On May 21, 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issued its Advisory Opinion No. 31, as a result of a request made by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, regarding the obligations that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (im)poses to its 169 Parties regarding the relationship between marine environmental protection and anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The Advisory Opinion is the first – on the subject of climate change – of the trio currently being advanced before international jurisdictions: while waiting for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice to express their views, the contribution mainly considers four crucial aspects of Advisory Opinion No. 31: (i) the jurisdiction of the Hamburg Tribunal and its competence to issue an advisory opinion on climate change, (ii) the definition of marine pollution under the Montego Bay Convention, (iii) the notion of ‘necessary measures’ with regard to the prevention, reduction and control of marine environmental pollution resulting from climate change, as well as the protection and conservation of the marine environment with regard to the impacts of climate change, and (iv) ‘due diligence’ qualified as ‘stringent’, so as to blur the line between obligations of conduct and obligations of result.
Il 21 maggio 2024 il Tribunale internazionale per il diritto del mare ha emesso il suo Parere n. 31, all’esito della richiesta avanzata dalla Commissione dei piccoli Stati insulari sui cambiamenti climatici e il diritto internazionale, in merito agli obblighi che la Convenzione delle Nazioni Unite sul diritto del mare (im)pone alle sue 169 Parti quanto al rapporto fra tutela dell’ambiente marino ed emissioni di gas serra antropogenici. Il Parere è il primo - in tema di cambiamento climatico - della terna attualmente avanzata dinanzi alle giurisdizioni internazionali: nell’attesa che si esprimano la Corte interamericana dei diritti dell’uomo e la Corte internazionale di giustizia, nel contributo si dà conto principalmente di quattro aspetti cruciali del Parere n. 31: (i) la giurisdizione del Tribunale di Amburgo e la sua competenza a emettere un parere consultivo sul cambiamento climatico, (ii) la definizione di inquinamento marino ai sensi della Convenzione di Montego Bay, (iii) la nozione di ‘misure necessarie’ in materia di prevenzione, riduzione e controllo dell’inquinamento ambientale marino derivante dai cambiamenti climatici, nonché di protezione e conservazione dell’ambiente marino dagli impatti dei cambiamenti climatici, (iv) la ‘due diligence’ qualificata come ‘rigorosa’, sì da sfumare il confine fra obblighi di condotta e obblighi di risultato.
Il Parere consultivo n.31 del Tribunale internazionale per il diritto del mare sul nesso fra gas climalteranti di origine antropica e tutela degli oceani
Agostina Latino
2024-01-01
Abstract
On May 21, 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issued its Advisory Opinion No. 31, as a result of a request made by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, regarding the obligations that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (im)poses to its 169 Parties regarding the relationship between marine environmental protection and anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The Advisory Opinion is the first – on the subject of climate change – of the trio currently being advanced before international jurisdictions: while waiting for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice to express their views, the contribution mainly considers four crucial aspects of Advisory Opinion No. 31: (i) the jurisdiction of the Hamburg Tribunal and its competence to issue an advisory opinion on climate change, (ii) the definition of marine pollution under the Montego Bay Convention, (iii) the notion of ‘necessary measures’ with regard to the prevention, reduction and control of marine environmental pollution resulting from climate change, as well as the protection and conservation of the marine environment with regard to the impacts of climate change, and (iv) ‘due diligence’ qualified as ‘stringent’, so as to blur the line between obligations of conduct and obligations of result.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.