human rights

4 posts

A Blueprint for Rights-Based Climate Action: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency

A Historic Advisory Opinion On July 3, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued Advisory Opinion No. 32—the most important and progressive document yet released by an international court on the climate crisis. In this landmark ruling (still only available in Spanish, with official English and Portuguese translations […]

Africa’s Advisory Opinion Request: Taking Climate Justice to the Continent’s Highest Court

Maria Antonia Tigre and Susan Ann Samuel On May 2, 2025, a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), headed by the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), and in collaboration with the African Climate Platform, Resilient40, Natural Justice, and Environmental Lawyer Collective for Africa, submitted a petition to the African Court on […]

Guest Blog Post: UN Draft Treaty on Transnational Business Enterprises and Human Rights in the Making: Raising the Global Bar in Corporate Litigation

Upon the initiative of the United Nations Human Rights Council (the UNHRC), a new legally binding agreement regulating transnational business enterprises’ human rights violations is likely on its way. If / when the Treaty is adopted and enters into force, it will have a significant impact on corporate liability. The […]

Japanese Courts Admit the Operation of New Coal-Fired Power Plants in Kobe

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 […]