Call for International Climate Court

The Guardian has today published an editorial piece by Stephen Hockman QC, calling for an international climate court to resolve disputes and ensure that burdens accompanying solutions to climate change problems are shared equitably.

In the piece, Mr Hockman suggests that an international court should “be compulsory and…include a convention on the right to a healthy environment…It would include a scientific body to assess technical issues.”

An international court could deliver those regulations and sanctions which would provide a greater incentive for individual countries to take action against climate change, whilst also offering benefits to the business community: “an enhanced body of law regarding environmental issues and consistency in judicial resolution of environmental disputes. He continues: “Such a court would also bring an increased focus on preventative measures, a set of global standards of care, and the facilitation and enforcement of environmental treaties”.

See original article (In Search of World Justice, Guardian, 19 August 2008)