The International Court of Justice has granted the request of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement Office to participate in the proceedings on its advisory opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change. At the request of the United Nations General Assembly, the ICJ will determine the existing financial liability of countries for their contribution to climate change. Unlike prior orders, PNAO’s authorization did not come with an extension of the time for the submission of written statements. This leaves the deadline for submission of written statements on March 22 with a deadline of June 24 for responses.
On March 29, 2023, the UNGA asked the ICJ to issue an advisory opinion on the legal obligations of countries in preventing climate change. The opinion, while non-binding, will give an indicator of how the Court may interpret future climate related litigation and guide future legislative development.
The UN sent an initial package of relevant laws and treaties. The Court determined that members states and international organizations should also given the opportunity to weigh in on their legal arguments and opinions through written statements. Initially, the Court set a deadline of October 20, 2023, to submit written statements. The states would then have until January 22, 2024, to respond to the written statements provided by other entities.
In September, the Court extended the deadline for written statements until January 22, and April 22 to submit responses. The Court extended it a second time in December 2023.
Currently, the written statements and court documents are private. The only information available is through Court issued press releases. Those press releases have been limited to time-limit extensions and the approval of international organizations to submit written statements. It is unclear what member states have already submitted, or plan to submit, written statements.
It is unknown what international organizations were denied the opportunity to submit written statements, as the Court only announces organizations who have been approved. So far, the Court has authorized the African Union; the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS); the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law; the European Union; the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA); the International Union for Conservation of Nature; the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG); the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS); the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); the Pacific Islands Forum to participate in the proceedings. On March 4, it added PNAO.
The Court has yet to outline the process it will use once the written statements and responses are received, but I believe the advisory opinion will most likely not be released until sometime in 2025.