DLA Piper takes part in key climate change proceeding

DLA Piper appeared before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on what is currently the most significant legal proceeding to date in relation to climate change

The DLA Piper team including Stephen Webb (Partner, Brisbane), Claire Robertson (Solicitor, Brisbane), Gitanjali Bajaj (Partner, Sydney), The Hon. John Middleton AM KC (Senior Adviser, Melbourne)

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Climate Change proceedings in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

DLA Piper appeared before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on what is currently the most significant legal proceeding to date in relation to climate change.

ITLOS is being asked to provide an advisory opinion on States’ obligations to protect the marine environment from climate change impacts. This opinion, when issued, will not bind State Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) but will serve as persuasive authority on their obligations under UNCLOS.

The opinion will also likely be persuasive for nations in their domestic courts when considering climate-related litigation. The two-week hearing took place in Hamburg with 35 countries and three international organisations making oral submissions.

The Hon John. Middleton AM KC, Senior Adviser, DLA Piper

This advisory opinion is a precursor to similar advisory proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) likely to be held next year. The United Nations General Assembly, by consensus, has requested that the ICJ consider not only States’ obligations but also responsibility for climate change for both present and future generations under international law. DLA Piper will also be representing a number of countries in the ICJ advisory proceedings taking place in The Hague in 2024.

Stephen Webb said: “The ITLOS and ICJ proceedings, as well as the ongoing European Court of Human Rights climate change proceedings involving 33 European governments, have the potential to alter the course of climate change law and policy on a global scale.”

The DLA Piper team comprised Stephen Webb (Partner, Brisbane), Gitanjali Bajaj (Partner, Sydney), The Hon. John Middleton AM KC as Senior Counsel (former judge of the Federal Court of Australia and Senior Advisor at DLA Piper, Melbourne), Eran Sthoeger Esq. as Junior Counsel (New York), Claire Robertson (Solicitor, Brisbane), and Austyn Campbell (Solicitor, Sydney).

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