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Islamabad : Justice Jawad Hassan of Lahore High Court said Pakistan is the first country in the world to issue a judgment of its kind on environmental law based on Article 9-A added to the Constitution through the 26th Amendment to provide for a sustainable environment in line with the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Justice Jawad delivering his keynote address at the launch of “The Cambridge Handbook of Islam and Environmental Law” published by Cambridge University Press. The book launch was organised here by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
Justice Jawad said Islamic epistemology, rooted in Quranic verses and hadith, held that resources had been bestowed upon mankind in due proportion that should not be disturbed. He said the world long looked to instruments such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights, while the last sermon of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) similarly enshrined such rights. Every human being is merely a trustee of God on earth, obligated to preserve resources likening it to safeguarding “a glass of water” for future generations, he said, adding that it is a principle that courts had already applied in disputes concerning water extraction. He further said the subject held particular importance for COP31, given Pakistan’s close ties with Turkiye and Azerbaijan, and voiced hope that the concept would be developed further as a global discourse.
Earlier, in his welcome remarks, SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said the book is significant as it cited a number of judgments from Pakistani courts, with one chapter dedicated to the judgment authored by Justice Jawad Hassan. He said the launch of the book ahead of COP31 was pertinent, as the conference would take up discussions on mitigation, adaptation and related themes.
Dr Suleri said all religions spoke of the conservation of nature, and Islam and Shariah jurisprudence in particular shed light on environmental protection. He announced that SDPI would host a special session on Islam and environmental law at COP31.
The handbook, edited by Prof Nadia B Ahmad of Barry University School of Law, Prof Saba Kareemi of Pakistan College of Law, Erum K Sattar of Tufts University and Oluwakemi A Ayanleye of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria, comprises 27 chapters authored by 24 scholars from 16 countries. Its 16th chapter examines the 2019 LHC judgment in Sheikh Asim Farooq versus Federation of Pakistan, authored by Justice Jawad Hassan, which directed the enforcement of forest-protection laws in the country.
Sibah Farooq, the Chairperson of Islamabad High Court Bar Committees on Women Empowerment and Environmental Rights and Animal Laws, said it is a proud moment for Pakistan that Justice Jawad’s judgment had been referenced in Chapter 16. She noted that three of the book’s editors were of Pakistani origin and said the subject required greater public debate.
She said Pakistan produced a string of judgments addressing Islam and environmental law, citing a judgment by Justice Jawad on curbing food wastage at restaurants and another aimed at aligning public lifestyles with nature, in line with Islamic teachings on environmental protection.
Prof Kareemi said the project originated after Prof Ahmad’s earlier paper on Islamic environmental law was rejected on the grounds that no such field existed, prompting the compilation of a full-length book to establish otherwise. She said Islamic environmental law had a 1,500-year history and remained a living and relevant body of law, adding that the book also aimed to build capacity within the Islamic legal fraternity by approaching the subject through the lens of risk and governance.
