Unchecked Industrialization, Environmental Degradation, Risk Society, Spatial Justice
28.05.2025
Introduction Recently, the Supreme Court of India took suo motu cognizance with respect to the deforestation activities being undertaken in the Kancha Gachibowli Forest, Telangana. Shrubs and bushes were felled,...
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EU Steps Forward
22.05.2025
Corporate accountability is increasingly recognized as essential in addressing the twin triple planetary crises of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. As transnational corporations (TNCs) dominate global supply chains, their...
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The Paris Agreement’s Crucial Test
15.05.2025
Harsh Mahaseth
Aryaman Keshav
Humans survive. Whether it is pandemics, volcanic eruptions, or the ice age; humans endure and survive. With the effects of global warming at the door, human survival is once again...
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Will the Swiss Grandmas Travel the World?
12.05.2025
Hannah Leoni Stahl
Aylin Yildiz Noorda
Liz Hicks
Anticipation has run high for what some call the KlimaSeniorinnen ruling delivered on 9 April 2024. While it is too early to definitively assess the KlimaSeniorinnen ruling’s impact on law...
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Forgotten Crisis in a World in Turmoil
15.04.2025
While many in Europe are focused on the Russo-Ukrainian War, or perhaps on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and eroding transatlantic relations, one major contemporary issue has been left out of public...
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EU Deforestation-Free Regulations
13.03.2025
On the island of Borneo, Malaysia, palm trees stretch as far as the eye can see. Malaysia is the world’s second largest palm oil producer after Indonesia. However, the European...
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- Symposium
- Women in International Law Vol. 4
Gender, Climate, and the Illusion of Neutrality
05.03.2025
Dilruba Begüm Kartepe
Mariia Zheltukha
This blog post examines the stance of the European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’, ‘the Court’) in Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland through a gender lens, questioning whether...
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- Symposium
- Women in International Law Vol. 4
Though They Be But Little, They Are Fierce!
05.03.2025
Alana Malinde S.N. Lancaster
As a wicked problem (Rittel and Webber, 1973; Conradie, 2020), climate change is confirmed as the most pernicious of the triad of planetary crises experienced in the Anthropocene. An emergency...
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- Symposium
- Rights of Nature: Obstacles and Challenges
Rights of Nature Through the History of Problematizations
26.02.2025
In 2022, the Spanish saltwater lagoon Mar Menor became the first ecosystem in Europe to be granted rights of nature. This widely celebrated success, which allows this ecosystem the “right...
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- Symposium
- Rights of Nature: Obstacles and Challenges
“Nature […] is Always Right”
25.02.2025
In recent years, the notion of “human interconnectedness” with the “non-human world” led to several legislative initiatives and court decisions granting legal subjectivity to nature and/or recognizing inherent “Rights of...
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- Symposium
- Rights of Nature: Obstacles and Challenges
Revolution of Rights, Rethinking of Freedom
24.02.2025
The debate on inherent rights of nature (RoN) is no longer uncharted domain. What initially emerged as a theoretical concept in the 1970s through the work of Christopher Stone, who...
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The ECT’s Long Road to Modernisation
19.12.2024
On 3 December 2024, the Energy Charter Conference (ECC) adopted the amendments to modernise the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). It was concluded in the 1990s mainly to protect energy investments,...
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Climate of Justice
12.12.2024
Abhijeet Shrivastava
Aastha Kapoor
Increasingly, litigants recognize the strategic and discursive utility of using human rights proceedings in the fight against climate change. One of the key issues here is the pursuit of remedies...
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The ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change
11.12.2024
Laisa Branco de Almeida
Julia Cirne Lima Weston
On 12 December 2022, the Commission of Small Island States (COSIS) submitted a request for an advisory opinion to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS or...
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- Interview
- Symposium
- Climate Change Conference COP29
Climate Governance and the Energy Transition: Lessons from COP29
28.11.2024
Christoph Bertram
Justine Batura
Dear Christoph, welcome to Völkerrechtsblog! We are delighted to have you join us for this interview. To begin, let’s delve into the realm of international climate governance. In terms of...
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- Interview
- Symposium
- Climate Change Conference COP29
Climate Justice or Market Expansion? Unpacking COP29’s Financing Decisions
28.11.2024
Bertha Iris Argueta Tejeda
Justine Batura
Dear Bertha, welcome to Völkerrechtsblog. Thanks for agreeing to take the time to answer our questions so thoroughly. How do you assess the commitment of the states – particularly the...
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- Interview
- Symposium
- Climate Change Conference COP29
Missed Opportunities in a Microcosm of Broader Challenges
27.11.2024
Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh
Khaled El Mahmoud
Dear Margaretha, a very warm welcome back! I believe that the overall sentiment among all of us was one of ambitious expectations for the outcomes of COP29, accompanied by a...
