, Mandaue City 67. Br. 54, Lapu-Lapu City 68. Br. 34, Dumaguete City 69. Br. 47, Tagbilaran City

LIST OF COURTS
EIGHTH JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 70. Br. 9, Tacloban City 71. Br. 29, Catbalogan, Samar

LIST OF COURTS
NINTH JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 72. Br. 8, Dipolog City 73. Br. 16, Zamboanga City 74. Br. 20, Pagadian City

LIST OF COURTS
TENTH JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 75. Br. 4, Butuan City 76. Br. 10, Malaybalay City 77. Br. 12, Oroquieta City 78. Br. 39, Cagayan de Oro City

LIST OF COURTS
ELEVENTH JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 79. Br. 1, Tagum City 80. Br. 16, Davao City 81. Br. 18, Digos City 82. Br. 35, General Santos City

LIST OF COURTS
TWELFTH JUDICIAL REGION STATION/BRANCH 83. Br. 4, Iligan City 84. Br. 10, Marawi City

LIST OF COURTS
METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURTS STATION/BRANCH 85. Br. 3, Manila 86. Br. 8, Manila 87. Br. 36, Quezon City 88. Br. 48, Pasay City 89. Br. 49, Kaloocan City 90. Br. 67, Makati City 91. Br. 70, Pasig City

LIST OF COURTS
MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS IN CITIES FIRST JUDICIAL REGION 92. Br. 4, Baguio City 93. Br. 3, Dagupan City

LIST OF COURTS
SECOND JUDICIAL REGION 94. Br. 4, Tuguegarao City

LIST OF COURTS
THIRD JUDICIAL REGION 95. Br. 1, Angeles City 96. Br. 1, Cabanatuan City 97. Br. 2, City of San Fernando, Pampanga 5 98. Br. 3, Olongapo City 99. Br. 1, San Jose del Monte City

LIST OF COURTS
FOURTH JUDICIAL REGION 100. Br. 1, Antipolo City 101. Br. 2, Lipa City 102. Br. 1, San Pablo City

LIST OF COURTS
FIFTH JUDICIAL REGION 103. Br. 2, Legaspi City 104. Br. 2, Naga City

LIST OF COURTS
SIXTH JUDICIAL REGION 105. Br. 3, Bacolod City 106. Br. 9, Iloilo City 107. Br. 2, Roxas City

LIST OF COURTS
SEVENTH JUDICIAL REGION 108. Br. 7, Cebu City 109. Br. 3, Mandaue City 110. Br. 1, Tagbilaran City

LIST OF COURTS
NINTH JUDICIAL REGION 111. Br. 2, Zamboanga City

LIST OF COURTS
TENTH JUDICIAL REGION 112. Br. 2, Butuan City 113. Br. 5, Cagayan de Oro City 114. Br. 3, Ozamis City

LIST OF COURTS
ELEVENTH JUDICIAL REGION 115. Br. 7, Davao City 116. Br. 1, Gen Santos City

LIST OF COURTS
TWELFTH JUDICIAL REGION 117. Br. 1, Iligan City

COURT GUIDELINES

1. In multi sala stations where no branches of the first and second level courts are herein designated to try and decide environmental cases, the cases shall be raffled among the branches thereat which shall try and decide such cases according to existing issuances. 2. All single sala first and second level courts are considered special courts for the above purpose. 3. The Special Courts herein designated shall continue to be included in the raffle of cases, criminal civil and other cases. 4. The branches thus designated as Special Courts shall continue to perform their functions as such within the purview of this Administrative Order even after the retirement, promotion, dismissal suspension, transfer or detail of the judges appointed/designated to preside over them. Their successors whether permanent or temporary, shall act as Presiding Judges of these Special Court unless the Supreme Court otherwise directs.

COURT GUIDELINES

5. All environmental cases covered by this Order wherein pre trial in case of civil cases has already commenced and when the accused is already arraigned in case of criminal cases shall remain in the branches where they are originally assigned, otherwise these cases shall be assigned by raffle in case there are two or more designated Special Courts or when there is only one (1) in the station, the cases shall be unloaded to the said Special Court. The transferred environmental cases shall be considered as raffled cases to the Special Courts hence the branch which unloaded the environmental cases shall be assigned newly filed cases to replace the cases removed from said branch.

COURT GUIDELINES

6. In the event of inhibition of the presiding judge of the Special Courts, the following shall be observed: a. Where there is only one (1) Special Court in the station, the pairing system for multi branch stations under Circular No. 7 dated September 23, 1974 shall apply; b. Where there are two (2) Special Courts in the station, the Executive Judge shall immediately assign the case to the other Special Court; and c. Where there are three (3) or more Special Courts in the station, the Executive Judge shall immediately assign by raffle to the other Special Courts. In case all the Presiding Judges of the other Special Courts are also disqualified or inhibit themselves, the case shall be forwarded to the pairing judge of the Special Court which originally handled the said case. If the pairing judge is also disqualified or inhibits himself/herself, the case shall be raffled to the other regular courts. At the next raffle, a newly filed case shall be assigned to the disqualified or inhibiting judge to replace the case so removed from his/her court.

COURT GUIDELINES

d. Where a judge of a single sala first level court is disqualified or inhibits himself/herself, the Order of Inhibition shall be referred to the Executive Judge who shall assign the case by raffle among the judges in his administrative area of supervision, the assigned judge shall try and decide the same in the court where it was originally filed; e. Where the judge of a single sala RTC is disqualified or inhibits himself/herself, the Order of Inhibition shall be referred to the Executive/Presiding Judge of the nearest RTC station. If the nearest station is a multi sala branch, the Executive Judge shall assign the case to the same Special Court in the station, if there is any. If the presiding judge of the Special Court is disqualified or inhibits himself/herself, the case shall be raffled among the judges in the station. In all instances, the case shall be tried by the assigned judge in the court where the case was originally filed

REFERENCES

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 23-2008 http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/circulars/2008/A.O.No.232008.pdf CANDELARIA, BALLESTEROS - DESIGNATION OF GREEN BENCHES IN THE PHILIPPINES: Regional Exchange in Support of Improved Judicial Institutions and Capacity http://www.aecen.org/sites/default/files/GreenCourtsP aper.pdf PHILIPPINE JUDICIAL ACADEMY ANNUAL REPORT 2007 http://philja.judiciary.gov.ph/a_report/2007AnnualRep ort.pdf