Jurisdiction and Applicable Law (Jurisdiction Ratione Materiae)

This chapter will address questions of jurisdictionJurisdiction and applicable lawApplicable law, and how international courts and tribunals have considered these issues in disputes concerning the environment. First, it will establish the distinction between the jurisdiction of a court or tribunal to deal with a particular dispute and the applicable lawApplicable law it may use in doing so. The chapter then delves into the jurisdictionJurisdiction granted to different fora, more specifically arbitral tribunalsArbitral tribunals, the ICJ, ITLOS and the dispute settlement body of the WTO. It does so by taking into account different methods for granting jurisdictionJurisdiction to a court or tribunal as well as the jurisdiction clauses found in various constitutive instruments. It further considers the law that each judicial body may apply, and has chosen to apply, in settling disputes of environmental law presented to it. Finally, issues related to forum shoppingForum shopping and to the selection of the most appropriate body to deal with particular claims related to the protection of the environment are discussed.