Introduction

The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals, vol. 22, pp. 229–233

Abstract

The International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court) has unmistakably opened its doors to public interest litigation, a term referring to litigation for the purpose of vindicating interests that are shared by the international community.Public interest litigants aim not to advance their own interests, but those of the public at large, including not only States, but also other actors, such as individuals at risk of genocide or harm related to climate change.The Court has definitively shifted away from its controversial decision in the 1966 South West Africa cases, in which it decided that international law does not recognize an "actio popularis, or right resident in any member of a community to take legal action in vindication of a public interest".1While the Court signaled a retreat from this stance just a few years after South West Africa, in the Barcelona Traction case of 1970, litigants before the ICJ did not sufficiently test the extent of this retreat until decades later.2Recent cases have clarified that this legal shift is complete.

Authors 1

1. Cecily Rose corresponding Aachen Associate Professor Leiden Law School Leiden The Netherlands

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Associate Professor, Leiden Law School Leiden The Netherlands