Miriam Cohen, "Climate Change Proceedings as a Watershed Moment: Public Interest in the Jurisprudence of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea", Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs, 2024, Brill | Nijhoff
Extrait:
International courts and tribunals have increasingly been called to decide on cases with a strong human rights component or cases that deal with public interests. Climate change is one of humanity’s most urgent issues. One can therefore understand the recent interest in turning to international and regional courts to elucidate the rights and obligations of States or to otherwise regulate their behaviour concerning this issue. This article dwells on the role of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in cases with a human rights or public interest component, two aspects that deserve particular attention concerning the recent jurisprudence and the new challenges that the law of the sea is currently confronted with, especially in light of the advisory proceedings regarding climate change. The literature on public interest international adjudication is steadily emerging but the jurisprudence of the ITLOS concerning public interest, with a focus on the climate change proceedings is yet to be fully studied. Similarly, analyzing the climate change advisory proceedings against the backdrop of an evolving ITLOS caselaw concerning the public interest is a novel approach in the climate justice literature. Through a study of the evolution of the ITLOS jurisprudence that bears a public interest component, it is posited that in the coming years, and especially following its advisory opinion on climate change, the ITLOS will be more active in the protection of common interests, such as the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the area beyond the national jurisdiction of States. This article seeks to contribute to developing dialogue on public interest litigation and international climate change justice, highlighting the crucial role of ITLOS in addressing climate-related issues, and ultimately, furthering the cause of environmental protection and sustainable development on a global scale. It posits that the climate change advisory proceedings is the watershed moment in establishing the evolving role of ITLOS in cases with public interest components.