기후변화 관련 국제해양법재판소 재판 동향 검토 - ITLOS 기후변화에 관한 권고적 의견 사건(사건번호 31)에 관한 평석 -

On May 21, 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delibered the advisory opinion on climate change. Through this advisory opinion, ITLOS once again confirms that ITLOS has the general jurisdiction of the advisory opinions of the full court on legal problems concerning the interpretation and application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). And on the substative matter, this advisory opinion showed that the UNCLOS could have normative and regulative competence on climate change issues, and in this regard, it presented the interpretative methodology of Part XII on the protection and preservation of the marine environment. This showed that the UNCLOS is a living treay and can maintain its normative effect following changing circumstances. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement explicitly state that responding to climate change is their object and purpose, but it is not well recognized the role of the ocean. Even the drafters of the UNCLOS did not recognize its importancd during draft. However, with the scienctific devleopment in the uderstanding of climate change mechanism, it is reported that the role of the ocean as the largest sink for greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide should not be ignored to respond climate change. With this understanding, it is important for the achievement of organized climage change response to make the UNCLOS normative effect in relation to climate change including global warming and to establish a proper legal nexus between these two normative systems. This ITLOS advisory opinion presented its legal opinion centered on the UNCLOS because the subject matter of advisory opinion is the interpreation and application of the UNCLOS. Together, this adviosory opinion, in addition to showing that the UNCLOS can provide normative responses to climate change by referring to the Paris Agreement, also showed that the two treaty systems can be interpreted and applied with a cooperative and coordinated measures, overcoming the problem of fragmentation of international law. As a legal contribution of it, this advisory opinion could serve as a commentary to present the detailed interpretation of Part XII of the UNCLOS, which enables the guideline for the next future case of the pollution of marine environmen as a precedent. Moreover, the normatively progressive interpretation of environmental protection maintained in this ITLOS advisory opinion is also expected to have a significant impact on the advisory opinion procedures of two future international courts related to climate change, namely the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice.