Milbank LLP International Arbitration partner Viren Mascarenhas spoke on the Jus Cogens: The International Law Podcast regarding the climate change advisory opinion pending before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). The oral hearings are scheduled to open on Monday, September 11, 2023.
During the episode, Mr. Mascarenhas and host Mr. Shayan Ahmed Khan have an in-depth discussion on the proceedings as well as the pending advisory opinions before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. They discuss the amicus brief filed by Milbank and co-counsel the Vance Center for International Justice on behalf of the UN Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights & Climate Change (Ian Fry), Toxics & Human Rights (Marcos Orellana), and Human Rights & the Environment (David Boyd).
Mr. Mascarenhas has significant experience advising or representing states and international organizations in proceedings before international courts and arbitral tribunals. He served as a law clerk for H.E. Rosalyn Higgins, President, at the International Court of Justice and also was a Legal Officer at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. His practice includes representing states in several investment arbitrations, representing state-owned entities in commercial arbitrations, and advising states and international organizations on issues of treaty negotiations and interpretation, maritime and territorial boundary disputes, international environmental law and transboundary harm, and human rights.
