Climate Change Before International Courts and Tribunals: Reflections on the Role of Public Interest in Advisory Proceedings

This article examines the advisory proceedings in relation to climate change before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights through the lens of the broader phenomenon of public interest litigation. It focuses on certain substantive, institutional, and procedural dimensions of the advisory proceedings, construed as a form of public interest litigation. First, it argues that international courts and tribunals should innovate by allowing broader participation while considering the constraints of their statutes and rules of procedure. Second, this article examines how prior advisory opinions, even though non-binding, may shape the subsequent practice of States, and considers the impact that the advisory opinions on climate change may have. Ultimately, this article questions whether these advisory opinions may have a catalytic effect on ensuring the protection of other global commons in the future.