On May 21, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered its Advisory Opinion on the request submitted to the Tribunal by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. ITLOS is an independent judicial body established by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
This particular ruling relates to the request submitted to the Tribunal by the Commission on December 12, 2022. The Tribunal’s ruling relates to governments’ climate change obligations, both mitigation and adaptation. The Advisory Opinion was read by Judge Albert Hoffmann, who presided over the case.
Cymie Payne, an expert in international and environmental law, led a team for the International Union for Conservation of Nature that was “asked by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to provide a submission for its consideration in this advisory opinion case.”
According to Payne, “the Tribunal’s opinion was closely aligned with the arguments we made.” Payne is an associate professor in the Department of Human Ecology in the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and a faculty member in the Rutgers Law School. She was recognized with a 2023-2024 Chancellor and Provost Award for Faculty Excellence among Rutgers–New Brunswick faculty for her work on this important case.
The Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law requested the Tribunal to give an advisory opinion on the following questions:
What are the specific obligations of State Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (‘UNCLOS’), including under Part XII:
(a) to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment in relation to the deleterious effects that result or are likely to result from climate change, including through ocean warming and sea level rise, and ocean acidification, which are caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere?
(b) to protect and preserve the marine environment in relation to climate change impacts, including ocean warming and sea level rise, and ocean acidification?
In its Advisory Opinion, the Tribunal decided unanimously that it has jurisdiction to give the advisory opinion requested by the Commission and unanimously decides to respond to the request by the Commission.
The replies to the questions submitted by the Commission, as contained in the operative clauses of the Advisory Opinion, are available in the Tribunal’s press release_350. The press releases of the Tribunal, and a recorded webcast, as well as documents and other information are available on the Tribunal’s website and http://www.tidm.org, and from the Registry of the Tribunal.
This article was originally published by the SEBS/NJAES Newsroom.