Public Interest Litigation at the Intersection of Public Law and Private Enforcement

Abstract Public interest litigation has played an important role in enforcing rights involving a wide range of public or collective interests over the past decades. In recent years, particularly climate litigation and related social rights have gained substantial attention. This article sketches the background of public interest litigation, addresses the different procedural frameworks through which public interests are litigated, including public international, administrative and private law mechanism, and introduces the topic-specific contributions to this special issue. It concludes that while public interest litigation faces considerable legal, socio-political and financial challenges it fulfils an important role in legal mobilisation with the aim to pursue the enforcement of a multitude of collective interests.