Advisory Opinions and the Development of International Law: An Opportunity for Climate Change Law?

Abstract

International courts and tribunals have played a crucial role in the development of international law, clarifying legal principles and rules, bridging gaps, solving conflicts, and maintaining coherence across legal regimes. With climate change emerging as a global crisis, courts have now been called upon to clarify states’ obligations to protect the environment from the effects of climate change and the consequences of breaching them. By mid-2023, three requests for advisory opinions were pending before the International Court of Justice, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. This chapter explores the potential of these advisory opinions to shape international climate law, focusing on the role of international courts and tribunals in legal development, their interpretative authority, and the opportunities and challenges these proceedings pose in addressing climate change.