The Law School contributes to the historical ICJ Advisory Opinion Proceedings on Climate Change

Francesco Sindico, Professor of International Environmental Law at the School of Law, University of Strathclyde, continues to collaborate as part of Counsel for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the ongoing Advisory proceedings on climate change State obligations before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). 

The ICJ is the highest judicial body of the United Nations and this is the first time that it will have the opportunity to engage directly with issues surrounding climate change. The Advisory Opinion will provide a unique opportunity to clarify the nature of state obligations to protect the climate system and the legal consequences if the breach of such obligations causes significant harm. 

The proceedings have now reached a second important milestone, one in which participants had the possibility to comment on statements presented by States and international organisations contributing to the proceedings. Prof Francesco Sindico, who is also co-chair of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law Climate Change Law Specialist Group, presented IUCN’s written comments on the written statements of other States and Organisations to the Registrar of the Court on Thursday 15 August 2024. Participants in the proceedings will now have the possibility to present their views during the oral proceedings scheduled to start in December 2024. 

Prof. Francesco Sindico’s participation in these proceedings before the ICJ continue to provide both him and his students with a unique vintage point on the development of international law in the field of climate change. By bringing his insights into the classroom, the School of Law offers its students, both at the undergraduate level during different courses and at the postgraduate level within the  LLM in Global Environmental Law and Governance the opportunity to engage with law in practice.