We are organising a public lecture by Prof Steven Wise, American animal rights lawyer and founder of the Nonhuman Rights Project on “The Struggle of the Nonhuman Rights Project to Gain Legal Rights for Nonhuman Animals”.

This lecture will provide a broader perspective on legal personhood, inspire innovative views on the law and raise environmental awareness.

Register using this form:

Check out this TED Talk by Prof Steven Wise for a flavour of the lecture.

This environmental law training organised by the Bar Council Environmental and Climate Change Committee (“ECCC”) has a threefold purpose:

1. To reduce what are usually seen as daunting and complex environmental laws into core principles / components;
2. To present the range of pressing environmental issues that threatens our right to — and quality of — life; and
3. To introduce the need for urgent action, whereby the practice of environmental laws and activism must go hand in hand to ensure our survival in a world where the environment is continually desecrated in the name of generating wealth and development.

The training is led by Roger Chan Weng Keng, Chairperson of ECCC, who has spoken and debated on many environmental law issues in fora, both local and international. His methodology forewarns limitations to the conventional approaches to environmental law. Therefore, he introduces real-life environmental conundrums and abandons seeming solutions in environmental laws that are not helpful to environmental activism. In the group exercises in this training, he will be assisted by equally passionate members of ECCC.

The training will focus on:

• sourcing out Malaysian environmental laws using the “Framework Legislation Model”;
• identifying and assessing the impact of regional environmental instruments such as the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution 2002, and paragraph 28(f ) of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration 2012, which incorporate a “right to a safe, clean and sustainable environment” as an ingredient of an adequate standard of living;
• introducing the international dimension of environmental laws, such as the Rio Declaration of 1992, which enunciated the 3-pillar principles of peoples’ right to information, public participation and access to environmental injustice. Next in this line of focus will be the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (“WSSD”) 2002 and the Rio+20 Conference, which have consistently maintained, and been a reminder of, the principles of sustainable development;
• the inclusive principles but diverse and cross-cutting nature of environmental laws, their impact on human rights and constitutional rights;
• the pre-Stockholm model of our environmental laws and the need to accord proportionality to the common perception that lack of enforcement is the root cause of our environmental problems, as many of our environmental laws are environmentally-unfriendly;
• appreciating and addressing the plethora of pressing environmental issues in Malaysia — such as massive forest clearing and floods, loss of biodiversity, environmental corruption, radioactive waste disposal, nuclear energy and others — through case studies and interactive activities;
• understanding the need for urgent action for climate justice, and why climate change issues are too important to be left in the hands of politicians and the United Nations;
• how to rise to a new consciousness and lobby for environmental rights as a fundamental right and safeguard to the right to life, so that in the year 2050 (the year set by the international community as a benchmark whether we are going to environmentally make or break), our hypothetical 10-year old grandchild, who by then will be 45 years old, can judge whether we have made any difference;
• group interactive exercises in environmental activism (facilitated and guided);
• how strategic interest litigation affecting marginalised and vulnerable groups such as the Orang Asli, can be made less cumbersome and less expensive for easier access to justice; and
• addressing some of the apparent weaknesses of the Environmental Court, with a view to making recommendations on how to extend its reach to environmental cases of a civil nature. In this context, taking the cue from the “National Green Tribunal Model” of India would be useful.

You can register by filling out these forms and sending them back to us (by email or fax).
This event is open to lawyers and members of the public. Registrations will close after 21 October 2015.

EC Seminar on the Enforcement of Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672) on 29 September 2015

(Free Admission for members of the Bar, pupils-in-chambers and law students)

2 CPD Points (T3/29092015/KLB/KLB153075/2)

With effect from 1 September 2015, the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672) has been implemented in stages. To date, the States and Federal Territories that have adopted the Act are Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Pahang, Johore, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Perlis and Kedah. Households within these states are now required to separate their waste according to the following categories of plastic, paper, cardboard, glass, metal and food remains.

In light of the above, the KLBC Environmental Committee (“EC”) is organising a seminar to be presented by Solid Waste Corporation (“SWCorp”) on the implementation and enforcement of the Act and how households are to segregate and dispose of their waste. Details as follows:

• Date: 29 September 2015 (Tuesday)
• Time: 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
• Venue: KL Bar Auditorium
  4th Floor, Wisma Hangsam
  No. 1 Jalan Hang Lekir
  50000 Kuala Lumpur

About SWCorp

SWCorp was established  on 1 June 2008 as the implementing agency of the National Solid Waste Management Policy under the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act (Act 673) and is empowered to manage and enforce the laws relating to solid waste management and public cleansing.

