JJUS00019U Human Rights and Economic Law for the Green Transition

The main objective of the course is to provide students with an understanding of the potential of two critical areas of international law, namely human rights and international economic law, to support the green transition and address the gaps left by international climate change law. With regard to human rights, the course outlines how climate change interferes with rights enjoyment and considers the many ways in which human rights law can serve to reinforce states’ climate commitments, as well as the limitations of the human rights regime in this respect. In particular, human rights law holds key potential with regard to holding states accountable for their climate (in)action through litigation and, as such, this course analyses recent landmark cases and highlights currently unexplored grounds for litigation to this end. As regards international economic law, the course explores how climate policies can affect and be affected by international trade and investment law, pointing to conflicts and synergies between these legal regimes. This also includes an analysis of the role played by the EU’s trade and investment law and policies with respect to climate change. The international economic law part of the course will also focus specifically on international dispute settlement, featuring several case studies and discussing the role played by litigation.

The course is divided in four parts:

1. Introduction and foundations 
2. Human rights and climate change 
3. International economic law and climate change 
4. Conclusion