World Future Council’s Post

I’m happy to announce a new (Open Access) article, entitled ‘Sustainability and Jurisdiction in the International Civil Litigation Market’, just out in the Journal of Private International Law. In private international law scholarship, there has quite rightly been a recent focus on international litigation as a potential response to environmental concerns, including the possibilities and challenges of private climate change litigation. This piece takes a different perspective, looking at international civil litigation as a globalised industry which potentially contributes to climate change, particularly through the impact of hearing disputes in a forum which is remote from the underlying events, evidence, witnesses, etc. The article argues for a change to the exercise of jurisdictional discretion by the English courts, to take into consideration the environmental impact of a dispute being litigated in a particular court – a form of public interest consideration which is currently excluded by the rules, which only consider the interests of the parties. It is of course not suggested that this factor necessarily outweighs other considerations, such as access to justice, but at the moment it is excluded altogether. The article also considers how taking into account this factor might help to incentivise the development and adoption of technologies and practices which would reduce the environmental impact of international litigation. Hope it’s of interest.   https://lnkd.in/eFwZZNKJ

Grateful to Share Our Research on Sacred Spirits & Environmental Law Last Friday, I had the honor of presenting on the intersection of sacred spirits and environmental law in Mongolia, focusing on how customary practices serve as legal precedents in protecting the environment. This work was based on research conducted with my colleague, Dr. Ninjin, and myself. Many thanks to the Dezső Márkus Research Group for Comparative Legal History at the University of Pécs, Faculty of Law, and the Center for German and European Law for organizing the “Traditional Law and Legal Effectiveness” International Hybrid Scientific Conference. Link: https://lnkd.in/gHmZqv_T #EnvironmentalLaw #SacredSpirits #TraditionalLaw #LegalPrecedents #Mongolia #Sustainability #LegalResearch

Dr. Rosemary Mwanza, Research Fellow at the Department of Law, Stockholm University provides the last book review of Godwin Dzah book, Sustainable Development, International Law, and a Turn to African Legal Cosmologies available here https://lnkd.in/e-SeRkZk In her introduction, Dr. Mwanza notes that: Since its popularisation at the Stockholm Conference in 1972 and in the Brundtland Commission Report of 1987, as development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising future generations’ ability to meet theirs, sustainable development has become a cornerstone principle of international environmental law. Its popularity has grown in tandem with criticisms levelled against it. Scholars point out that the concept’s failure to commit to an overriding objective among the three competing pillars has made economic development its default core objective. Due to its open-textured nature, sustainable development has long been a popular surface discourse that lends linguistic cover for extractive neoliberal development, deceptively passing off as true sustainability. As a result, the concept has succeeded, not in seamlessly balancing its three constitutive pillars as initially conceived, but in providing cover for socially and ecologically unsustainable development demonstrated by the continued devastation of nature and negative social outcomes for peoples, especially those of the Global South. These critiques foreshadow the book under review. In Sustainable Development, International Law, and a Turn to African Legal Cosmologies, Dzah’s objective is to deconstruct the history, politics and law of sustainable development under international law. Drawing on Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), the author’s main argument is that sustainable development as currently conceptualised and implemented under international environmental law is defective and should be reconfigured to become a truly ecological law norm. The contemplated reconfiguration can be achieved by drawing on the legal value of African eco-cosmologies as a source of a countervailing logic and praxis to displace the Eurocentric and neoliberal logic that has curtailed its ability to advance human and ecological wellbeing. To read more, follow this link. https://lnkd.in/gFwye9se

I am delighted to share that my analysis of how the anchoring of the rights of nature paradigm is a trail to an emergent approach of greening international law, has been published in the Cambridge International Law Journal (CILJ). All feedback and comments are welcome ! #rightsofnature #internationallaw #environmentallaw

I am delighted to see my review of Godwin Dzah's Sustainable Development, International Law, and a Turn to African Legal Cosmologies is now available at https://lnkd.in/dN_CMvHb. Not only was this volume a pleasure to read over the summer, I found valuable insights on the potential of African cosmologies to steer the evolution of international environmental law in ways that address the demands of environmental justice as understood by those who experience or are at risk of harms caused in pursuit of a narrow notion of sustainable development. The book resonates with my own work and will undoubtedly be of interest to scholars working towards the decolonisation of international environmental law.

