Discussing the Role of Environmental Law Journals in Promoting Public Dialogue on the Development of Environmental Law

SJEL Meets with Environmental Policymakers and Professionals from Vietnam

By: David Wilkinson, Editor-in-Chief

The Seattle Journal of Environmental law hosted members of a U.S. State Department professional exchange program this week, meeting with a delegation of environmental policy makers from Vietnam to discuss the role of environmental law journals, such as the Seattle Journal of Environmental Law, in future environmental regulation and policy. During the Tuesday morning meeting at the Seattle University School of Law, SJEL shared its role as Washington State’s first environmental law journal, and discussed the unique effect that a law journal with a strong online presence has on the academic community and environmental policymaking.

The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam nominated the delegates as upcoming leaders in their field. The exchange program is designed to show the delegates different approaches to researching the development of environmental protection regimes and permitting programs, studying the role of science in environmental policymaking, learning about different approaches to compliance and enforcement, meeting with environmental law stakeholders, and exploring public participation in the dialogue surrounding environmental legal issues. The exchange program, titled “Creating Environmental Laws and Regulations,” was coordinated with help from the World Affairs Council of Seattle.

The visiting leaders included professionals working in Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Public Security. The guests included Dr. Loi Van Dang, Deputy Director of the Department of Pollution Control, Vietnam Environment Administration; Mr. Son Mink Hoang, Deputy Director of the Department of Policy and Legislation, Vietnam Environment Administration; Dr. Dong The Nguyen, Deputy General Director, Vietnam Environment Administration; Dr. Khanh Quoc Nguyen, Director, Center for Environmental Information and Data, Vietnam Environment Administration; Mr. Phuong Nam Nguyen, Director, Vietnam Environment Protection Fund; Mr. Sy Thi Nguyen, Deputy Director, Policy Department Environmental Crime Prevention Unit; and Dr. My Thi Pham, Editor-in-Chief, Natural Resources and Environment Newspaper. 

The Seattle Journal of Environmental Law was represented by its Executive Development Editor, Robert Palmer; the journal’s faculty advisor, Professor Henry McGee; and the Editor-in-Chief, David Wilkinson.

The meeting illuminated the uniqueness of student legal publications. The visiting leaders asked how SJEL began, who supported it, and how it was managed. Concerned and passionate students started the journal, and students work on the journal with the understanding that it is a learning experience—a chance to not only learn more about environmental legal issues, but a chance to join the public dialogue surrounding environmental law.

The meeting served also as a reminder of the variety of approaches to promoting public dialogue on legal approaches to solving environmental problems. For example, Dr. My Thi Pham explained the availability of online public comments for new bills related to environmental law in Vietnam. While the academic journal approach in the United States is arguably less directly responsive to legislation, the meeting highlighted some parallels. Academic journals enable professors, practitioners, and students to respond to changing legal standards, or even to propose new laws.

The meeting offered a valuable chance to learn not only about Vietnam’s approach to involving the public in the environmental law dialogue, but also about the unique roles that student-run publications can play in a local and global dialogue. The variety of approaches to public participation in the development of the law is impressive. But the meeting highlighted that while the nonprofit, nonpartisan, student-run publication model may be traditional in the U.S. legal community, it is by no means universal. Student journals do indeed provide a unique avenue for public participation in the development of our laws.