On 14 April 2023, the European University Institute (EUI) is hosting an expert workshop in Florence on Climate Change Cases before Human Rights Courts and Treaty Bodies. The workshop, organized by the Law Department of the EUI together with the PluriCourts Centre of Excellence of the University of Oslo and the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, focuses on human rights litigation before the United Nations human rights treaty bodies and regional human rights courts as a means of combating climate change. The workshop will, amongst others, discuss the pending climate change cases before the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR (Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 other states; Carême v.
France, Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland). The workshop will be followed by a PhD Colloquium on 15 April 2023.
Here is a brief description of the workshop:
‘Climate change is one of the main challenges facing humanity today. Without rapid
and decisive action, it will be the main challenge, an existential threat to people and
other living organisms. There are many approaches to combating climate change,
including intergovernmental negotiations and action through international
organizations, social mobilization and protest, efforts to engage corporations and the
business community to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and searching through the
repository of law for tools that could be used to compel the unwilling. This one-day
expert workshop followed by a PhD colloquium will focus on legal tools in the field of
human rights and the prospects of human rights litigation for turning the tide of climate
change. While taking into account developments in domestic law, general international
law and international environmental law, the event will in particular explore
developments in and prospects of human rights litigation before regional human rights
courts and international human rights treaty bodies in trying to address climate change
and its adverse effects as they constitute or cause human rights violations.
The expert workshop of Friday 14 April will run in the format of plenary sessions from
9.00 to 18.30 and include a lunch break and two coffee breaks. The PhD colloquium
of 15 April will be from 9.00 until 12.30, based on papers and presentations by PhD
researchers.’
The program can be found here.
