Emerging Norms in International Law: Judicial Engagement in Climate Advisory Opinions
Climate Breakfast Seminar Series with Jed Odermatt.
International law contains a range of emerging norms whose legal status and content remain unsettled. This contribution examines the role of international and regional courts in shaping emerging norms in the field of climate law. While much of the scholarship on norm emergence has focused on the role of states, international organisations, and transnational advocacy networks, less attention has been paid to the role of courts in recognising and developing emerging norms. The contribution examines how courts addressed emerging norms in two recent advisory opinions: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on States’ obligations in respect of climate change and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) on the climate emergency and human rights. It discusses how the courts have engaged with arguments about the jus cogens prohibition against irreversible environmental harm; the rights of Nature; the rights of future generations; and the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. The analysis highlights the role of courts as active participants in the emergence and stabilisation of international climate norms.
About the speaker
Dr Jed Odermatt is Reader at The City Law School, City St George's, University of London, where he is a member of the International Law and Affairs Group (ILAG) and the Institute for the Study of European Law (ISEL). His research focuses on public international law, international dispute settlement, and EU external relations law. He leads the university-wide interdisciplinary course on Sustainability and Climate Change.