September 11, 2023
HAMBURG, GERMANY – From September 11 to September 25, experts from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) are following the public hearings at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on its advisory opinion related to state responsibility in the context of climate change and are available for comment.
The public hearings will provide the first opportunity for the 36 intervening States as well as 4 international organizations to present to an international judicial body their views regarding the scope of state legal duties in relation to climate change.
This process was initiated by a request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS), which comprises nine small island States. The ITLOS Advisory Opinion is expected to clarify actions required of States to protect oceans from fossil fuel-driven climate change.
This process is particularly significant because, of the three international judicial bodies currently working to prepare advisory opinions on climate change, ITLOS is the first to receive submissions and hear arguments. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice have also been asked to clarify States’ international legal obligations with respect to climate change.
CIEL provided a written submission to the tribunal jointly with Greenpeace International. Our experts will be attending the opening of the hearings in Hamburg, monitoring governments’ legal arguments, and seeking to contribute to greater public understanding and scrutiny of the views expressed.
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For more information please contact by email both the CIEL press office, press(at)ciel.org and CIEL Senior Attorney Sébastien Duyck, sduyck(at)ciel.org. Follow Seb on Twitter.