Climate litigation before international courts and tribunals:

The climate crisis will irrevocably change the living conditions of all humans and other living beings on our planet for millennia to come. For billions of people, this will entail severe constraints on their human rights. The global power structure will shift, existing inequalities will intensify. In the case of some island states that lie only a few meters above sea level, rising sea levels could even lead to the loss of their entire territory. Climate change is the single most severe disruption in the history of mankind.

It is therefore all the more surprising that to date there have been no decisions by international courts on intergovernmental climate and environmental claims. Why is that? This seminar will discuss factual and legal hurdles, as well as substantive and procedural issues. What opportunities exist? Is the existent institutional framework sufficient? Is there a need for an international environmental court?

Currently, the most promising international law case is Billy et al v Commonwealth of Australia. Here, ClientEarth is supporting a complaint by Torres Strait Islanders against their own government before the United Nations Human Rights Committee – the United Nations Treaty Body for the ICCPR – in Geneva. At issue are international law and human rights. The arguments of the claimants and the Australian government will be discussed in the course of the seminar.

In English without translation.

Speakers:

• Sophie Marjanac, Senior Lawyer / Climate Accountability Lead, ClientEarth 
• Prof. Lavanya Rajamani, University of Oxford
• Prof. Philippe Sands QC, Matrix Chambers and University College London

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Hermann Ott, ClientEarth

Contact:
Annette Kraus
E kraus@boell.de

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