Saturday, 16 May 2026

Chhaya Bhardwaj*

Daniel Stein**

India’s Submission to the ITLOS Climate Change Advisory Opinion: A Lost Opportunity

Full text PDF [EN]

Suggested citation:

Bhardwaj, C., & Stein, D. (2024). India’s Submission to the ITLOS Climate Change Advisory Opinion: A Lost Opportunity. Lex Portus, 10(2), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.62821/lp10203

Published online: 21.05.2024

*Associate Professor, OP Jindal Global Law School (Sonipat Narela Road, Sonipat, Haryana, 131001, India); Alexander von Humboldt International Climate Protection Fellow, Hertie School (Friedrichstraße 180, Berlin, Germany)

**Assistant Professor, OP Jindal Global Law School (Sonipat Narela Road, Sonipat, Haryana, 131001, India)

 

ABSTRACT

The authors argue that India’s submission to the ITLOS for the proceedings concerning the Advisory Opinion on Climate Change was a lost opportunity. India could have led the voices of developing countries and countries with a marine environment vulnerable to climate change, but India failed to do so. Additionally, India could have presented a more coherent and robust submission while aligning it with India’s other international submissions and its domestic policies on climate change, as well as contributing to global climate law and its judicial interpretation.

Keywords: ITLOS, advisory opinion, India, CBDR-RC, maritime law, climate change, lex specialis.

 

REFERENCES

Agreement for the Establishment of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, 2021. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/No%20Volume/56940/Part/I-56940-08000002805c2ace.pdf

Alkire, S. (2011). Multidimensional Poverty and its Discontents. OPHI Working Paper No. 46. https://ophi.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-03/OPHI-WP-46-May-12_0.pdf

Anand, R. (1977). Winds of change in the Law of the Sea. International Studies, 16(2), 207–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/002088177701600202

Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology. (n.d.). Ocean Acidification and its potential impacts on biological resources from the Indian coastal seas. India Ministry of Earth Sciences. https://cmlre.gov.in/research-programs/ocean-acidification-and-its-potential-impacts-biological-resources-indian-coastal

Chowdhury, G. W., Koldewey, H. J., Niloy M. N. H., & Sarker, S. (2022). The ecological impact of plastic pollution in a changing climate. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences, 6(4), 389–402. https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20220016

Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. (2022, December 12). Request for an Advisory Opinion. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/31/Request_for_Advisory_Opinion_COSIS_12.12.22.pdf

Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. (2023). Case No. 31. Written Statement on Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/31/written_statements/2/C31-WS-2-4-COSIS.pdf

Convention on the Determination of the Minimal Conditions for Access and Exploitation of Marine Resources within the Maritime Areas under Jurisdiction of the Member States of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (CRFC), 2012. https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/mul215451E.pdf

Datta, A. (2010). Brown, Oli (2008): Migration and climate change, international organization for migration (IOM), 56 S. In ZEP Zeitschrift für internationale Bildungsforschung und Entwicklungspädagogik, 33(3), 39–41. https://doi.org/10.25656/01:9757

Federated States of Micronesia. (2023). Written Statement on Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/31/written_statements/1/C31-WS-1-30-FS_Micronesia_01.pdf

Harrould-Kolieb, E. R. (2019). (Re)Framing ocean acidification in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Paris Agreement. Climate Policy, 19(10), 1225–1238. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2019.1649994

India Ministry of Earth Sciences. (2022a, June 26). Press Release on the Eve of 2022 UN Ocean Conference. India Press Information Bureau. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1837127

India Ministry of Earth Sciences. (2022b, July 27). Unstarred Question No. 1683. UN Ocean Conference. https://www.moes.gov.in/sites/default/files/LS-in-English-1683-27-07-2022.pdf

Indian Coastal Green Shipping Programme White Paper, 2023. https://www.dnv.com/maritime/publications/indian-coastal-green-shipping-programme/

International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), 73/78. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/ConferencesMeetings/Documents/MARPOL%201973%20-%20Final%20Act%20and%20Convention.pdf

International Court of Justice. (1949, April 11). Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations. https://www.icj-cij.org/case/4

International Court of Justice. (1996, July 8). Legality of the Use by a State of Nuclear Weapons in Armed Conflict. https://www.icj-cij.org/case/93

International Maritime Organization. (2023). Written Statement on Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/31/written_statements/2/C31-WS-2-3-IMO.pdf

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. (2015, July 24). The “Enrica Lexie” Incident (Italy v. India), Provisional Measures. https://www.itlos.org/en/main/cases/list-of-cases/case-no-24/

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. (2015). Case No. 21. Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) (Request for Advisory Opinion submitted to the Tribunal). https://www.itlos.org/en/main/cases/list-of-cases/case-no-21/

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, World Commission on Environmental Law, Ocean Law Specialist Group. (2023). Written Statement on Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/31/written_statements/2/C31-WS-2-2-IUCN.pdf

Jam v. Int’l Fin. Corp., 172 F. Supp. 3d 104 (D.D.C. 2016).

