World Court’s ruling opens the door wider for climate justice
AdvertisementClimate changeOpinionWorld OpinionKalinga SeneviratneOpinion | World Court’s ruling opens the door wider for climate justiceThe court’s decision could result in legal action against countries that fail to honour their climate commitments
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPKalinga SeneviratnePublished: 5:30am, 29 Jul 2025In a unanimous decision, a 15-member bench of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague in the Netherlands ruled on July 23 that government failures to protect vulnerable populations and ecosystems from climate change could amount to breaches of international law. The court’s non-binding ruling, which says that countries must comply with climate treaties, has been hailed as a great victory for youth activism from small island nations facing the brunt of the climate crisis.AdvertisementThe triumph at the ICJ is the culmination of a unique university project started by a group of law students at the University of the South Pacific’s law s..
