As the frequency and number of climate change cases continue to rise, a robust body of legal precedent is forming, shaping a well-defined field of climate law. Today, the United Nations Environment Programme (“UNEP”), with support from the Sabin Center, has published a survey of global climate change litigation that […]
Global Climate Litigation
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On June 7, 2023, the Swiss Fairness Commission (Commission Suisse pour la Loyauté), a non-judicial body competent to receive complaints alleging violations of fairness in commercial communication, found that the International Association Football Federation (FIFA) engaged in misleading and unfair advertising of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The Commission made […]
In March 2023, two important decisions regarding the operation of newly built coal-fired power plants were handed down by courts in Japan. On March 9, 2023, the Japanese Supreme Court refused to hear the first climate change litigation brought before it without specifying substantive reasons. (Citizens’ Committee on the Kobe […]
The Sabin Center’s Global Climate Change Litigation Database currently lists over 2000 cases. South Africa has just nine entries – a modest number, easily overlooked in the flood of cases out of the United States, Europe and the rest of the world. Why are these South African cases worth […]
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is inviting all U.N. Member States to submit their views on the legal issues relevant to climate duties and obligations. To help States make these submissions, Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law has just released its Status Report on Principles of […]
The advisory opinion request to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on State Parties’ obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, Convention) to prevent, reduce, and control pollution of the marine environment from climate change, and to protect and preserve […]
On December 12, 2022, the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS) requested the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issue an advisory opinion on the State Parties’ obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to […]
Climate change litigation has finally reached the world’s highest court. On March 29, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of States with respect to climate change. The UNGA adopted resolution (A/77/L.58) […]