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- Symposium
- Climate Change Conference COP29
Reversing Emissions
15.11.2024
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is an activity that consists in removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere to durably store it in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs or in products...
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- Symposium
- Climate Change Conference COP29
Carbon Capture, Storage and Removal
15.11.2024
To meet the climate targets of the Paris Agreement, fossil fuel use must be phased out. However, oil, gas, and coal remain primary energy sources for many countries and will...
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- Symposium
- Climate Change Conference COP29
Litigating Corporate Responsibility for Climate-Related Loss and Damage
14.11.2024
Theresa Mockel
Johannes Wendland
Every time damage occurs, the simple question arises: Who should pay for it? For lawyers, the answer is frequently found in the time-tested principles of tort law. It is widely...
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- Symposium
- Climate Change Conference COP29
Addressing Loss and Damage at COP29 and Beyond
13.11.2024
Adrián Martínez Blanco
Patrick Toussaint
In recent years, loss and damage (L&D) has shifted from the margins into the spotlight of multilateral negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). A key...
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- Symposium
- Climate Change Conference COP29
Reassessing Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities
12.11.2024
Valerie Fajardo
Alyssa Huffman
Lorena Zenteno Villa
The Principle of ‘Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities’ (CBDR-RC) holds all states responsible for addressing human-driven climate change and environmental destruction but acknowledges that some states have historically...
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- Interview
- Symposium
- Climate Change Conference COP29
Setting the Scene for COP29
11.11.2024
Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh
Khaled El Mahmoud
Dear Margaretha, we would like to express our gratitude for accepting our invitation and for agreeing to this interview. We are delighted to have the opportunity to engage in discourse...
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- Symposium
- Climate Change Conference COP29
Climate Diplomacy in an Era of Permacrisis
11.11.2024
Justine Batura
Khaled El Mahmoud
Humanity is facing in an era marked by turbulence, uncertainty, and instability. Increasingly referred to as a permacrisis, this period is defined by a series of complex and interconnected crises...
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Bilateral Investment Treaties as a Tool for Global Climate Governance?
11.09.2024
International Investment Law (IIL) has long been understood as counterproductive to adopting effective climate change policy. As IIL aims for predictable investment protection, International Climate Change Law (ICCL) requires flexibility...
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Is It Time?
10.09.2024
While the UN and almost every region around the world have explicitly recognized the right to a healthy environment, there is one region that still lacks this right: Europe. But...
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Saving the Climate in Strasbourg? – A Critical Look at the European Court of Human Rights’ Climate Cases
07.07.2024
On 9th April 2024, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights issued decisions in three significant climate change cases. In this edition of the Current Issues in...
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The ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change and the Law of the Sea – What follows from the Qualification of GHG Emissions as Marine Pollution?
10.06.2024
The ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change and the Law of the Sea from 21 May 2024 is a landmark decision. Not only does the ITLOS define GHG emissions from...
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ECtHR Favours 1.5-Degree Limit
05.06.2024
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled in Verein Klimaseniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland that the protection of life and health under Article 8 ECHR against climate...
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Racialised Climate Justice
01.06.2024
9 April 2024 was a big day for international lawyers. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rendered judgment in three major climate change cases. One of these much-anticipated decisions,...
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- Book Review
- Symposium
- Positive Obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights: Within and Beyond Boundaries
Climate Change and Positive Obligations in the ECHR
29.05.2024
Stoyanova’s book, Positive Obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights: Within and Beyond Boundaries, rigorously analyses positive obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), proposing a characterisation...
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The A Sud v. Italy Case after the KlimaSeniorinnen Judgment
24.05.2024
Just as climate litigation is on the rise globally, increasingly more climate cases are brought before Italian courts. On February 26, 2024, the Civil Tribunal of Rome has rendered its...
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Klimaklagen
06.05.2024
„Klimaschutz jetzt Menschenrecht“. So formuliert es ein Kommentar in dem bekannten deutschen Rechtsmagazin LTO. Und das beschreibt tatsächlich ziemlich genau das, was der Europäische Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte (EGMR) am 09....
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Resisting the Allure of Future Generations’ Rights
19.04.2024
On 9 April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered much-anticipated judgments in three emblematic climate change cases: Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and others v. Switzerland, Carême v. France,...
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How Do You Like Your Coffee? Green!
23.02.2024
More than two billion cups – that is the global amount of coffee we are consuming every day. Notwithstanding its value as a culinary treat and a remedy for staying...
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Back to the Future: Viewing Emerging Climate Risk Through a Precautionary Lens
26.10.2023
Naimeh Masumy
Amanda J. Lee
This piece explores the utility of the precautionary principle as a tool available to investment tribunals tasked with assessing measures adopted by States to address climate-related risks. To date, little...
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Bridging Jurisprudence and Ecology
25.10.2023
Earlier this year, the United Nations General Assembly filed a request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice following the adoption resolution on 29 March. The request...
