Harm to the global commons on trial: The role of the prevention principle in international climate adjudication

Duvic‐Paoli, Leslie‐Anne; Gervasi, Mario

doi:10.1111/reel.12486

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…They show that prevention-either as customary law, or else as a general principle of law-'has consolidated into a norm complementing climate treaty obligations'. 61 In their view, this principle offers a valuable complement to (the mainly procedural) climate treaty obligations. 62 Likewise, Rocha and Sampaio outline possible ways of interpreting European and American human rights law as the source of an obligation to mitigate climate change.…”

Section: Potential Legal Argumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The rise of international climate litigation

Mayer

Asselt

2023

Rev Euro Comp Intl Enviro

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International climate litigation is on the rise, with international courts and tribunals being asked to offer advisory opinions on climate change, several rights-based climate change claims being put forward before international human rights bodies and courts, and international economic tribunals increasingly being engaged with the issue. This special issue on international climate litigation examines these trends and seeks to better understand how international litigation may foster (or, sometimes, impede) action on climate change. In this introduction to the special issue, we offer our reflections based on some of the central themes of the special issue. In particular, we underscore the need to think strategically about the possible (intended and unintended) outcomes of international climate litigation.

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Section: Potential Legal Argumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The rise of international climate litigation

Mayer

Asselt

2023

Rev Euro Comp Intl Enviro

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“…Vulnerable small states are now also able to bring cases before international courts against large greenhouse gas‐emitting countries on the basis of the prevention principle, whereby a state must not allow activities that would cause significant harm to other states, at least when such harm would cause peril to the territory, environment or development of those states (Duvic‐Paoli & Gervasi, 2022; Mayer, 2023a). For example, the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, an organisation established by two small island developing states, requested an advisory opinion from the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in December 2022.…”

Section: Courts As Planetary Anthropocene Institutions?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Courts, climate litigation and the evolution of earth system law

Kotzé,

Mayer,

van Asselt

et al. 2023

Global Policy

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Numerous scientific reports have evidenced the transformation of the earth system due to human activities. These changes – captured under the term ‘Anthropocene’ – require a new perspective on global law and policy. The concept of ‘earth system law’ situates law in an earth system context and offers a new perspective to interrogate the role of law in governing planetary challenges such as climate change. The discourse on earth system law has not yet fully recognised courts as actors that could shape climate governance, while climate litigation discourse has insufficiently considered aspects of earth system law. We posit that courts play an increasingly influential climate governance role and that they need to be recognised as Anthropocene institutions within the earth system law paradigm. Drawing on a set of prominent climate cases, we discuss five inter‐related domains that are relevant for earth system law and where the potential influence of courts can be discerned: establishing accountability, redefining power relations, remedying vulnerabilities and injustices, increasing the reach and impact of international climate law and applying climate science to adjudicate legal disputes. We suggest that their innovative work in these domains could provide a basis for positioning courts as planetary climate governance actors.

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The obligation to prevent environmental harm in relation to armed conflict

Argren

2023

Int. rev. Red Cross

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The scope of protection of the environment in relation to armed conflict has continued to expand since the issue was first introduced on the international agenda in the 1970s. Today, it is recognized that the environment is a prima facie civilian object and as such it is entitled to the same layers of protection during an armed conflict as any civilian person or object. Thus, there is a legal obligation to prevent environmental harm in armed conflict, before the event. Given the magnitude of environmental damage that can be anticipated in relation to armed conflict, the obligation to prevent such damage in the first place is critical. In this regard, it is important to note that the legal obligation to prevent environmental harm originates from international environmental law. Furthermore, the obligation to prevent harm is an ongoing obligation. This article illustrates that the general preventive obligations found in international environmental law can shed much-needed light on the general preventive obligations already established under the law of armed conflict, in furtherance of environmental protection.

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Harm to the global commons on trial: The role of the prevention principle in international climate adjudication

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

The rise of international climate litigation

The rise of international climate litigation

Courts, climate litigation and the evolution of earth system law

The obligation to prevent environmental harm in relation to armed conflict

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