The Sri Lankan Christopher Weeramantry is 80 years old -- his award can be considered a recognition of his life achievements. Weeramantry is a legal scholar and former judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague.

In 1996, he presided in his capacity as Vice-President of the ICJ over several important cases before the Court, including a case on the illegality of the use and threatened use of nuclear weapons. This case lost him the support of many of his colleagues.

"Nuclear weapons have always been a particular concern of his. His book 'Nuclear Weapons and Scientific Responsibility' (1987) has been widely translated and is the major text on the legal responsibilities of nuclear scientists," the Right Livelihood Award Foundation said in its statement posted on its web-site.

Historic cases

Weeramantry also made his name with other historical cases at the ICJ. In 1999, the court dismissed cases filed by Serbia and Montenegro accusing NATO members of genocide during the alliance's 1999 air raids during the Kosovo conflict.

Making it clear that its decision had not been an easy one, in the ICJ's statement, Weeramantry said that the court was very concerned by the human tragedy, the loss of human life and the great suffering in Kosovo, adding that it provided the background for all the death and suffering all over Yugoslavia.

Weeramantry is a lawyer, judge, author and lecturer. He was awarded the "Alternative Nobel Prize" for his "crucial role in strengthening and expanding the rule of international law."

In his statement on 6 Dec., he said: "We need to resolve the mutual lack of understanding between the worlds of Islam and Christianity. There is a total unawareness on each side of the richness and inspirational value of the other and in fact a tendency, born of ignorance, to deride the other."

Promoting renewable energies

The 2007 Right Livelihood Award has also been given to Grameen Shakti, a daughter company of Grameen Bank.

In 2006, the Grameen Bank and its founder Mohammed Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize its work in the field of micro finance. The Grameen Bank has broadened its activities to include habitation, health and renewable energies.

Grameen Shakti (which translates into English as 'rural power'), a member of the Grameen family, was founded in 1996, "as a not for profit company to promote, develop and popularise renewable energy technologies in remote, rural areas of Bangladesh."

"Grameen Shakti envisages a future where rural households of Bangladesh, would have access to environment friendly and pollution free energy at affordable costs," its web-site states.

Solar home systems

Grameen Shakti has helped finance over 100,000 solar home systems in 20,000 rural communities, benefitting about 400,000 people. They now can spend less on kerosene and biomass. Whereas "solar light" allows children to study at night, or parents to do handiwork to earn some extra money. Shop hours have also been extended thanks to more energy.

"Grameen Shakti, under its Managing Director Dipal Barua, has installed more than 110,000 solar home systems in rural Bangladesh. It has shown that solar energy applications can be scaled up massively and rapidly to provide an affordable and climate-friendly energy option for the rural poor," the Right Livelihood Award Foundation said in its statement.

Dipal Barua said it was a fact that the future belongs to Renewable Energy Technologies. "But unless this technology can reach millions of rural people who suffer most from the energy crisis, it will not reach its full potential, and neither will the economic and social problems of the world be solved."