Perspectives Contentieuses Internationales: Issue 5 – March 2026

The latest issue of the French journal dedicated to international dispute resolution, Perspectives Contentieuses internationales (PCI), has been released.

It is an open access publication and can be freely read here.

This new issue features a special dossier on the exploitation of natural resources in the context of the energy transition. Edited by Rebecca Legendre and Denys-Sacha Robin (Paris Nanterre University), it consists of nine contributions examining the subject from the perspectives of public and private international law.

Propos introductifs, by Rebecca Legendre and Denys-Sacha Robin

Les sources de la transition énergétique : quels défis pour le juge ?, by Kamalia Mehtiyeva

This article examines the sources of energy transition law through the lens of the normative challenges they raise, both in their formation and interpretation. It argues that the energy transition, understood as both a process and an objective, profoundly reshapes legal sources, leading to fragmentation, extensive reliance on soft law, and the pre-dominance of experimental and programmatic norms. In response to the shortcomings of these models, courts at national, supranational, and arbitral levels play a decisive role in enriching existing norms by transforming  climate  objectives  into  legally  enforceable  obligations.  The analysis highlights a dual dynamic: the erosion of norms incompatible  with  decarbonisation  goals,  and  the  normative  strengthening of public and private obligations through standards of coherence, due diligence, and responsibility. Climate litigation thus emerges as a key driver of both the effectiveness of the energy transition and the contemporary reconfiguration of legal sources

La souveraineté permanente des États sur leurs ressources naturelles à l’épreuve de la transition énergétique : un renouveau teinté d’incertitudes normatives et contentieuses, by Marie Lemey

The  principle  of  permanent  sovereignty  over  natural  resources,  enshrined by the UNGA in 1962, ensures that States retain control over  their  resources  while  requiring  that  this  control  serve  the  purposes of development and the well-being of their populations. The  concept  of  energy  transition  is  not  inherently  incompatible  with this principle, which was never intended to be absolute and is subject to limitations. While international environmental law only  modestly  regulates  resource  exploitation,  recent  jurisprudence has begun to outline constraints specifically targeting fossil fuels. Ultimately, the extent of restrictions on the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources largely depends on the ideological framework applied to the notion of energy transition, whether conceived for ecological or economic objectives.

Conflit de logiques au forum mondial ? L’arbitre comme juge global des ressources naturelles, by Lilian Larribère

Faced  with  environmental  issues  experienced  on  a  global  scale,  arbitration  seeks  to  present  itself  as  a  suitable  method  for  resolving disputes arising in this context, particularly due to its trans-national  dimension.  The  arbitrator  could  appear,  indeed,  as  the  global  adjudicator  of  natural  resources  disputes.  However, natural  resources  litigation  has  its  own  distinct  characteristics:  it  must be transparent, open to third parties wishing to assert their interests, resolved by specialists. One of its main characteristics is the proliferation of mandatory rules. Conversely, arbitration presents  itself  as  confidential,  based  on  a  singular  contract  (or  dispute), and characterized by the arbitrator’s specific approach in applying legal rules. There thus appears to be a clash of foundational logics between these two branches of law. This conflict has been partially resolved through spontaneous or directed adaptation of international arbitration law.

Le droit et le contentieux de l’OMC en faveur de l’exploitation des communs planétaires : réflexions sur une incohérence structurelle, by Joseph Reeves

This article argues that the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO) does not merely suffer from an environmental gap: its normative  architecture  actively  contributes  to  the  acceleration  of  ecological  entropy.  An  analysis  of  the  rules  governing  tariff  predictability, the principle of non-discrimination, and the doctrine of  “like  products”  shows  that  the  trading  system  treats  natural  resources — including global commons such as carbon sinks — as simple commodities. By refusing to distinguish products according to their processes and production methods, WTO law legally neutralizes the ecological value of ecosystems and limits the ability of States to orient trade toward conservation objectives. The study of recent dispute settlement thus reveals a form of State sovereignty disciplined by the imperatives of international competition.

