Historic Hearings at the World’s Highest Court Could be a Gamechanger for Climate Justice – Center for International Environmental Law

Printed November 24 2024

By Joie Chowdhury, Senior Lawyer of Local weather Litigation and Accountability for CIEL’s Local weather & Vitality Program,  and Rossella Recupero, CIEL’s Communications Marketing campaign Specialist.

The Worldwide Courtroom of Justice is anticipated to concern its opinion by late 2025.

From December 2nd to thirteenth, the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice will maintain two weeks of hearings in relation to the request for its Advisory Opinion on States’ obligations in respect of local weather change. These authorized proceedings, rooted within the management of Pacific youth, Vanuatu and campaigners worldwide have the potential to advance bold local weather motion after many years of political inertia which have plagued worldwide local weather negotiations and home local weather insurance policies.

Picture credit score: Pacific Islands Scholar Combating Local weather Change 

Regardless of many years of consciousness concerning the grave dangers and impacts of the local weather disaster, there may be an unconscionable hole between States’ local weather motion and what science and justice require to avert local weather disaster —because the weak outcomes of COP29 so clearly illustrate.

Subsequent week, in its ongoing local weather advisory proceedings, the  Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ) will hear arguments on the questions it has been requested to make clear – in essence: a)  What are the obligations of States underneath worldwide legislation in relation to local weather change? (b)   What are the authorized penalties when States breach or don’t meet these obligations? 

These proceedings might affect nationwide and regional courts’ interpretation of state duties in pending and future instances, inform local weather motion, and assist reduce by means of the political inertia that has plagued local weather negotiations and national-level local weather motion. The proceedings may also drive an airing of presidency positions on key authorized questions, offering an essential basis to make polluters pay.

The urgency of those questions can’t be overstated. At present ranges of warming, local weather change is already and more and more devastating folks’s rights, lives, and livelihoods globally.  For much too lengthy, the States most chargeable for the local weather disaster have failed to guide in addressing it and paying up for the hurt they’ve prompted. Now the world’s highest court docket has a singular alternative to set us on a distinct course. 

An Unprecedented Alternative To Advance Local weather Justice

We’d like pressing motion to deal with the local weather emergency. The legislation is among the strongest instruments now we have to alter the system and maintain governments and firms to account. Clarification of the legislation by the ICJ  in relation to local weather change might pave the best way to deliver States to court docket for inflicting the local weather disaster within the first place and never defending their communities from its impacts, in addition to failing to redress local weather hurt. 

Along with the Worldwide Tribunal  for the Regulation of the Sea (ITLOS) advisory opinion delivered in Could 2024 and related local weather advisory opinion proceedings earlier than the Inter-American Courtroom of Human Rights (IACtHR), the ICJ local weather advisory opinion (ICJ AO) course of present an unprecedented alternative for judicial our bodies to make clear that, underneath worldwide legislation, States should urgently section out fossil fuels successfully and equitably, align local weather mitigation ambition with science, undertake efficient adaptation measures, and supply treatments and reparation for impacted communities.

The Story of This Advisory Opinion

An initiative to deliver the world’s largest drawback to the world’s highest court docket, pushed by Pacific Island college students, different Pacific leaders and youth, organizations, international campaigners, and the management of many States, particularly  Vanuatu, resulted in a UN Common Meeting decision adopted by 193 States in consensus, requesting that the ICJ concern an advisory opinion on the obligations of States in relation to local weather change. At a time when local weather devastation is inflicting pervasive hurt the world over, the advisory opinion proceedings exemplify the ability of management by these most impacted by a disaster. 

An unprecedented variety of States and worldwide organizations have participated up to now with the Courtroom receiving a report 91 submissions from States and licensed worldwide organizations within the first section of the written proceedings in March 2024.  Civil society teams, together with CIEL, additionally made written submissions at this stage. Subsequently, 62 submissions had been acquired by the Courtroom within the feedback section, which closed in August 2024. The written proceedings at the moment are full, and the oral hearings are scheduled to start out 2 December 2024, when the Courtroom shall be listening to over 100 oral interventions from States and worldwide organizations. Such historic ranges of participation throw into stark aid the urgency, scale, and devastating impacts of the local weather disaster, and the necessity for collective readability on a number of the most crucial authorized problems with our era. 

