Abstract
What role do international courts play in tackling climate change?
Join us for a panel discussion on how courts at the international level are addressing questions about state obligations to combat climate change.
The event is organized by the International Law and Affairs Group (ILAG), City Law School
Chair: Jed Odermatt, City Law School
Speakers:
- Paul Clark (Garden Court Chambers) Climate Change in the ECHR and Domestic Tort Litigation
- Monica Feria-Tinta (20 Essex Street) The Climate in Court: The (International Law) Crucibles
- Yusra Suedi (University of Manchester) Climate Change Litigation before the African Human Rights System: Prospects and Pitfalls.
About the speakers
Paul Clark
Paul Clark is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers.
Paul is an established practitioner in the field of climate justice, as well as in international and domestic human rights law.
He acts for the Applicants in the ground-breaking case of Duarte Agostinho and others v 33 States before the European Court of Human Rights - a challenge to the climate targets and policies of all of the state respondents - and has done so since its inception.
He was also advised and represented ‘Climate Action Network Europe’ in Carvalho & others v European Parliament & Council ('the People’s Climate Case’) in which families and youth challenged the EU in order to protect their fundamental rights from the insufficiency of the EU’s 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target.
Other work includes advising on the human rights elements of Município de Mariana v BHP Group UK Ltd, following which the Court of Appeal gave permission for some 200,000 Brazilian claimants to pursue their class action for damages for the collapse of the Fundão Dam in Brazil.
Having appeared before the International Court of Justice and several of the international criminal tribunals, he offers expertise in general international law that forms a key part of his practice in climate justice.
Monica Feria-Tinta
Monica Feria-Tinta is a barrister at 20 Essex Street.
Monica is considered to be one of the preeminent experts in climate change and environmental litigation worldwide.
She is a specialist in public international law, especially international dispute resolution.
She regularly acts on behalf of, and against, Sovereign States in contentious and advisory proceedings, and advises governments, corporate bodies, non-governmental organisations, and individuals across the full spectrum of international law.
Monica has acted/advised on cases before the International Court of Justice, Court of Appeal, Permanent Court of Arbitration, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, UN organs and regional courts, ICSID, UNCITRAL, SCC and SIAC tribunals, UN Special Rapporteurships and diplomatic fora.
Yusra Suedi
Yusra Suedi is a Lecturer in International Law at the University of Manchester, where her research is focused on international dispute settlement, with a focus on climate/environmental law and human rights.
She holds a doctorate in Public International Law from the University of Geneva for her manuscript entitled The Individual in the Law and Practice of the International Court of Justice (forthcoming with Cambridge University Press).
Yusra has worked for the United Nations Office in Geneva, the International Law Commission, the Institut Du Droit International, the International Labour Organization Administrative Tribunal and the International Court of Justice.
She has held teaching and research positions at the London School of Economics (LSE) Law School and King’s College London, UK.
She has assisted counsel acting for governments and organisations before the International Court of Justice and has published in journals such as The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals and the Leiden Journal of International Law.
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