Climate Change

Climate change poses an existential threat to humanity, and Pacific Island communities are on the frontlines of the crisis. Every fundamental right will be affected by climate change, and thus climate justice has become a cornerstone of our practice. We have seen firsthand the devastation wrought by increasingly severe cyclones and typhoons from Vanuatu to the Marianas; we have watched King tides wash out the homes of friends and family in the Marshall Islands; we have witnessed the beginnings of climate exodus—from the relocation of the Carteret Islanders of Papua New Guinea to entire villages in Fiji. Our team advises Pacific Islands and the global entities who service them on legal strategies that can be brought to bear on the climate crisis.

Despite its status as an exalted norm of international law, self-determination has yet to be fully and finally realized in the Pacific. More than a third of the 17 non-self-governing territories recognized by the United Nations are located in Oceania. The continued denial of the right to determine our political destiny and economic development has greatly hindered the growth and well-being of many of our communities. Blue Ocean Law addresses this issue head on, through a combination of domestic and international legal strategies and advocacy at all levels.

Militarization persists in the Pacific, with military installments and activities expanding across the region. Meanwhile, virtually nothing has been done to address the legacies of nuclear testing and other destructive activities of world powers, who converted our ancestral homelands into dumping grounds and visited untold violence on our communities. We envision a demilitarized future for the region whose security rests not on foreign military bases but on strong and independent local economies centered around traditional cultures and environmental sustainability. We assist our clients by pursuing a range of remedial measures and developing legal strategies to arrest the spread of militarization in the region.

Indigenous rights is one of the fastest growing areas of international law. Our team has been at the forefront of the development of indigenous norms, pushing for the formal recognition of the right to free, prior, and informed consent, along with other core prescriptions of the Indigenous rights regime. From publishing path-breaking legal scholarship to critiquing problematic legislative and regulatory frameworks (and developing alternatives), we have worked on multiple fronts to advance the rights of Pacific peoples. We are well situated to advocate for the recognition of the region’s many Indigenous peoples and the protection of their traditional lands, territories and resources.

Resource governance is a hugely important issue in the Pacific, as small island states work to effectively regulate their fisheries, minerals, renewables and other resources. Our approach to resource governance begins with the welfare of local communities, and focuses on the prospects of long-term sustainability, multilateral cooperation and mutual benefit. We are able to leverage considerable comparative knowledge of other country experiences and institutions like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and assist states with their obligations and commitments not only to human rights and environmental protection but also to principles of transparency, accountability and civic engagement.