From a classroom in Vanuatu to the world’s highest court: How Pacific students changed international law in six years

From a classroom in Vanuatu to the world’s highest court: How Pacific students changed international law in six years

Six years ago, a group of 27 University of the South Pacific law students in Vanuatu asked what many believed was an impossible question. Could some of the world’s smallest island nations persuade the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to clarify what international law requires countries to do about climate change? On 23 July 2025, the world’s highest court answered them unanimously. The campaign, launched by Pacific Islands Students Fighting …