The Hearings

The stakes are excessive as we put together for the hearings. The ICJ AO oral hearings shall be critically essential to bolster progressive arguments and counter these which will not be aligned with a local weather justice method. The listening to may also current a singular alternative not simply to heart black letter legislation however to humanize the local weather disaster by means of using compelling testimony and inventive methods. 

Main polluters have lengthy denied and sought to evade and dilute obligation for local weather change in multilateral negotiations and in courts. This can be indicative of the method such nations will take within the upcoming hearings. Akin to a modern-day David and Goliath story, a number of the world’s main polluters and a number of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations shall be arguing in entrance of the Courtroom. Will State arguments in Courtroom match as much as their claims of local weather management?

6 Key Authorized Points to Comply with within the ICJ Local weather Hearings 

 The Regulation Governing State Obligations in Relation to Local weather Change: Judges should think about a number of related sources of worldwide legislation, including however not restricted to human rights legislation, customary and treaty-based worldwide environmental legislation, local weather legislation, and the legislation of the ocean.  Finest obtainable science should inform the interpretation of authorized obligations as should the experiences of affected and marginalized communities worldwide.
Human Rights of Current and Future Generations: States have a authorized obligation to respect, defend, and fulfill the human rights of current and future generations, together with the rights of Indigenous Peoples, within the face of the local weather disaster. Specific consideration should be paid to disproportionately affected and traditionally marginalized communities.
The Preventive and Precautionary Method: States should take confirmed actions in step with their authorized duties, together with complying with the preventive and precautionary ideas. They need to not depend on harmful distractions like carbon offsets or speculative, unproven, and dangerous applied sciences to deal with the local weather emergency in lieu of identified, confirmed options.
The Proper to Treatment and Reparations:  These most chargeable for the local weather disaster should treatment and restore their hurt. These whose acts and omissions have prompted important hurt to the local weather system, with penalties for human rights and the surroundings, should respect the best to treatment, stop their dangerous conduct, assure non-repetition, and supply full reparation, together with compensation, restitution, satisfaction, and rehabilitation.
Company Accountability: States have an obligation to rein in companies driving the local weather emergency. States should halt these industries’ bodily damaging and socio-politically misleading enterprise actions and make polluters pay.
The Equitable Part Out Fossil Fuels: Fossil fuels are driving the local weather emergency.  There’s a authorized responsibility underneath worldwide human rights and environmental legislation to section them out quick and pretty. 

Judges ought to seize this chance to concern a robust advisory opinion to make clear the authorized obligations of States in relation to the local weather disaster, and supply a authorized roadmap for the safety of individuals and the planet.

The Highway Forward

It is important that the ICJ delivers a robust, paradigm-shifting  opinion that advances local weather justice and human rights, together with by affirming that these most chargeable for the local weather disaster should treatment and restore the ensuing hurt. In clarifying what the legislation means, the ICJ AO will present vital steering to States and courts, alike, influencing selections about coverage and legislation. Notably, the ability of legislation will not be solely in its enforcement when disputes come up, however in its capability to forestall such disputes from arising within the first place by aligning understandings of what conduct is permissible and what’s not. 

The ICJ AO isn’t just a authorized course of. The marketing campaign pre-dating and surrounding the proceedings displays how these proceedings carry the total weight of the expectations of these most impacted by the local weather emergency.  The name for justice and solidarity from frontline communities has by no means been clearer.  This AO might have the capability to make sure the legacy inherited by future generations is considered one of collaboration and accountability. A legacy that makes sure that the planet that they’ll reside on is ruled by a authorized regime that ensures its longevity and the enjoyment of human rights by all.

However, whereas  the ICJ advisory proceedings maintain the promise of offering a transformative authorized blueprint to unlock much-needed local weather ambition, it’s  not an finish purpose  within the journey in the direction of local weather justice. The wrestle for accountability neither begins nor ends with negotiations or courts. Increasingly folks throughout generations and areas are coming collectively to carry States and companies accountable for his or her local weather hurt and combat for a safe, habitable future. On this may lie our largest hope.

The hearings could be watched right here. Learn extra on our webpage.