La juridictionnalisation des relations entre les entreprises minières et les communautés locales, by Sandrine Clavel

The  article  analyses,  from  a  largely  forward-looking  perspective,  the private law litigation avenues that local communities could pursue against mining companies for the nuisance and damage they suffer as a result of mining projects. It first considers contractual  litigation,  which  may  be  initiated  either  as  a  result  of  the  conclusion of a contract—such as a benefit sharing agreement—between  a  mining  company  and  a  local  community,  or  on  the  basis  of  tacit  contractual  relations  arising  from  the  doctrine  of  third party beneficiary or inferred from a social license to operate. Secondly,  it  addresses  tort  litigation,  which  may  be  based  on  a  violation  of  the  rights  of  local  communities  by  the  mining  company, but also, from now on, on the company’s failure to fulfil its duty of care.

La protection des forêts tropicales pour le climat et l’encadrement de ses effets pervers, des négociations au contentieux, par Julien Dellaux

Forest resources are at the heart of energy transition issues. Their protection,  although  essential  to  preserving  the  global  climate  and biodiversity, is often compromised by economic development needs  and  strategies  aimed  at  ensuring  countries’  energy  independence.  The  diversity  of  these  interests  has  historically  pre-vented  the  adoption  of  an  international  convention  on  forestry,  leaving room for a disparate regime that is unable to respond to these challenges. Over the past two decades, efforts to protect tropical  forests  have  focused  on  a  mechanism  for  avoiding  deforestation  (REDD+),  adopted  within  the  Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change.  Negotiated  within  this  specific  framework,  the  potential positive and negative effects associated with its implementation are numerous and raise questions about the ability of a fragmented international regime to manage such antagonisms. This  contribution  reveals  that  these  antagonisms  could  not  be  regulated within the framework of the convention without risking compromising  the  reach  of  a  consensus,  but  that  they  are  gradually being regulated at the implementation stage within other normative spaces.

L’exemple de l’AIFM : un modèle de gouvernance multilatérale dans l’hypothèse d’une exploitation des grands fonds marins ?, by Niki Aloupi

The ISA is an unprecedented and exceptional example of multilateral governance for the current exploration and potential future exploitation of the Deep Seabed Area. Its Council and one of its subsidiary bodies, the LTC, perform control, monitoring, surveillance, and compliance functions.  With  regard  to  the  legal  regime  and  framework,  despite the fact that the Mining Code has not yet been adopted, there is  hardly  a  legal  vacuum,  but  rather  a  genuine  body  of  standards  and  soft  law,  consisting  of  UNCLOS  and  the  1994  Agreement,  but  also of the exploration regulations and all related documents applicable by analogy. That said, it is the Mining Code that will establish the  essential  legal  framework,  which  is  why  the  Council  insists  so  strongly on the need not to begin mining operations before the regulations governing them have been adopted. This system of multilateral governance is currently being strongly challenged by American unilateralism, in a particularly tense political and diplomatic context.

Directive vigilance et droit international privé : vers une exploitation des ressources naturelles plus responsable ?, by Marie Nioche

The Directive on due diligence obliges companies to prevent the risks arising  from  the  exploitation  of  natural  resources  and  to  impose,  notably via  contracts,  due  diligence  obligations  throughout  their  chains of activity. Public and private enforcement mechanisms have been put in place. International contracts and private international litigation — judicial and arbitral — are thus becoming tools for regulating transnational value chains. However, private international law — and arbitration practice — must evolve to adapt to this mutation. Otherwise, the effectiveness of the Directive on due diligence will not be guaranteed, particularly with regard to non-European companies.

La responsabilité internationale des États dans le cadre de l’exploitation des ressources naturelles, by Sarah Cassella

The  energy  transition  is  likely  to  increase  environmental  risks  linked  to  the  exploitation  of  natural  resources,  through  spatial,  temporal  and  sectoral  “problem  shifting”.  State  international  responsibility  may  thus  be  engaged  not  only  for  actual  damage,  but  also  in  the  presence  of  risk,  via  the  broadening  of  vigilance  and  prevention  obligations  grounded  in  the  common  interest  of  humankind, in due diligence and in the precautionary principle. Climate  litigation  illustrates  this  development  by  accepting  probable causation and taking into account global damage, and by relying  on  conservatory  measures  and  guarantees  of  non-repetition to anticipate serious or irreversible harm