(Un)comfortably Numb: The Role of National Courts for Access to Justice in Climate Matters

Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration brought about the proceduralisation of environmental rights, but did not warrant the fulfillment of the right to access justice in environmental matters. Such void is all the more perceived at a time when the pressing nature of climate change is prompting individuals and NGOs to take action in courts. Albeit absent from the international climate change treaty regime, access to justice now appears to be emerging in national climate change cases. In light of a new strand of cases decided as of 2015, I argue that domestic courts are increasingly applying international norms in order to allow individuals and NGOs to access justice in climate change matters. I conclusively hold that such a mechanism not only adheres to Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, but it may also boost the enforcement of international law and its legitimacy, notwithstanding a number of challenges.