On the request for an advisory opinion on climate change under UNCLOS before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

Abstract

Sinking Islands form part of the dystopian reality faced by a world increasingly affected by climate breakdown today. As reported, around the world, ‘many islands are slowly but surely being submerged’. This article enquires into the potential role that the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) may have, in its advisory capacity, in tackling the effects of climate change. In particular, this article deals with two broad issues: (i) it identifies the potential benefits and risks of an ITLOS Advisory Opinion on the issue of climate change under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and (ii) it examines the questions that COSIS recently posed to the tribunal, a number of sub-questions and relevant provisions under UNCLOS are further identified, and whether the Commission on Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law has complied with the procedural rules of ITLOS to trigger its advisory functions.