, sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It settles disputes between nations in accordance with international law and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues. It is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between countries, with its rulings and opinions serving as primary sources of international law.
The resolution was promoted first by Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation that is being disproportionately affected by global heating. Six villages on four of its islands have been relocated, as rising sea levels have turned water supplies so salty that they are undrinkable. Cyclones and warmer ocean waters have destroyed coral reefs.
United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, said the move “would assist the General Assembly, the UN, and member states to take the bolder and stronger climate action that our world so desperately needs.” The petition to the court asks it to render an opinion on whether governments have “legal obligations” to protect people from climate hazards and, more importantly, whether failure to meet those obligations could bring “legal consequences.
We know the six members of the conservative super-majority on the Supreme Court have all been pampered and promoted by fossil fuel interests. Despite their heartfelt protestations during their various confirmation hearings that they would adhere to the law and respect precedents set over the decades, once they are anointed, they can do whatever they choose and it is more than likely they will choose to protect the interests of their benefactors who put them on the Court in the first place.