Khoday, K. (2022). Decolonizing the environment: Third World approaches to the planetary crisis. Indonesian Journal of International Law, 19(2). https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1558&context=ijil

Koh, T. (1984). Negotiating a New World Order for the Sea. Virginia Journal of International Law, 24, 761. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/vajint24&div=32&id=&page=

Kumar, M. (2023, July 17). One-tenth of India’s population escaped poverty in 5 years – government report. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/one-tenth-indias-population-escaped-poverty-5-years-government-report-2023-07-17/T

Kumar, M., & Verma, N. (2024, March 7). India aims for green shipping on inland waterways in five years – officials. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-aims-green-shipping-inland-waterways-five-years-officials-2024-03-07/

Marine Environment Protection Committee. (2023, July 23). Resolution on 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions From Ships (MEPC.377(80). International Maritime Organization. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/OurWork/Environment/Documents/annex/MEPC%2080/Annex%2015.pdf

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. (2015). Statistics Related to Climate Change – India 2015. https://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/climateChangeStat2015.pdf

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory Carbon Program. (n.d.). Bay of Bengal Ocean Acidification (BOBOA) Mooring (15°N, 90°E). https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/BOBOA

Panchang, R., & Ambokar, M. (2021). Ocean acidification in the Northern Indian ocean : A review. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 219, 104904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2021.104904

People’s Republic of Bangladesh. (2023). Written Statement onRequest for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/31/written_statements/1/C31-WS-1-21-Bangladesh.pdf

Pörtner, H.-O. et al. (Eds.). (2019). IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/3/2019/12/SROCC_FullReport_FINAL.pdf

Pörtner, H.-O. et al. (Eds.). (2022). Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844

Raha A.K. et al. (2014). Sea Level Rise and Submergence of Sundarban Islands: A Time Series Study of Estuarine Dynamics. Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 5(1), 114–123. https://bioinfopublication.org/files/articles/5_1_2_JEES.pdf

Ramessur, R. et al. (2022). Ocean acidification: A hidden risk to sustainable development in the Western Indian Ocean. WIO Science - Policy Platform Series, 1, 167–171. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366714324_Ocean_Acidification_A_hidden_risk_to_sustainable_development_in_the_Western_Indian_Ocean

Republic of India. (2023a). Submission to the UNFCCC Consideration of Outputs of the First Global Stocktake. https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/SubmissionsStaging/Documents/202309151444---India%20Submission%20-%20Consideration%20of%20Outputs%20of%20the%20First%20Global%20Stocktake.pdf

Republic of India. (2023b). Written Statement on Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (Case No. 31). International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/31/written_statements/3/C31-WS-3-4-India.pdf

Republic of Indonesia. (2023). Written Statement on Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/31/written_statements/1/C31-WS-1-13-Indonesia.pdf

Schofield, C., & Freestone, D. (2013). Options to Protect Coastlines and Secure Maritime Jurisdictional Claims in the Face of Global Sea Level Rise. In Gerrard M. B., & Wannier, G.E. (Eds.). Threatened Island Nations: Legal Implications of Rising Seas and a Changing Climate (pp. 141–166). Cambridge University Press.

Sridevi, B., & Sarma, V. V. S. S. (2021). Role of river discharge and warming on ocean acidification and pCO levels in the Bay of Bengal. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 73(1), 1971924. https://doi.org/10.1080/16000889.2021.1971924

Study Group of the International Law Commission. (2006, July 18). Report on Fragmentation of International Law: Difficulties Arising from the Diversification and Expansion of International Law. https://legal.un.org/ilc/documentation/english/a_cn4_l702.pdf

Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission. (2014, April 14). Request for Advisory Opinion. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/case_no.21/advisory_opinion_published/C21_ord_140414.pdf

Tigre, M. A., & Rocha, A. (2023). Competing Perspectives and Dialogue in Climate Change Advisory Opinions. American Journal of International Law, 117, 287–291. https://doi.org/10.1017/aju.2023.50

Tigre, M. A., & Silverman-Roati, K. (Eds.). (2023). ITLOS Advisory Opinion on climate change: Summary of briefs and statement submitted to the tribunal. Columbia Law School, Scholarship Archive. https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1209&context=sabin_climate_change

UN General Assembly. (1994, January 20). Resolution on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (A/RES/48/189). https://www.refworld.org/legal/resolution/unga/1994/en/26583

UN Ocean Conference. (2022, May 25). Final Draft of the Political Declaration. https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/UNOC_political_declaration_final.pdf

United Kingdom. (2013). Written Statement on Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/case_no.21/written_statements_round1/C21_Response_Round_1_UK.pdf

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982. https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992. https://treaties.un.org/doc/treaties/1994/03/19940321%2004-56%20am/ch_xxvii_07p.pdf

Watson, S. M. (2020). Greenhouse gas emissions from offshore oil and gas activities – Relevance of the Paris Agreement, Law of the Sea, and Regional Seas Programmes. Ocean & Coastal Management, 185, 104942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.104942

.

Editorial Board Address

Ukraine, Odesa, Fontanska Doroga, 23
Lex Portus Editorial Board

fb

info@lexportus.net.ua