INTRODUCTION

People v. Arctic Oil is a full-bench judgment and decision delivered by the Norwegian Supreme Court in December 2020.It was a case where Greenpeace and Nature & Youth (joined by Grandparents’ Climate Movement and Friends of the Earth Norway as interveners) filed an application to quash licences issued by the Norwegian government for petroleum exploration in the Barents Sea during the 23rd Licensing Round (Licensing Decision). The case began its trajectory before the Oslo District Court with a fair bit of publicity – there was an ice sculpture with a ‘112’ inscription found outside the courthouse,signifying Article 112 of the Norwegian Constitution on the right to a healthy environment. Thus, the case was framed by the petitioners as a climate rights case where both rights under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) as well as constitutional rights were in play. The case then went up to the BorgartingCourt of Appeal, and finally to the Supreme Court. The case was decided in favour of the government at all three stages. Aggrieved by the decision, young Norwegians have filed an application before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on a similar cause of action, focusing on Article 2 (right to life) and Article 8 (right to private family life) of the ECHR.