The intra- and intergenerational dimensions of the ICJ Advisory Opinion (AO) on climate change with Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh

In this episode, Simon Waswa sits down with Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, an Associate Professor of Sustainability Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Amsterdam, who was lead counsel for Vanuatu in the climate change advisory proceedings. Drawing on Margaretha’s wealth of experience and direct engagement in the efforts before and during the advisory proceedings, the conversation first retraces the events that led up to the AO.

Firstly, Margaretha unpacks how the AO addresses the intragenerational (in)equity questions that the climate crisis engenders. The discussion then segues into the intergenerational obligations of states as clarified by the AO and the associated implications for future generations. Tying both the intra- and inter-generational readings of the AO, Margaretha reflects on whether the AO, in any way, transformed the doctrine of state responsibility.

Finally, the discussion closes with some insights on the AO’s influence on legal and political developments around climate change litigation and policymaking in both domestic and international fora. It further takes stock of how the AO process demonstrated that international law can be mobilized by ordinary citizens to hold governments accountable for their contribution to the climate crisis.

References

UNGA Resolution A/RES/77/276

ICJ AO on climate change

Separate opinion of Judge Yusuf

Recommendation

Separate opinion of Judge Aurescu

UNGA Resolution A/RES/80/263

Julian Aguon, No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies (2022)

Dossier of the documents received by the ICJ from the UN Secretariat

About

Editing: Eliza Chiritoiu

Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit

Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, October 2026

The LitDem Project

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).

When David Sued Goliath – Saúl Luciano Lliuya v RWE | with Noah Walker-Crawford

For this episode, we are joined by Noah Walker-Crawford. Noah is a research fellow at the LSE Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment where he studies climate litigation as a social anthropologist, so in a different way than most of the guests we have heard from so far. He leads a project examining how climate change attribution science shapes litigation. Next to his affiliation with LSE, Noah is also affiliated with the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London.

What brings us together today, is Noah‘s recently published book “The Climate Trial” which provides an account of the case of Saúl Lliuya against German energy company RWE. Starting with the book, we speak about Lliuya v RWE. From there, we dive into Noah’s approach to studying and understanding climate litigation as a social anthropologist. And discuss his work on climate science and how that shaped Lliuya and possible future cases.

References

Noah Walker Crawford, The Climate Trial – Law and Justice on a Melting Planet (Duke University Press, 2026).

Saúl Lliuya v RWE

Pakistani Farmers Case

The Odette Case

Recommendations

Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (Harper & Row, 1974).

About

Editing: Eliza Chiritoiu

Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit

Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, September 2026

The LitDem Project

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).

In this episode we are joined by Professor Svenja Ahlhaus. Svenja Ahlhaus is junior professor of Political Theory at the University of Münster in Germany. Her research interests span from theories of political representation in ecological crises to the boundaries of political communities, migration, citizen- and membership, to questions of democracy and religion. In this episode we discuss some of Svenja’s recent and ongoing work on strategic litigation and its role in democracy; specifically whether there is such a thing as anti-democratic strategic litigation and how this concept relates to the context of strategic climate litigation.

Svenja explains some possible traits of strategic litigation that could mean that it actually undermines some core functioning of democracy. Through this conversation we gain insights on a more nuanced picture of strategic litigation. Which becomes only more important as strategic litigation becomes a more prevalent phenomenon and we are continuing to struggle with democratic backsliding. By understanding the risks it bears better, the conversation hopefully also inspires on how to address these challenges.

References

SLAPP of Energy Transfer against Greenpeace International (decision from North Dakota)

Greenpeace International fighting SLAPP under EU legislation

Recommendation

David Kirkpatrick, The Next Targets for the Group that Overturned Roe (October 2, 2023 in The New Yorker)

About

Editing: Simon Waswa

Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit

Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, June 2026

The LitDem Project

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).