LAWASIA Environmental Law Conference 2026

Wednesday 19 August 2026

4.00 pm

Conference Registration

5.00 pm

Welcome reception at APEC Haus, Port Moresby

Thursday 20 August 2026

9.00 am

Session 1: Opening session

Opening remarks:

• Mr Teong Liang Yap, President of LAWASIA
• Sir Gibuma Gibbs Salika GCL KBE CSM OBE, Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea, Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea
• Mr Hubert Numane, President of Law Society of Papua New Guinea
• Mr Steven Thiru, President of Commonwealth Lawyers Association
• Mr William Wylie Clarke, Chair of the South Pacific Lawyers Association

9.30 am

Opening address:

Speaker: The Hon. James Marape, MP, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, and Member for Tari Pori

10.00 am

Keynote address: The Hon. Justice Ambeng Kandakasi GCL, CBE, Deputy Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea.

“Rising to the challenge: How to uphold the environmental rule of law today”

View speaker biographies

10.45 am

Morning tea

11.15 am

Session 2: Content of the Environmental Rule of Law

1. Dr Georgina Lloyd, Regional Co-ordinator Environmental Law and Governance, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Asia and the Pacific Office, Bangkok, Thailand.

“UNEP’s work in developing the environmental rule of law”

2. Mr Robert White, Barrister and Vice-President of the Environment and Planning Law Association of NSW, Sydney, Australia.

“The meaning and content of the environment rule of law”

3. Mr Shyam Divan, Senior Advocate, Delhi, India and Immediate Past President of LAWASIA.

“Translating the normative principles of the environmental rule of law into functioning institutions, enforceable standards and accountable governance”

4. The Hon. Justice Vergil Los Narokobi, National and Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea, Resident Judge, Madang National Court, Madang, Papua New Guinea.

“Concentric constitutionalism – A Melanesian/Papua New Guinea response to ecocentric constitutionalism”  

5. Ms Nina Pindham, Barrister and Chair of the U.K. Environmental Law Association, London, United Kingdom.

“The influence of the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change in Developing the Environmental Rule of Law”

View speaker biographies

12.45 pm

Lunch

1.45 pm

Session 3: Implementation of the Environmental Rule of Law

1. Ms Maria-Goreti Muavesi, Protected Areas and Oceans Legal Advisor, Conservation International Pacific, Suva, Fiji.

“From global diversity commitments to domestic law: Closing the implementation gap”

2. Mr David Denniston, Lawyer, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

“Implementation and enforcement of PNG environmental law”

3. Ms Ana Coculescu, Barrister, Wellington, New Zealand.

“Light at the end of the tunnel? The trend towards hybrid environmental governance”

4. Mr Felix Aglen Ndaru, Policy Analyst and Criminal Investigator, Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.

“Can law enforcement agencies synergize: Reactivating multidoor institutions for natural resource law enforcement in Indonesia”

5. Dr Bui Thi Bich Lien, Law lecturer, FPT University, Hanoi, Vietnam

“Flood governance in practice: Policy execution, normative orders and environmental justice in Vietnam”

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3.15 pm

Afternoon tea

3.45 pm

Session 4: Threats to the Environmental Rule of Law 

1. Ms Melinda Janki, Environmental Lawyer, Georgetown, Guyana.

“Jewel in the Crown or attack on the environmental rule of law – a look at Exxon Mobil’s oil production offshore South America”

2. Mr Dirk Heinz, Solicitor at Macpherson Kelley, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Mr William Kadi, Barrister and Vice President of the Solomon Islands Environmental Law Society, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

“Getting environmental justice in Melanesia: The hard road to do the right thing”

3. Mr Mimin Dwi Hartono, Senior Policy Analyst, National Commission on Human Rights of Indonesia (Komnas HAM), Indonesia.

