From the Classroom to the Courtroom: How Pacific Students changed International Law — and will Australia Follow?

From the Classroom to the Courtroom: How Pacific Students changed International Law — and will Australia Follow?

Genevieve Phillips | South Pacific Fellow Image sourced from Katrin Bolovtsova via PexelsIn 2019, a group of students at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva asked a bold question: could international law hold states accountable for climate change? Their campaign ultimately inspired Vanuatu to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Six years later, on 23 July 2025, the Court delivered its landmark ad…