Advisory proceedings on climate change: pushing international justice to the edge

Mayer, B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0669-7457 (2026) Advisory proceedings on climate change: pushing international justice to the edge. German Yearbook of International Law. ISSN 2195-7304 (In Press)

Abstract/Summary

International courts and tribunals have produced three advisory opinions discussing the obligations of States to mitigate climate change under climate treaties and other sources of international law. These advisory opinions struggle to reach findings that are neither obvious nor dubious. They confirm that climate treaties are not the only source of international obligations on climate change mitigation but make few other clear and convincing findings. In particular, they do not provide any clear benchmarks, criteria, or methods to determine what, concretely, a specific State is required to do to comply with its mitigation obligations. This article argues that the fault for these shortcomings lies not with the courts but with the nature of the requests put before them, which ask of international justice more than it can deliver. Such strain could lead to an erosion of the credibility and authority of these institutions. This article thus aims to contribute to a debate on the limits of the advisory jurisdiction of courts. This debate is increasingly urgent in a context where requests are made for advisory opinions on issues far more complex than those envisaged a century ago, when Walter Schücking joined the newly established Permanent Court of International Justice.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/128025
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Law
Publisher	Duncker & Humblot
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