“COP 30 and the rights of Indigenous Peoples to the environment”

4. The Hon. Lady Justice Jacqueline Kamau, High Court of Kenya, Vihiga, Kenya.

“Integrity of combatting noise pollution in Kenya”

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5.15 pm

Close of Day 1

6.30 pm

Conference dinner

Friday 21 August 2026

9.00 am

Session 5: Institutions for the Environmental Rule of Law 

1. Mr Steven Thiru, Lawyer and President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Silenced for speaking out: Protecting environmental defenders from SLAPPs”

2. Dr Judith A Preston, Solicitor and Distinguished Research Fellow, Environmental Law Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

“SLAPPed: Challenges lawyers face in upholding the environmental rule of law”

3. Mr Matthew Baird, Director, Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law, Bangkok, Thailand and Executive Director, Centre for ESG Law and Practice, College of Law, Australia.

“Environmental and human rights defenders and the protection of lawyers – the role of the Luxembourg Convention”

4. Professor Jennifer McKay, Professor of Business Law, Adelaide University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

“Environmental human rights defenders and the courts: Ensuring justice in a changing climate”

5. Dr Venkat Iyer, Barrister and Lecturer, Ulster University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

“The role of the media in upholding the environmental rule of law”

View speaker biographies

10.30 am

Morning break

11.00 am

Session 6: Courts for the Environmental Rule of Law

1. Professor Amanda Kennedy, Head of School of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and the Hon. Justice Brian J Preston AO SC, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

“Judicial capacity-building in environmental law in Cambodia and Lao PDR”

2. The Hon. Justice Bambang H Mulyono, Chief Judge of the Denpasar High Court, Bali, Indonesia.

“Environmental law training and Environmental Judge Certification in Indonesia”

3. The Hon. Justice John Carey, Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea and Judge Administrator of the Papua New Guinea Centre for Judicial Excellence, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

“Judicial capacity-building in environmental law in Papua New Guinea”

4. Dr Chandra Kanta Gyawali, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of Nepal, Nepal.

“The central role of Nepal’s judiciary in institutionalising the environmental rule of law in Nepal’s constitutional democracy”

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12.30 pm

Lunch

1.30 pm

Session 7: Environmental Dispute Resolution 

1. Dr Sheila Ramalingan, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“The establishment of a regional court in Southeast Asia to safeguard environmental rights”

2. Ms Deborah Lockhart, CEO of Australian Disputes Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

“Beyond the Western lens: Adapting ADR for environmental justice in the Pacific – The ADC Partnership Process”

3. Ms Susan Dixon, Senior Commissioner of the Land and Environment Court of NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

“Framing the Forum to Fit the Fuss: Bespoke Environmental Dispute Resolution”

4. Ms Briony Eales, Consultant to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Team Leader for Judicial Capacity Building in Environmental and Climate Change Law, Manila, Philippines.

“Remedies at the frontline: Can Community-Level Dispute Resolution deliver environmental accountability?”

5. Mr Bryce Williams, Legal Counsel, Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), The Hague, The Netherlands.

“The Permanent Court of Arbitration’ international perspective and expertise on environmental dispute settlement”

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Afternoon tea

3.30 – 4:30pm

Session 8: Closing Session

Keynote address: The Hon. Justice Antonio H Benjamin, Chief Justice of the National High Court of Brazil

“The enduring importance of the environmental rule of law in times of change”  

Closing remarks:

• Mr Shyam Divan, Immediate Past President of LAWASIA.
• Justice Derek Wood, Justice of the Supreme and National Courts, and Judge Administrator, Resources, Environment and Climate Change Track, National Court, Papua New Guinea.
• Mr Hubert Numane, President of the Law Society of Papua New Guinea.
• Mr Steven Thiru, President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.
• Dr Gordon Hughes, Deputy Chair of South Pacific Lawyers Association

4:45pm

Closing address:

His Excellency Grand Chief Sir Bob Bofeng Dadae GCL, GCMG, KStJ, Governor General of Papua New Guinea

View speaker biographies

5.15 pm 

Close of conference