SECURE A SPOT AT THE ZLDC 2024 ZAMBIA@60 NATIONAL LAW CONFERENCE. For 60 years, Zambia’s statute book has grown and transformed, but has it kept pace with the needs and aspirations of the Zambian people? From 30th September to 2nd October 2024, the Zambia Law Development Commission will host a National Law Conference themed: Zambia @60: An Introspection of the Evolution of the Statute Book and its Contribution to National Development” at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre (KK Wing) in Lusaka. This conference isn’t just another gathering; it’s a pivotal moment for Zambia’s legislative future. It is a gathering of key stakeholders and policy makers to critically reflect on the contributions of our laws to our national development agenda - to our national successes, challenges and opportunities. The Zambia Law Development Commission invites you to be a part of this critical national conversation because the future of law reform in Zambia is not just a topic for discussion, it’s a call to action. The Commission has reserved 50 slots for members of the public to attend the conference. This is your chance to be part of an event that will shape the next 60 years of Zambia's legal framework. Apply now to attend this critical event by visiting our website https://lnkd.in/dHR4KzQq OR Click the link below: https://lnkd.in/d3dTgajD and secure your spot today. The future of Zambia’s law reform depends on your voice! Conference topics include; - The Law and Democratic Governance - The role of State and Non-State actors; - The adequacy of access to information legislation in facilitating national development; - Citizen and Stakeholder participation in law reform; - The evolving fight against corruption and illicit financial flows; - AI regulation and responsible adoption; - Sextortion: The ever changing face of Gender Based Violence; - Affirmative action - Facilitating Equal Participation for Vulnerable Groups; - Breathing life into our national values - Culture, Arts and the Law; - Access to Justice: Strides and Challenges; - A life of dignity - Struggles of a young life; - Environmental protection, Climate Change, Natural Resource Management and Wildlife; - Epidemics and Pandemics - The case of COVID-19 and Cholera; - Carbon Market Framework for Zambia: Tax regimes for environmental protection, Child-woman and rural person-centred solutions; - The 8th National Development Plan - The role of Legislation in Economic Recovery and; - Law reforms that have worked: Sharing experiences from the Global Village. Insightful and packed discussions will be had during this conference, you cannot afford to miss! See you there!

Last month, dozens of top thought leaders and advocates in international law, human rights, racial justice, and ecological crises gathered for a conference in Amsterdam to celebrate the launch of UCLA Law's The Promise Institute Europe and to tackle one major agenda item: workshop how international law can be used to address environmental degradation and climate change and their impacts on global human rights. 📚🌱 “This is a pivotal year for international law, human rights and the environment," said Kate Mackintosh, prominent authority in global human rights and the Promise Europe’s inaugural executive director. “At the conference, we worked with practitioners and activists to ask what story we need to tell, whose story we need to tell and how we need to tell it to make the most compelling case for climate and environmental justice. It is time to unlock the potential of international law to confront this crisis and move us towards a new era of multi-species care, kinship and justice.” Mackintosh and her colleagues are authorities in the expanding doctrine of ecocide, which has been a focus of work in UCLA Law's Los Angeles-based Promise Institute that continues with Mackintosh’s move to the Promise Europe. https://lnkd.in/etkpqw7M #Law #Education #ClimateChange #Leadership 

I am very much looking forward to attending The UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe conference ‘The Promise of International Law in the Face of Ecological Crisis’, in Amsterdam, over the next 3 days. As reported in the LSE’s ‘Global trends in climate change litigation: 2023 snapshot’: * Types of Climate change litigation cases are expanding * More cases are being filed against corporate actors, with a more complex range of legal arguments. * ‘Climate-washing’ cases continue to grow, with many relying on consumer protection law * Cases outside the US have grown significantly * Litigation concerning investment decisions is increasing. #ClimateLitigation #Investigations #SpecialSituations

Conference May 27-29, 2024: The Promise of International Law in the Face of Ecological Crises The past few years have seen striking developments in international human rights law, in the concept of rights of nature, as well as around a new crime of ecocide, at both national and international levels. Significant attention to the legacies of colonialism and slavery has revealed the extent to which the ecological crisis is a racial justice crisis. Attention to the devastating ecological impact of war, meanwhile, is breathing new life into underused elements of the law of armed conflict. This year, 2024, marks a high point as we anticipate advisory opinions from three international courts on state obligations in the face of climate change: the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, and the International Court of Justice. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, meanwhile, is preparing his first ever policy on environmental crimes. Please join us and leading voices from across these initiatives at our conference to explore the Promise of International Law in the Face of Ecological Crises, from May 27-29 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The official launch of The UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe will take place during the conference opening ceremony in the evening of May 27th. The launch of the Promise Institute Europe marks a new commitment to addressing our most pressing human rights challenges, engaging UCLA students, faculty and research more directly with the institutions of international law and human rights in Europe. We are delighted to be collaborating in this endeavour with the University of Amsterdam, our co-organiser for this conference. The UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe and the University of Amsterdam Law School are honoured to be partnering with the Republic of Vanuatu, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and a host of esteemed academic collaborators to bring this conference to life.   When: May 27-29, 2024 Where: Hotel Arena, Amsterdam #PromiseEurope2024   Please register now to join us: https://lnkd.in/egFWhYsN More information: https://lnkd.in/eiDmPQgJ

I'm looking forward discussing the Advisory Opinion to be issued tomorrow by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea/Tribunal international du droit de la mer, at the upcoming conference: 'The Promise of International Law in the Face of Ecological Crises' If interested, see the details below. #LawoftheSea With thanks to the organisers for the invitation to speak, including to the Republic of Vanuatu, the Embassy of Bangladesh in the Netherlands, The University of Fiji, University of Hawaii at Manoa, NUS Centre for International Law, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, Centre for Climate Justice-Bangladesh (CCJ-B), Luiss Guido Carli University, CEENRG, UCLA IoES Center for Diverse Leadership in Science, Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment, University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law International and Comparative Law Program, The Promise Institute for Human Rights