Firm partner described the proceeding as “truly Pacific-led”
DLA Piper has provided pro bono assistance to the governments of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, the Kingdom of Tonga, Solomon Islands, and the Republic of Zambia in International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearings on the landmark advisory opinion in relation to states’ climate change obligations.
The court’s consensus confirmed that states are legally bound by international law to shield the climate system from greenhouse gas emissions, including duties under climate treaties, other environmental treaties, the law of the sea, customary international law and human rights law. Thus, states can be charged with internationally wrongful acts if they do not regulate emissions in their jurisdictions with due diligence.
States that neglect their obligations must not only stop the wrongful conduct but also offer “full reparation through restitution, compensation, or satisfaction to injured states that can demonstrate a sufficiently direct causal link to the harm suffered”, DLA Piper said. The ICJ ruled that temporal scope, causation and related issues of responsibility would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Ninety-right states and a dozen global organisations made submissions during the two-week proceeding held from 2-13 December 2024. The ICJ publicised its climate change advisory opinion on 23 July.
“The advisory opinion provides much needed clarity on the responsibilities of states to not only take action on climate change, but also to support Small Island Developing States to respond to the impacts of climate change”, Brisbane-based partner Stephen Webb said. “This proceeding was truly Pacific-led, and we acknowledge the incredible efforts of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change and the Vanuatu government for spearheading this initiative”.
Vanuatu Women-Led Community Leader Flora Vano, who gave testimony to the ICJ, said in a Greenpeace media release that the win was also for frontline communities.
“For the first time, it feels like justice is not just a dream but a direction. The ICJ has recognised what we have lived through - our suffering, our resilience and our right to our future. This is a victory not just for us but for every frontline community fighting to be heard. Now, the world must act", Vano said.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific pacific campaigner Mahealani Delaney also said that the watershed ruling could “help bring justice to millions of people on the frontlines of the climate crisis”.
“Pacific students spearheaded this landmark climate justice campaign, rallying governments, civil society, and communities around the world to fight for the future of their lands, cultures, and right to self-determination – and won”, Delaney said. “Thanks to the powerful voices and testimonies of climate-impacted communities from all around the world, the ICJ has ruled countries have a legal obligation to protect people from the impacts of climate change — a decision that will change the course of climate action and policy for decades to come, and shape the future of climate litigation worldwide. The court acknowledged that this campaign was unlike anything that had come before, because climate change is far more than a legal problem, it is an existential one”.
DLA Piper’s international pro bono head Claire Donse said that giving pro bono assistance to such cases aids in giving “those states most vulnerable to climate risk an opportunity to share their perspectives from the frontlines of climate change and shape the development of international environmental law for the benefit of like-minded states”.
The firm’s global team consisted of partners Webb, Donse, Gitanjali Bajaj (appearing as an agent for Tonga), and Catriona Martin; senior associates Claire Robertson and Milly Thomas; solicitors Riley Arthur, Saoirse O'Dea, Benjamin Crowley, Paivi Adeniyi, and Eran Sthoeger Esq. as counsel for Timor-Leste; Harj Narulla as counsel for Solomon Islands; and Professor Christian Tams and Olivia Flasch as counsel for Zambia.
Members of the Pacific Legal Network in relation to Solomon Islands provided support to DLA Piper, including John Ridgway, Dirk Heinz and Damian Kelly.
The United Nations General Assembly asked the ICJ to present the advisory opinion, considering the legal consequences for states that have significantly damaged the climate. DLA Piper also backed Timor-Leste in proceedings before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on the climate change advisory opinion on states’ obligations to shield the marine environment from climate change effects.
