Court Chairman Judge Evasawa Yu heard the opinion on Wednesday, publicly.
The United Nations Chief Judicial Organization has decided that countries are the responsibility of the countries to protect the environment from the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission. Also, work with alert and mutual cooperation to meet this obligation.
It also involves obligations under the Paris Agreement that countries need to be restricted to 1.5 degrees cells in global temperature compared to pre-industrial levels.
UN general secretary Antonio Guterres welcomed the decision in a video message.
He said, “This is a victory for our planets, climate justice and decided steps for the power of youth.”
Important protection of the environment
The court has made it clear that if the country violates these obligations, legal responsibilities have been fixed on them.
In such a situation, they not only need to stop their wrongdoing, but also to be guaranteed to do so again and the situation should be compensated according to the situation.
The court has mentioned the promise of the environment and human rights of the member states to support this decision.
These countries have signed several international environmental evenings, such as ozone levels, biodiversity, Kyoto protocol, Paris Agreement, which encloses the environment of their global citizens and future generations.
Clear, healthy and sustainable environment is necessary for many human rights conservation. This is because the member state is a party of many human rights agreements, including the UN Public Human Rights Declaration.
Thus, they need to guarantee the protection of these rights when dealing with climate change.
The importance of international court
In September 2021, the Pacific Island country, Vanuatu, announced the position of the international court in the international court to seek consulting opinion on climate change.
This initiative is inspired by the youth group “Prashant Island student organization to compete with climate change”, especially, emphasizing the need to address climate change in small island countries.
In the UN General Assembly, Vanuatu has called on other member states to support the initiative. Subsequently, a resolution was passed on March 27, 2012, where the International Court (ICJ) sought a consultative opinion on two questions:
(1) What are the responsibilities related to conservation of countries under international law, and
(2) When the country damages the environment, what will be the legal results for them?
Under the UN Charter, the General Assembly or Protection Council may seek consultant opinion from the ICJ. Although these views are not compulsory, they have important legal and moral weight.
Also, they clear the legal responsibilities of the countries and help the development of international law.
This is the largest case of the ICJ so far, where 91 written statements were presented and 97 countries participated in oral activities.
The International Court of International Court is also called the “World Court”. It resolves legal disputes between the UN member states.
It gives consultation on the court, the UN organs and the agency’s legal questions asked by the agency.
The court, which is located in the HAG of Nederlands, is the only part of the six main organs, including the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trustees Council and the Secretariat.