Can we pay it out? Civilians and the compensation of cumulative war trauma in the aftermath of the international climate change litigation

Abstract

The legal appraisal of civilian mental harm amounting to trauma is something that has been discussed by international scholars when it comes to warfare and its aftermath, but no discussion has taken place on how such civilian war trauma can be compensated for. The question becomes even starker in cases of cumulative war trauma, where the trauma incurred appears as an externality of warfare and as a natural repercussion stemming from the latter. Along these lines and drawing from climate change litigation that has taken place before international courts and tribunals over the last few years, this article details how arguments derived from that litigation scheme can present prospects as well as limitations with regard to how cumulative war trauma, caused by States as well as by non-State actors, can be subject to compensation.