World Court backs climate-friendly pacts and laws

The general view is that the International Court of Justice at The Hague is an ineffective international institution because it cannot enforce its verdict.

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So, when the court said that it is incumbent on national governments to implement the Paris Agreement on climate of 2013 whereby greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) should be limited in such a way that the global temperature would be held below 1.5 Degrees Celsius of the pre-industrial era, it evoked amusement.

Not all countries submit themselves to the international court's jurisdiction. And those that do are not bound to strictly follow the directives of the court. It is the view of experts that what the ICJ has said about the governments’ obligation to make policies and to penalize those contributing to the climate crisis will carry certain weight in terms of international agreements and customary international law.

The conventions of international law can be breached with impunity indeed, but the climate activists in many countries are going to cite the court's verdict as a precedent in their legal battles in national courts. It is of course for the higher judiciary in different countries to take note of the ICJ’s directions on climate.