CLAIM

Research project "Climate Litigation Actions by the Internationally Marginalised" (CLAIM)

The CLAIM research project (ARC, 2025-2030) is an interdisciplinary initiative that examines the role and practices of marginalized actors (i.e. small island states, indigenous communities, and citizens of countries referred to as "Global South") in international climate litigation. Three disciplines are engaged: law, political science, and information and communication studies, to move beyond a purely technical analysis of law and to consider power dynamics, discursive strategies, and interactions among various stakeholders that shape each stage of litigation.

An interdisciplinary initiative

Three disciplines are engaged: law, political science, and information and communication studies, to move beyond a purely technical analysis of law and to consider power dynamics, discursive strategies, and interactions among various stakeholders that shape each stage of litigation.

A multifaceted perspective

The CLAIM project aims to provide a multifaceted perspective on climate litigation by developing decolonial methodologies to interrogate the knowledge production stemming from the Global North universities and to draw upon the lived experiences of actors themselves. Thus, throughout the project, the focus will be on establishing processes of co-construction, humility, and respect with the involved stakeholders.

CLAIM Team

Principal and co- Investigators : 

• Prof. Sylvie Sarolea (UCLouvain, SSH, JUR-I, CEDIE – EDEM) 
• Prof. Amandine Orsini (UCLouvain-Saint-Louis Bruxelles, SSH/CReSPo) 
• Prof. Andrea Catellani (UCLouvain, SSH/ILC) 
• Prof. Sophie Del Fa (UCLouvain, SSH/ILC) 

Post-doctoral fellow : 

• Nina Bries Silva (UCLouvain, SSH, JUR-I, ORCID: 0000-0002-9887-1255) 

PhD candidates : 

• Begüm Acar (UCLouvain, SSH, JUR-I) 
• Florine Serrault (UCLouvain-Saint-Louis Bruxelles, SSH/CReSPo) 
• Luna Jalocha (UCLouvain, Mc Gill University, SSH, JURI-I) 
• Samaneh Koohestani (UCLouvain, SSH/ILC) 
• Gabriel Ajabu Mastaki (UCLouvain, SSH, JUR-I) 

Collaborators : 

• Zoé Briard (UCLouvain, Saint-Louis Bruxelles, SSH, JUR-I and CReSPo)
•  Marie Courtoy (UCLouvain, SSH, JUR-I) 
• Matthias Petel (ULB, REPI ; Harvard University) 

Graphic designer : 

• Juliette Ristovski