Philippines Files Written Statement in ICJ Advisory Opinion Proceedings on Climate Change
(from left to right) Associate Solicitor Mary Rose Beley-Arnesto, Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya and State Solicitor Rowena F. Mutia at the Peace Palace in The Hague (The Hague PE photo)
THE HAGUE 25 March 2024 - The Philippines filed on 21 March 2024 its Written Statement with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in proceedings relating to the request of the U.N. General Assembly for an Advisory Opinion on the question of the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change.
The submission was made by Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands J. Eduardo Malaya, accompanied by State Solicitor Rowena F. Mutia and Associate Solicitor Mary Rose Beley-Arnesto of the Office of the Solicitor General.
In its submission, signed by Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra and other solicitors and counsels, the Philippines urged the ICJ to exercise its jurisdiction, arguing that “… the enormity of the effects of climate change and its calamitous impact on all States and peoples are doubtless confirmed by scientific consensus… This paramount concern, therefore, impels and warrants the exercise of this Court’s advisory jurisdiction…” Furthermore, the Philippines urged the Court to “view (the issue) within the context of all people’s fundamental Right to Life from whence the Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment flows from… Any act or omission that harms or tends to harm the environment … that may be attributable to a State which results in anthropogenic GHG emissions over time causing climate change is a breach of a State obligation under international law.”
The submission was a concerted effort by various agencies of the Philippine Government, spearheaded by the Office of the Solicitor General and the Department of Foreign Affairs, in consultations with the Department of Justice, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Climate Change Commission, the National Economic and Development Authority, and the University of the Philippines Law Center, among others.
In March 2023, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 77/276 requesting the ICJ to render an advisory opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change, with the aim to establish specific obligations among States, and the legal consequences thereunder, to ensure the protection of the climate system from anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. The resolution was initiated by Vanuatu and a Core Group of like-minded countries.
The request for an advisory opinion is a game-changer in the field of climate law and diplomacy, further encouraging international climate cooperation reaffirmed through the States’ commitments towards the protection of the global climate system and the attainment of climate justice.
“The participation of the Philippines in the advisory opinion proceedings is significant as it addresses the issue of climate change, which is perhaps the greatest existential threat facing the world today,” Ambassador Malaya said. “It also marks the welcomed return of the country in the proceedings of the ICJ, the last one having been decades ago”. END
Philippine Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya, State Solicitor Mutia, and Associate Solicitor Mary Rose Beley-Arnesto taking a photo in front of the ICJ building. (The Hague PE photo)
(from left to right) State Solicitor Mutia, Vanuatu Ambassador Georges Maniuri, Ambassador Malaya, Lawyer Lee-Ann Hizon-Sackett, Associate Solicitor Beley-Arnesto and Law Professor Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh. (The Hague PE photo)
For more information, visit https://www.thehaguepe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinTheNetherlands/.