As this is a FREE Seminar, Members of the Bar, Pupils-in-Chambers and Law Students who have registered are to ensure their attendance. Otherwise, it may deprive others of the opportunity to attend. Any cancellation shall be in writing and received by the KL Bar Secretariat by 3 working days prior to the Seminar. Members of the Bar, Pupils-in-Chambers and Law Students who have registered for the Seminar and fail to turn up, will not be allowed to register for future Free Seminars, Workshops,Talks and Forums organised by the KLBC and its Subcommittees. 

REGISTRATION FEE (Inclusive of 6% GST)

• Members of the Bar, Pupils-in-Chambers / Law Students – FREE but registration is required.
• NGOs – RM31.80 per participant.
• Non-Members – RM106.00 per participant.

Registration Must be Accompanied With Payment (for paying participants) to Guarantee Your Place

Only 150 Seats Available. Click here to register.

Please be advised that certain supplies of goods and services that we make may be subject to GST and we are required to levy GST on such taxable goods and services from 1 April 2015.  

Kindly also note that we reserve the right to implement any necessary changes to our policies on goods and services that we may supply or on supplies we may receive from vendors.

METHOD OF PAYMENT:

Payment is to be made at any Maybank

• Name of Account:  Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee
• Account No: 564315003715

Please fax or email the bank in slip to 03-20321090 or siti@klbar.org.my.

NOTE:

• Registration is strictly on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Confirmation is upon receipt of payment.
• The Organisers reserve the right to postpone or cancel the Event, should circumstances arise that make such action necessary.
• Fee paid is non-refundable unless the Event is cancelled by the Organisers.  If a participant is unable to attend, a replacement participant is allowed.
• The registration counter will be opened for registration at 2:30 pm on the day of the event. The Event will start at 3:00 pm sharp. Please be punctual.
• Kindly note that Photo ID (IC, Driving Licence, etc) is required for registration.
• Certificate of Attendance for participants is only provided upon request by filling up the Evaluation and Feedback Form and returning it to the Registration Desk AT THE END OF THE EVENT.
• To be eligible for the Certificate of Attendance and CPD Points, please take note that:
• You must participate in the Event until its completion including the Q & A Session and be present throughout the Event.
• Latecomers (15 Minutes after the start time) and those who leave early will not be entitled to receive the Certificate of Attendance and the CPD Points.

For registration information, please contact Siti at the KL Bar Secretariat 03-20321440.

The Malaysian Government recently stated that it is still conducting a study on harnessing nuclear power to meet the nation’s future energy needs. However, non-governmental organisations (“NGOs”) have responded that the Government is not being transparent with how advanced plans are, and that there has been an absence of sincere public consultation. More worryingly, NGOs are warning against the dissemination of false information by the nuclear industry and other vested interests.

This forum comes at a crucial time because the Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation, which is tasked with assisting the Government to decide about embracing nuclear power, was expected to get Malaysia “nuclear-ready” by the end of 2013. The Economic Transformation Programme lists the deployment of nuclear power by 2021.

Admission is free but kindly register in advance using the registration form posted here.

Access our Facebook event page here.

Forum Programme & Speakers:

09:30am: REGISTRATION

10:00am: Welcoming Remarks

10:10am: YB Charles Santiago (Member of Parliament, Klang) – Challenges in ascertaining the government’s nuclear plans

10:40am: Dr. Mohd Zamzam Jaafar (Chief Executive Officer, Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation), representing YB Dato’ Mah Siew Keong (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department) – Clearing the air on the government’s nuclear ambitions

11:10am: Hajime Matsukubo (Editor and Liaison Officer, Citizens’ Nuclear Information Centre, Japan) – The experience and challenges faced by Fukushima residents in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear accident

11:40pm: Dr. Ronald McCoy (Former President of the Malaysian Medical Association and anti-nuclear activist) – Nuclear power is not a viable option for Malaysia

12:10pm: Kiu Jia Yaw (Member, Bar Council Environment & Climate Change Committee) – Nuclear power from an environmental rights perspective

(Format: Each speaker will present for 20-30 minutes. There will be no Q&A immediately after each presentation. Instead, the audience will be invited to write down their questions and submit them to the Moderator for the Panel Discussion.)

12:40pm: LUNCH

13:30pm: PANEL DISCUSSION based on questions from the floor
Panelists: YB Charles Santiago, Dr. Mohd Zamzam Jaafar, Hajime Matsukubo, Dr. Ronald McCoy and Kiu Jia Yaw
Moderator: Roger Chan Weng Keng (Chair, Bar Council Environment & Climate Change Committee)

15:20pm: CLOSING

Registration Form