Climate Justice at the ICJ: Human Rights Implications of the Advisory Opinion

Citation

Wewerinke-Singh M, Savaresi A, Ituarte-Lima C & Heri C (2025) Climate Justice at the ICJ: Human Rights Implications of the Advisory Opinion. https://gnhre.org/?p=18413

Abstract
The International Court of Justice’s landmark AdvisoryOpinion on the Obligations of States with Respect to Climate Change delivered on 23 July 2025 has unequivocally placed human rights at the centre of the applicable law on climate change. With it, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has consolidated the growing consensus on a global body of law on climate change grounded in human rights norms and obligations. The Advisory Opinion was adopted unanimously by all ICJ judges, signalling consensus on the interpretation of international obligations concerning climate change. Although not legally binding, the Court’s authoritative interpretation carries considerable weight. While cautious in parts, the Opinion nonetheless sets a clear normative direction that is likely to shape climate litigation, legislation, and diplomacy in the years ahead. Unsurprisingly, the Advisory Opinion has prompted extensive international commentary, particularly regarding its interpretation of States’ human rights obligations (see e.g. Boyd, Heri, McVey and Savaresi, Perera and Wewerinke-Singh and Viñuales).This post examines the human rights relied upon and developed in the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion and explores how its interpretation interacts with recent pronouncements of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights(IACtHR), and relevant domestic and transnational practice.