Brazilian Declaration of Judges on Water Justice of March 2018 as a source of soft environmental law

Abstract

This article provides the results of research conducted within the framework of the concept of international legal protection of Lake Baikal on the outcome of environmental work of international non-governmental organizations in the sphere of protection and sustainable of water resources. Coverage is given on the activity of the World Water Council. Special attention is turned to the reflection of the main results of the World Water Forum, including the outcome of its activity in form of the Brazilian Declaration of Judges on Water Justice adopted in March 2018. Leaning on the results of the work with authentic text, the author examines 10 basic principles contained in the Brazilian Declaration of Judges on Water Justice, which a certain degree reflect the environmental priority in the consideration of civil, administrative and criminal cases related to the use and protection of waters, with the disclosure of their basic content. One of the proposals is the formation of the Expert Council on Lake Baikal that incorporates the academic staff of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, other representatives of scientific community who take part in preparation of assessment of the scientific validity of draft documents in the sphere of conservation of Lake Baikal that significantly affect then environmental activity in the Baikal Nature Reserve. A proposal is formulated on the inclusion into the current and newly developed programs for the advanced training of judges and prosecutors that imply the study of the key aspects of law enforcement practice in the sphere of environmental protection (considering the natural specificity of the region for the judges to implement their activity). Attention is given to the work of the International Water Resources Association and the results of the 16th World Water Congress held in Cancun (Mexico). The analyzed international experience is extrapolated to the problematic of conservation of the ecosystem of Lake Baikal.