ICJ

The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) advisory opinion on Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change has been celebrated as marking the start of a “new era of climate reparations.” The question of how the ICJ engaged with reparations has already been examined in two other posts in this […]

One of the most profound findings in the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) climate change advisory opinion (AO) is that State obligations to mitigate climate change to a level that holds warming to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5oC threshold are spread out over the large canvas of international law, including United […]

The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) Advisory Opinion on Climate Change arrived with force. Given its far-reaching implications, there is no doubt that the opinion now will be subject to conflicting interpretations. In this post, I highlight the interpretive compass that the opinion supplies to those who will now interpret […]

In July 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) adopted its advisory opinion on climate change. While the ICJ found that any State suffering from climate change can bring charges against others for their contribution to climate change, the opinion does not distinguish between the obligations of developed and developing […]

More than two years after the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted Resolution 77/276, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its highly anticipated Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change on 23 July 2025. The ICJ was unanimous in its findings that states have […]

The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) recent advisory opinion on climate change is a landmark in the development of international law. In this post, we focus on a short section of the opinion that may signal a fundamental shift in how international law conceives of statehood. We aim to decipher […]

In the triptych of inspiring advisory opinions by international courts and tribunals (see here, here, and here), the third iteration by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) did not disappoint. Its unanimous advisory opinion on climate change constitutes a landmark decision that will be with us for many years. This […]

The International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s recent advisory opinion on climate change represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of international climate law. By affirming that States can incur legal responsibility for failing to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the ICJ brought long-standing principles of State responsibility into sharper focus […]