The “2nd Global Symposium on Judiciary and the Environmental Rule of Law: Adjudicating our Future” took place in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi from Friday, 31 January through Saturday, 1 February, 2020. The event followed the success of the 1st Global Symposium held in Washington, D.C. in August 2018. The symposia were scheduled around the United States Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) Annual Meetings held in Rhode Island and Hawaiʻi.

The high-level event was organized by the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment (GJIE), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). The event was hosted by the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary and the Environmental Law Program of the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

The 2nd Global Symposium brought together invited judges from the United States and around the world, as well as academics, attorneys, and distinguished experts, to discuss the role of judges in interpreting and developing the Environmental Rule of Law. Specifically, they addressed current and future global environmental crises and multi-dimensional security concerns.

On the first day, participants were welcomed by the Honorable Mark E. Recktenwald, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi. Justice Antonio Benjamin, WCEL Chair and member of the GJIE Intermin Governing Committee, gave a keynote opening address. Scott Fulton, President of ELI also spoke during the opening. The first High Level Session on "Biodiversity, Oceans, and Water Security" was co-chaired by WCEL Deputy Chair, Denise Antolini and Karena R. Lyons, Vice President, Director of Research & Pacific Islands Development Program, East-West Center (Hawaiʻi-U.S.). Panelists included H.E. Ricardo Lorenzetti, Chief Justice of Argentina, Honorable Ann Aiken, United States District Court Judge for the District of Oregon, and Honorable Leslie Kobayashi, United States District Court Judge for the District of Hawaiʻi.

The second High Level Session "Environmental Rule of Law:  Emerging Principles and Trends" was co-chaired by Andy Raine, Senior Legal Officer and Head of International Law Unit for the Environmental Law Division, UN Environment Programme & Julia Olson, Executive Director and Lead Legal Counsel of Our Children’s Trust. Panelists included WCEL Chair, Justice Antonio Benjamin, Joseph Cardoza, Second Circuit Court of Hawai’i and Environmental Court Judge (Ret.), Honorable Kathie Stein and Honorable Mary Kay Lynch, Environmental Appeals Judges for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Honorable Paul Reiber, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont.

On the second day, participants were welcomed by Dean Avi Soifer of the William S.

Richardson School of Law, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and Honorable Nathan L. Hecht, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas and President of the Conference of Chief Justices. The third High Level Session "Judicial Remedies for Climate Vulnerability" was co-chaired by WCEL Steering Committee Member Nicholas Bryner and Professor Richard Wallsgrove from the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Panelists included H.E. Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, Minister of the Supreme Court of México, Honorable Jeff Crabtree, Judge of the First Circuit Court of Hawai’i, Honorable Jenny Rivera, Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, Honorable Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California, and Honorable F. Philip Carbullido, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam.

The High-Level Roundtable "The Role of the Judiciary in Advancing the Environmental Rule of Law" was co-chaired by WCEL Chair Emerita Sheila Abed at Professor David Forman from the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Participants include WCEL Steering Committee Member Claudia de Windt, as well as Scott Fulton, Associate Justice Michael Wilson, and Andy Raine.