Hmm: What's the true story of the world's top judges and lawyers getting a junket to "a luxurious seaside hotel" under the sponsorship of the UN environment programme?

Palm trees and controversy: the world's top judges and lawyers at Rio+20 | Stanley Johnson | Law | guardian.co.uk

The world congress on justice, governance and law for environmental sustainabilty, which took place June 17-20 under the sponsorship of the UN environment programme, held both its opening and concluding sessions in the magnificent setting of Rio de Janeiro's Tribunal de Justiça. Chief justices, heads of jurisdiction, attorneys general, chief prosecutors, and other high-ranking representatives of the judicial, legal and auditing professions have been present in Rio over the last few days with the object of feeding their own recommendations into the work of the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development now taking place at heads of state and heads of government level.

The Bible speaks of "deep calling unto deep". Well here, over the last few days, it has been "summit calling to summit". On the first day we heard some moving statements by their supreme honours, if that is the right way to address the world's chief justices. Ricardo Luis Lorenzetti, president of Argentina's supreme court, told the august gathering that it was the duty of the judiciary to stop the politicians reneging on their promises. "The key role of the judiciary is that we do not depend on election" he said.

For the next three days participants repaired to a luxurious seaside hotel at Mangaratiba about 100 miles south of Rio. There, amid the sound of waving palm trees and the lapping oceans, they sat down to work out exactly what message it was they wanted to convey to the world's political leaders.

Why the supreme courts can make Rio+20 a success | Stanley Johnson | Environment | guardian.co.uk

The most important side-event in 2012 may be the first-ever gathering of the chief justices of the world's supreme courts – the Unep-organised World Congress on Justice, Law and Environmental Sustainability.

Supreme court justices from all over the world (including the UK) met on Sunday night in the splendour of Rio de Janeiro's own Tribunal di Justiça to make it absolutely clear that environmental rights were part and parcel of the rule of law, to be enforced alongside, and indeed as a component of, basic human rights.

U.S. Funding for the UN

The U.S. contributes more to the UN than any other country -- 22 percent of the regular UN budget and 27 percent of the peacekeeping budget