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The Stateless Paradox
23.10.2023
Climate change poses many challenges for International Law. One issue that has become the subject of much discussion in both academic discourse and in political practice is the unique situation...
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Why a Court Alone Won’t Bring Us to Heaven
12.10.2023
On 27 September 2023, the case of Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Others (no. 39371/20) was heard by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human...
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Children as Agents of Change
05.10.2023
The Committee on the Rights of the Child (Committee) has recently published its new General Comment No. 26 (GC26) on Children’s rights and the environment with a special focus on...
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- Symposium
- Progress and International Law: A Cursed Relationship?
Towards an (Im)possible Polis: Legal Imagination and State Continuity
20.09.2023
Thomas Baty once quipped that ‘[i]nternational law, it is generally agreed, has something to do with states’. By opening The Canons of International Law in this manner, Baty draws our...
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- Symposium
- Progress and International Law: A Cursed Relationship?
Progress and Linear Time: How to Rethink International Law to Account for Ecologically Precarious Presents?
19.09.2023
We live in the ‘era of global boiling’, says UN Secretary-General Guterres, as July 2023 set to be the hottest month on record. While the ecological conditions of planetary life...
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Protecting Human Rights During the Climate Crisis
04.09.2023
Pranav Ganesan
Helen Keller
This blogpost was inspired by a question that arose in an international climate case concerning emissions reductions obligations under human rights law. During the oral proceedings of KlimaSeniorinnen and Others...
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International Problems Require International Answers
12.07.2023
This year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is expected to deal with several climate change cases, through which the complainants seek to hold their countries of origin responsible...
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Sea-Level Rise at the Security Council
08.05.2023
In what has been termed a ‘signature event’ of the Maltese Presidency of the United Nations Security Council (the Council), the latter held an open debate on the implications of...
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A Court, Not a Policymaker
31.03.2023
On Wednesday, under the eyes of great public interest, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) opened a chapter to what may become the ECtHR’s greatest...
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Post-COP27 Thoughts on Greening the Cape Town Convention
13.03.2023
In June 2022, the governing council of UNIDROIT, a Rome-based intergovernmental organization with the objective to harmonize international private law across countries through uniform rules, discussed proposals for their upcoming...
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Rockhopper v. Italy and the Tension between ISDS and Climate Policy
21.12.2022
On 23 August 2022, a Tribunal constituted under the auspices of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) handed down a long-awaited Award in the case of Rockhopper v. Italy. The investor’s...
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Rising Before Sinking: The Landmark Decision of the UN Human Rights Committee in Daniel Billy et al. v. Australia
21.11.2022
In its groundbreaking views on Billy et al. v. Australia the UN Human Rights Committee found that Australia failed to adequately protect members of an indigenous community present in four...
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Dealing with Loss and Damage at COP27
18.11.2022
The fact that the topic of "loss and damage" was placed at the top of the agenda in the run-up to COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh is a climate diplomacy milestone....
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Legal and Judicial Responses to Disaster Displacement in Italy, Austria and Sweden
19.10.2022
Chiara Scissa
Francesca Biondi Dal Monte
Matthew Scott
Margit Ammer
Monika Mayrhofer
Climate change and the growing climate crisis are expected to force more and more people to leave their homes. EU law and policy, however, do not explicitly address disaster displacement,...
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Tiptoeing Around the Right to Life
04.10.2022
When the UN Human Rights Committee published its views on the case of Billy et al. v. Australia (Torres Strait Islanders) on September 23rd 2022, it made history as the...
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Intergenerational Justice: From Courtroom to Politics?
29.08.2022
How to think long term in a short-term world? This is the question at the heart of Roman Krznaric’ book ‘The Good Ancestor’. Long-term thinking implies taking future generations into...
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Germany’s “Fair Share” of Climate Change Jurisprudence
17.05.2021
Germany has now its own landmark climate case. In its recent decision on the Climate Protection Act (CPA), the Constitutional Court did not follow all of the claimant’s submissions and...
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The impacts of climate change on the humanitarian system: towards truly long-term cooperative action
05.03.2021
On 1 December 2020, the German Federal Foreign Office hosted one of five virtual launches of the 2021 Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) in Berlin. The GHO, which is published annually...
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Climate migrants – How German courts take the environment into account when considering non-refoulement
03.03.2021
In a recent landmark decision concerning an Afghan national a German Higher Administrative Court declared a ban on deportation (non-refoulement) based on German immigration law in conjunction with international human...
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Quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire
16.02.2021
Ansonsten drohen Konsequenzen, wie sich jetzt in einem Gerichtsverfahren vor dem Tribunal Administratif de Paris (Pariser Verwaltungsgericht) zeigte. 2018 haben sich Oxfam, Notre Affaire à Tous, Fondation pour la Nature et...
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