Interlinkages between Human Rights, Climate Action and Due Diligence Obligations of States: Potential Impact on Business Oganizations

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its landmark Advisory Opinion of 23 July 2025, has established a clear connection between human rights, climate action and due diligence obligations of States under treaty and customary international law. The Court appears to have elevated the concept of due diligence from a relatively soft principle to a powerful standard, against which to assess compliance of international obligations by states. In their turn, States are likely to pass on these obligations to business organisations too through various human rights and environmental due diligence schemes. There are various reporting requirements of the European Union for business organisations through several schemes that already point to a move in this direction. Thus, the impact of this ICJ Advisory Opinion is not limited to States per se. It has the potential to require business organisations to adhere to an international human rights and environmental due diligence standard, against which their own policies and practices can be evaluated. The paper seeks to examine this perspective.