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Item Child and youth friendly justice for the climate crisis: relying on the UN convention on the rights of the child(Brill Academic Publishers, 2024) Daly, Aoife; Horizon 2020The climate crisis is a human rights crisis, and one of the worst affected groups is children and youth. This same group has been key to climate action in and outside of the courts. As well as engaging in numerous consultative fora such as cop, and in the introduction of a General Comment on the right of children to a healthy environment, they have gone on to become key litigators in climate cases/applications at both national and international level. These justice processes are, however, notoriously ill suited to the particular needs of children and youth. Child friendly justice is a concept which has been elaborated in recent years by the Council of Europe. Yet climate litigation is very different to the cases (e.g. in family law) in which children have traditionally been parties – amongst other things it can involve very public campaigns. This article considers child and youth friendly justice in the context of the climate crisis through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and through the concepts of access, participation, interests, and judgments.Item Climate action and the uncrc: a “postpaternalist” world where children claim their own rights(MDPI, 2024) Daly, Aoife; Maharjan, Nabin; Montesinos Calvo-Fernández, Esther; Muller, Liesl Heila; Murray, Emily Margaret; O’Sullivan, Alicia; Paz Landeira, Florencia; Reid, Katie; European Research Council; Horizon 2020In this paper, it is argued that we are in a ‘postpaternalist’ era for children’s rights, involving grassroots action from children (for the first time, on a global scale) rather than well-meaning adults ‘giving’ children their rights. Child/youth climate action has involved under-18s acting for the environment through grassroots protest, media work and lobbying. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has arguably to date been approached in a paternalist way, whereby children need adults to help them to access rights. Yet, child/youth climate advocates have taken their own action, and demand equality as they enter rights spaces. They are frequently working with adults as equals and allies in litigating climate cases, for example. It is argued that (although there are rights challenges in a postpaternalist time) these young rights leaders have transformed human rights for the better, and adults should facilitate their work in a way that is child- and youth-friendly.Item Sea-level rise and human mobility: The legal implications for Ireland’s foreign and domestic policies(Royal Irish Academy, 2024) Cubie, DugIn October 2023, the Irish government’s Report of the Inter-Departmental Group on National Coastal Change Management Strategy concluded it was inevitable that, as a result of rising sea levels, a managed retreat may in time be required along some parts of the Irish coastline. This stark warning highlights Ireland’s vulnerability as an island nation to global climate change and sea-level rise. While adaptive measures can be made to protect coastal communities, there is a need to undertake comprehensive planning to prepare for the foreseeable impacts of climate change. Ireland is not alone in facing such risks—over a third of states in the world are directly affected by sea-level rise. Such scenarios raise complicated legal questions, which prompted the UN International Law Commission (ILC) to commence analysis in 2018 of the legal implications of sea-level rise. This article starts by examining recent developments concerning the legal implications of climate change in general, before specifically analysing the ongoing work of the ILC on sea-level rise and human mobility. Drawing on international legal and policy frameworks, the article then considers Ireland’s obligations arising from sea-level rise and population displacement. In particular, it addresses a) Ireland’s foreign policy, including international development assistance and legal migration routes for persons fleeing the impacts of sea-level rise; and b) domestic policies relating to climate change adaptation and planning for internal climate displacement.Item The legacy of COVID-19 financial supports: (2) adapting to a life beyond the pandemic(Sweet & Maxwell, 2024) McCarthy, JonathanThis, the second part of a two-part article on public support to businesses, examines whether EU Member States should continue to support businesses after the COVID-19 pandemic, but reformulate the aid to promote sustainability and digitalisation.Item Sources of international disaster law: Focus on case law (2021)(Brill, 2023-04-13) Cubie, DugAs reported in last year’s volume of this Yearbook, in 2020 the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) launched a new IDL Database, which is a repository of a wide range of IDL texts covering international conventions, domestic legislation, academic and practitioner reports, as well as summaries of relevant judicial decisions which examine aspects of the intersection between law and disasters. Considering the increasing number of judicial cases which touch on the legal implications of disasters, this IDL in Practice section of the Yearbook will highlight a selection of relevant case law, decided during 2021, from a variety of jurisdictions. Understanding developments in domestic legal practice is important since courts and judges are increasingly exploring the modes of liability and legal consequences (both civil and criminal) arising from natural hazards and human-made disasters. Such decisions can supplement national disaster or emergency management legislation, and may also engage with regional or global IDL texts, as well as provide an insight into relevant State practice and interpretation of terms and concepts in the context of disasters. This is to be welcomed, as such judicial scrutiny will help to clarify and formalise the rights, responsibilities and obligations which arise in disasters. One can also hope that, as seen with the seminal European Court of Human Rights cases of Öneryildiz and Budayeva, national courts will highlight the importance of risk reduction and prevention measures to prompt responsible actors to take proactive measures in advance, rather than disputing liability after an event has taken place.