Assessing the Role of International Judicial Advisory Opinions in the Evolution of International Environmental Law in Response to Climate Change

Climate change has emerged as a global menace, threatening human existence and Earth’s biodiversity. The urgency to address this crisis intensifies, yet the window for effective action is narrowing. Failure to act disproportionately impacts marginalised communities, highlighting the need for legal c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Phuong Dung Nguyen, Yen Thi Hong Nguyen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Bologna 2025-07-01
Series:University of Bologna Law Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://bolognalawreview.unibo.it/article/view/22335
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849713564268363776
author Phuong Dung Nguyen
Yen Thi Hong Nguyen
author_facet Phuong Dung Nguyen
Yen Thi Hong Nguyen
author_sort Phuong Dung Nguyen
collection DOAJ
description Climate change has emerged as a global menace, threatening human existence and Earth’s biodiversity. The urgency to address this crisis intensifies, yet the window for effective action is narrowing. Failure to act disproportionately impacts marginalised communities, highlighting the need for legal clarity. Judicial authorities, such as the International Court of Justice (I.C.J.), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (I.T.L.O.S.), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I.A.C.H.R.), have increasingly been requested to provide advisory opinions on addressing climate change. Although generally non-binding, these advisory opinions have become a vital source of international law, particularly in the evolving fields of environmental and human rights law, and can, in certain institutional and legal framework contexts, carry significant legal and practical influence. They offer the flexibility needed to develop new instruments or legal and policy reform in response to changing practices. This article explores the evolution of advisory opinions, their contributions to addressing climate change, and the benefits and challenges of utilizing them to mitigate climate change. It also attempts to delineate reflections and implications concerning the development of advisory opinions in the context of climate change.
format Article
id doaj-art-d04595651253405bbf6aed39521827ce
institution DOAJ
issn 2531-6133
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher University of Bologna
record_format Article
series University of Bologna Law Review
spelling doaj-art-d04595651253405bbf6aed39521827ce2025-08-20T03:13:55ZengUniversity of BolognaUniversity of Bologna Law Review2531-61332025-07-0110113410.6092/issn.2531-6133/2233520720Assessing the Role of International Judicial Advisory Opinions in the Evolution of International Environmental Law in Response to Climate ChangePhuong Dung Nguyen0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1882-2956Yen Thi Hong Nguyen1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2703-2363RMIT University VietnamHanoi Law UniversityClimate change has emerged as a global menace, threatening human existence and Earth’s biodiversity. The urgency to address this crisis intensifies, yet the window for effective action is narrowing. Failure to act disproportionately impacts marginalised communities, highlighting the need for legal clarity. Judicial authorities, such as the International Court of Justice (I.C.J.), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (I.T.L.O.S.), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I.A.C.H.R.), have increasingly been requested to provide advisory opinions on addressing climate change. Although generally non-binding, these advisory opinions have become a vital source of international law, particularly in the evolving fields of environmental and human rights law, and can, in certain institutional and legal framework contexts, carry significant legal and practical influence. They offer the flexibility needed to develop new instruments or legal and policy reform in response to changing practices. This article explores the evolution of advisory opinions, their contributions to addressing climate change, and the benefits and challenges of utilizing them to mitigate climate change. It also attempts to delineate reflections and implications concerning the development of advisory opinions in the context of climate change.https://bolognalawreview.unibo.it/article/view/22335advisory opinionclimate changejudicial authoritiesinternational environmental lawinternational law
spellingShingle Phuong Dung Nguyen
Yen Thi Hong Nguyen
Assessing the Role of International Judicial Advisory Opinions in the Evolution of International Environmental Law in Response to Climate Change
University of Bologna Law Review
advisory opinion
climate change
judicial authorities
international environmental law
international law
title Assessing the Role of International Judicial Advisory Opinions in the Evolution of International Environmental Law in Response to Climate Change
title_full Assessing the Role of International Judicial Advisory Opinions in the Evolution of International Environmental Law in Response to Climate Change
title_fullStr Assessing the Role of International Judicial Advisory Opinions in the Evolution of International Environmental Law in Response to Climate Change
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the Role of International Judicial Advisory Opinions in the Evolution of International Environmental Law in Response to Climate Change
title_short Assessing the Role of International Judicial Advisory Opinions in the Evolution of International Environmental Law in Response to Climate Change
title_sort assessing the role of international judicial advisory opinions in the evolution of international environmental law in response to climate change
topic advisory opinion
climate change
judicial authorities
international environmental law
international law
url https://bolognalawreview.unibo.it/article/view/22335
work_keys_str_mv AT phuongdungnguyen assessingtheroleofinternationaljudicialadvisoryopinionsintheevolutionofinternationalenvironmentallawinresponsetoclimatechange
AT yenthihongnguyen assessingtheroleofinternationaljudicialadvisoryopinionsintheevolutionofinternationalenvironmentallawinresponsetoclimatechange