Rendering International Human Rights Law Fit for Purpose on Climate Change

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The present article is devoted to addressing the unique legal and operational challenges encountered in the adoption of a human rights-based approach to climate change under international law. It tackles the core questions surrounding the suitability for purpose of the international human rights regime and outlines key steps to be taken in the requisite advancement of recourse to justice in climate matters. Five central challenges are addressed, namely, of the exclusivity of climate law and international human rights law, the operational barriers within the UN human rights system, specific legal challenges facing the UN Treaty Body mechanisms, the causation challenges associated with attributing responsibility for climate harm to states and, finally, the extraterritorial application of international human rights law. The challenges addressed here represent some of the most significant legal and operational hurdles emerging through the literature, international legal discourse and practice which will need to be overcome to respond to the principal research question of this paper, namely, of how international human rights law can better provide recourse to justice to climate-vulnerable states, groups and individuals.
Original languageEnglish
Article numberngac034
Number of pages25
JournalHuman Rights Law Review
Volume23
Issue number1
Early online date8 Jan 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Lecturer in Law at the University of Bristol Law School, United Kingdom. Email: [email protected] . This research project received funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council. The author would like to sincerely thank Dr Margherita Pieraccini and Professor Katrina Brown for their comments on earlier drafts. Sincere thanks also go to the HRLR editors and reviewers for their time and valuable feedback.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s) [2023].

Research Groups and Themes

  • Centre for Environmental Law and Sustainability

Keywords

  • climate change, climate justice, international human rights law, lex specialis, state responsibility, extraterritoriality

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