Search
Generic filters

Supported by:

18 July 2025
,

The Bloom of Nature’s Rights

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ (IACtHR) advisory opinion on human rights and the climate emergency (AO-32/25) addresses numerous dimensions of the climate crisis, setting an important precedent for the protection of our planet. This post focuses on one particularly significant development: the IACtHR’s recognition of Nature as a subject of rights. We argue that the IACtHR’s pronouncements on this subject mark the advent of an ecocentric paradigm whose implications are likely to be far-reaching and transformative.  Continue reading >>
0
16 July 2025

Jus Cogens and the Climate Crisis

While there are many aspects of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR)’s Advisory Opinion 32/25 (AO-32/25) that are new and groundbreaking, the inclusion of a reflection on jus cogens might have surprised some observers. The legal consequences of the recognition as jus cogens of the obligation not to create irreversible damage to the climate and the global environment are profound. Treaties violating the norm are void, customary international law rules cannot exist, nor does the persistent objector rule apply. Continue reading >>
12 July 2025

Beyond the Fog of War

Superlatives are often overused - but in the case of the Grand Chamber judgment in Ukraine, The Netherlands v Russia, delivered on 9 July 2025, they are not only justified but arguably inadequate. This case stands out as one of the most consequential and complex in the history of the European Court of Human Rights. It addresses systemic human rights violations committed in the context of an ongoing international armed conflict and during a prolonged period of occupation. Continue reading >>
0
02 July 2025
, , ,

Defining Climate Justice in the African Human Rights System

On 2 May 2025, the Pan African Lawyers Union – in collaboration with the African Climate Platform, the Environmental Lawyers Collective for Africa, Natural Justice, and resilient40 – submitted a request to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights for an advisory opinion on States’ obligations in relation to climate change. As the climate crisis intensifies across the continent, exacerbating inequality, displacing communities, and threatening ecological systems, the need for principled, coherent, and rights-based legal guidance has never been greater. In addressing this request, the Court has the chance not only to align with emerging global jurisprudence but to contribute a distinctly African vision of climate justice. Continue reading >>
0
02 July 2025

Externalising Migration Control

On 20th of May 2025, the European Court of Human Rights declared the case of S.S. and others v Italy inadmissible under Art.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision marks a missed opportunity. Instead of addressing the question of functional jurisdiction in the context of externalised migration control, the Court found that Italy does not enjoy extraterritorial jurisdiction over a group of irregular migrants whose ship was wrecked on the high seas near the Libyan coast. The ruling is another illustration of how externalised border control and “pull-back” policies are becoming normalised in Europe. Continue reading >>
0
15 April 2025

Fashion Upcycling and the Human Right to a Healthy Environment

With new collections each season, the fashion industry produces a highly problematic fashion garbage heap every year. Circular economy projects seeking to produce “new” garments by reworking second hand and unsold fashion items have particular societal value against this background. Evidently, legal solutions that support fashion reuse have particular relevance in the light of these goals. Continue reading >>
0
12 April 2025

Fast Fashion, Slow Transition

In the new ultra-fast fashion era, garment production cycles are accelerated to new heights, while the quality of the garments deteriorates. Key characteristics of the industry are its reliance on cheap manufacturing, overconsumption and short-lived garment use. This blog post will set out who is responsible for the protection of human rights from climate change within the textile industry. In a second step, this blog post aims to analyse the EU Strategy, focusing on the intersection between environmental and social rights in the textile industry. Continue reading >>
0
07 April 2025

Why Recognizing the Right to a Healthy Environment Would Strengthen the Environmental Human Rights Framework under the European Convention on Human Rights

The ECtHR lacks a mandate for general measures aimed at redressing or preventing environmental harm as such. Only the introduction of the environment as the object of human rights protection, through the Right to a Healthy Environment, could trigger the necessary conceptual shift and legitimise the Court and the CoE Committee of Ministers to require member States to take measures such as mitigation of environmental risks and ecological redress. Continue reading >>
0
04 April 2025

The Status of the Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment Under Customary International Law

The recognition of a right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment remains contested under customary international law. Some view recent UN resolutions as evidence of its emergence, while others argue they merely reinforce existing obligations. The Human Rights Council and General Assembly have acknowledged this right, but states differ on its legal impact. As the International Court of Justice examines the issue, the focus is shifting from recognition to implementation, with institutions now working to monitor and enforce environmental human rights. Continue reading >>
03 April 2025

Intellectual Property and the Human Right to a Healthy Environment

With the effects of climate change escalating, there has been a notable increase in discussions about the, at first glance, not obvious impact of IP protection on environmental sustainability. At the same time, considerations of human and fundamental rights in the context of IP protection are increasingly shaping the legal discourse. Given these two major trends in IP law – growing attention to environmental sustainability as well as to human and fundamental rights – it seems that the time is ripe to explore what the human right to a healthy environment might mean for IP. Continue reading >>
0
Go to Top