缅北禁地

Territories of Repair in International Law 

Dr Tim Lindgren 

Marie Sk艂odowska-Curie Fellow 

European University Institute, 

Department of Law 

How do we conceptualise reparations for climate harm in a world which very coordinates are changing so quickly and so radically? And can reparations actually be achieved in this context, or do we need another legal vocabulary? This talk suggests that a particularly important answer to these questions lies in the concept of territory. It argues that the concept of territory shapes imaginaries of reparations for climate change under international law to such an extent that our visions of reparations radically differs based on what view of territory we take. It develops this argument through a close reading of how territory is discussed in relation to sea-level rise the Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in respect to Climate Change by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), with a particular attention to the oral hearings and written submissions. Whilst the hearings, submissions and Advisory Opinion itself covered a wide range of legal matters relating to reparations for climate change, it also included specific references to Statehood, territory, sea-level rise and the relations between place and people. The talk captures how certain views in the Advisory Opinion on these matters not only risk preventing the implementation of reparations under existing international law, but to narrowly define the worlds of repair – and of international law – that are possible in the future. In response, the paper describes an emerging doctrinal approach to territory in relation to the Advisory Opinion that offers a different outlook for reparations, and which might make more space for reparative and affective relations between human communities and non-human actors in place. 

is a Marie Sk艂odowska-Curie Fellow at the European University Institute (EUI). His work concerns public international law with a particular attention to territory, sovereignty, climate change and the performance of international law in informal spaces.