This workshop will be interactive and present an overview of the submissions on enforcement matters (SEM) process administered by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The SEM process was established by the environmental side agreement, the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and allows any resident or organization of North America to file a submission asserting that one of the Parties is not effectively enforcing its environmental law.

CEC attorneys will not only discuss a brief history of the CEC and the SEM process but will also lead participants in an interactive workshop on how submissions are filed, the requirements that must be met, and the how the process provides transparency and information sharing about effective enforcement of environmental laws in North America.

In addition, a panel discussion on the SEM process will be presented with distinguished individuals in the field of international environmental law: Lee Paddock, GWU Law School; Tracy Hester, University of Houston Law School; Gustavo Alanis, President of the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (Mexican Environmental Law Center—CEMDA); and, Hoi Kong, McGill University Faculty of Law.