In this informal roundtable discussion, Professor Patricia Wiater-Hellgardt, Chair Professor of Public Law, Public International Law and Human Rights at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and current Visiting Fellow in the Law School, will share her perspective on the roles of international adjudication in addressing climate change and related crises with colleagues.

Synopsis

Judicial Innovation in Times of Planetary Crisis: International Courts Between Resilience and Reconfiguration

International courts act not only as interpreters of law but as sites of legal innovation. By adapting doctrines, expanding standing, and reconceptualising rights, they address systemic harms. The ECtHR’s Klimaseniorinnen judgment demonstrates adjustment of standing doctrines to climate risks, while the Inter‑American Court’s engagement with environmental protection and Rights of Nature (RoN) reconceptualises the subjects of legal protection. Yet their capacity for innovation is constrained, as courts operate within methodical limits and depend on the cooperation and support of states. This presentation examines how international adjudication navigates resilience, resistance, and reconfiguration, while raising questions about the sources and boundaries of judicial legitimacy in addressing planetary-scale challenges.”

Speaker's biographical note

Patricia Wiater is Professor of Public Law, Public International Law and Human Rights at Friedrich‑Alexander‑Universität Erlangen‑Nürnberg (FAU) and Principal Investigator in the Cluster Transforming Human Rights. She directs the CHREN Human Rights Clinic and co‑coordinates the International Doctorate Programme on Business and Human Rights at FAU.

Her research spans public international law and human rights law. More recently, she has focused on the strategic and performative role of courts in addressing planetary crises, examining how judicial approaches to legal subjects, and the reconceptualisation of legal protections shape collective action, institutional authority, and societal responses to systemic environmental challenges.