Thread by @patrickcjwall

⚖🌐 Is #climatechange on its way to the world's highest court?

A 🧵 on one of the most important pieces of #strategiclitigation one one of the world's most pressing issues.

#internationallaw #internationalaffairs #climatechange #InternationalCourtofJustice #negotiation

This week, Vanuatu and fifteen other nations circulated a draft #UnitedNations #GeneralAssembly #UNGA resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice relating to the obligations of States in respect of climate change.

This is an important development in a process that I've written about before: patrickcjwall.wordpress.com/2022/07/05/fro…

A few key points of note in the draft resolution:

🌏 First, the 16 'champions' of the resolution are indeed a global group, and include countries in the Pacific, Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. This is important, both to ensure diversity and for the effectiveness of the global lobbying effort to come.

👶 Second, the draft makes multiple references to the well-being and interests of #futuregenerations, a topic that is somewhat 'underdone' in international law.

🌱 Third, the draft asks the Court to weigh in on the obligations of States to ensure the protection of the climate system, but also the #environment more broadly.

👩‍⚖️ Fourth, the draft also asks for clarification on 'legal consequences' for States who fail to live up to their obligations.

🗳 Finally, a #vote on the draft resolution is expected in early 2023, following further negotiation in New York.

Watch this space.

Here is the full text of the draft resolution: vanuatuicj.com/resolution

Thanks for reading! If you found this thread useful, please consider scrolling up to the first tweet and re-tweeting it ☺