Foley Hoag assisted the Republic of The Gambia, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Namibia, and the Republic of Sierra Leone, in their separate submissions in the advisory proceedings on climate change before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The five States presented to the ICJ at the Peace Palace in The Hague December 5-11, 2024.
The proceedings—initiated by a request from the UN General Assembly—seek an authoritative opinion from the ICJ regarding the obligations of States under international law to protect the climate system from the effects of climate change, taking into account international environmental law, international human rights law, and customary international law. This is the first time that the ICJ has been requested to address the intensifying challenges of climate change, and its opinion will have significant implications for international climate governance and future generations.
The separate oral submissions argued that States have a duty of due diligence under international law to take all necessary measures, individually and collectively, to minimize their greenhouse gas emissions to limit the increase in global average temperatures to 1.5˚ C above pre-industrial levels, and to provide assistance to those States most vulnerable to climate change impacts. The States also argued that climate change implicates international human rights and the right to self-determination.
Christina Hioureas, partner and Global Co-Chair of Foley Hoag’s International Litigation and Arbitration Department, argued for The Gambia. She said “the climate crisis is also a human rights crisis. To comply with their human rights obligations, States must take swift action to regulate and reduce their anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.” Hioureas also stressed that States’ human rights obligations in respect of climate change are separate from States’ obligations under the Paris Agreement and other climate agreements.
Partner Andrew Loewenstein, who also argued for The Gambia, said “the duty to prevent harm from climate change applies to all States, which must continually take account of the best available science, the risk of harm, and the degree of urgency, in minimizing their greenhouse gas emissions.”
Partner Tafadzwa Pasipanodya, who argued on behalf of Malawi, said “the proceedings present a unique opportunity for the World Court to hear from a wide variety of States on the obligations and responsibility that international law places on States as we collectively face the existential threat that climate change poses.”
In addition to Hioureas, Loewenstein, and Pasipanodya, the Foley Hoag team includes associates Diem Huong Ho, Juan Pablo Hugues, Sun Young Hwang, Peter Tzeng, Iulia Padeanu Mellon, Juan Francisco Fernández Garcés, and Nour Nicolas, with assistance from Alexander Small, Katie Weiner, Jennifer Schoppmann, and Muhammad Syed. The Foley Hoag team acts with co-counsel Professor Charles Jalloh, member of the UN International Law Commission (Sierra Leone); Professor Phoebe Okowa, member of the UN International Law Commission (Kenya); and Manuel Casas, Barrister (Twenty Essex), supported by the Open Society Justice Initiative and scientists from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
