Dr Samvel Varvastian

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

Research interests

I work on human rights, environmental protection, and public health. I have published on a range of topics, including:

• climate change
• plastic pollution
• air pollution
• biodiversity loss
• emerging medical technologies
• tobacco products
• food supplements

I currently focus on human rights approaches to the triple planetary crisis (climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss) and have recently published 'Human Rights Approaches to Planetary Crises: From Climate Change to Plastic Pollution'. By focusing on climate change and plastic pollution as case studies, this book identifies the opportunities for and challenges to the application of human rights mechanisms in regulatory areas that play the key role in the legal response to the triple planetary crisis. Exploring over 20 years of legislation and litigation, this book brings together a wide range of experiences and practices from dozens of jurisdictions around the world.

Significance and impact

I have advised international organisations and agencies, including the UN Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council and the UN Environment Programme. I have also advised various environmental and human rights non-governmental organisations such as ClientEarth, Corporate Justice Coalition, Global Legal Action Network, Greenpeace, and others. I am an active member of the Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, a body of over 300 experts from 50 countries who contribute to international negotiations on the first legally binding international instrument to end plastic pollution by informing governments and other stakeholders involved in these negotiations.

My work has been cited by legislative, executive, and judicial bodies around the world:

• My article on the regulatory measures and court practices on plastic pollution was cited by the Supreme Court of Mexico in a case concerning the constitutionality of the prohibition on the sale and distribution of virgin plastic bags 
  
• My article on the EU air quality policy was cited by the Parliament of Ireland Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
• My article on the EU regulation of sports nutrition was cited by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Colombia

My work has also been cited in reports presented to intergovernmental organisations and national policymakers. For example, my article on the regulation of mitochondrial donation was cited in reports presented to the Committee on Bioethics of the Council of Europe and the Parliament of Australia Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs.

Research engagement

I regularly present my research to various academic and non-academic communities, including lawyers, environmental scientists, and health professionals at national and international conferences in the UK and abroad. I also communicate my work to the wider public via social media and The Conversation.

Selected publications

• S Varvastian, Human Rights Approaches to Planetary Crises: From Climate Change to Plastic Pollution (Routledge, 2024), https://www.routledge.com/Human-Rights-Approaches-to-Planetary-Crises-From-Climate-Change-to-Plastic-Pollution/Varvastian/p/book/9781032565668 
• S Varvastian, 'Protecting Biodiversity with the Right to a Healthy Environment: Lessons from Climate Change Litigation' in P McCormack and R Caddell (eds), Research Handbook on Climate Change and Biodiversity Law (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024) 372-391, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800370296.00026
• S Varvastian, 'The Role of Courts in Plastic Pollution Governance' (2023) 72(3) International & Comparative Law Quarterly 635-669, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020589323000179
• S Varvastian, 'The Advent of International Human Rights Law in Climate Change Litigation' (2021) 38(2) Wisconsin International Law Journal 369-425, https://wilj.law.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1270/2021/06/38.2_369-425Varvastian.pdf
• S Varvastian and F Kalunga, 'Transnational Corporate Liability for Environmental Damage and Climate Change: Reassessing Access to Justice after Vedanta v. Lungowe' (2020) 9(2) Transnational Environmental Law 323-345, https://doi.org/10.1017/S2047102520000138
• S Varvastian, 'The Revised EU Air Quality Policy and Public Health', in Stefania Negri (ed), Environmental Health in International and EU Law: Current Challenges and Legal Responses (Routledge, 2019) 83-96, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429354694
• S Varvastian, 'The Human Right to a Clean and Healthy Environment in Climate Change Litigation' (2019) Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law & International Law (MPIL) Research Paper (19-09), https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3369481
• S Varvastian, 'A Natural Resource Beyond the Sky: Invoking the Public Trust Doctrine to Protect the Atmosphere from Greenhouse Gas Emissions', in Helle Tegner Anker and Birgitte Egelund Olsen (eds), Sustainable Management of Natural Resources: Legal Instruments and Approaches (Intersentia, 2018) 121-135, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781780687834
• S Varvastian, 'Climate Change and the Constitutional Obligation to Protect Natural Resources: The Pennsylvania Atmospheric Trust Litigation' (2017) 7(2-3) Climate Law 209-226, https://doi.org/10.1163/18786561-00702006
• S Varvastian, 'Promoting Human Health and the Functioning of the Internal Market: The Reaffirmation of the Tobacco Products Directive’s Key Objectives in Poland v Parliament and Council, Pillbox 38 and Philip Morris Brands and Others' (2017) 23(2) European Public Law 271-283, https://doi.org/10.54648/euro2017017
• S Varvastian, 'Access to Justice in Climate Change Litigation from a Transnational Perspective: Private Party Standing in Recent Climate Cases', in Jerzy Jendrośka and Magdalena Bar (eds), Procedural Environmental Rights: Principle X of the Rio Declaration in Theory and Practice (Intersentia, 2017) 481-502, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781780686998
• S Varvastian, 'UK's Legalisation of Mitochondrial Donation in IVF Treatment: A Challenge to the International Community or a Promotion of Life-Saving Medical Innovation to Be Followed by Others?” (2015) 22(5) European Journal of Health Law 405-425, https://doi.org/10.1163/15718093-12341366
• S Varvastian, 'A Review of EU Regulation of Sports Nutrition: Same Game, Different Rules' (2015) 16(5) German Law Journal 1293-1315, https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200021131
• S Varvastian, 'Achieving the EU Air Policy Objectives in Due Time: A Reality or a Hoax?' (2015) 24(1) European Energy and Environmental Law Review 2-11, https://doi.org/10.54648/eelr2015001

Teaching

I teach the following modules:

• Comparative Law (undergraduate)

I am the co-convenor of the Comparative Law module, which introduces students to the benefits and the challenges of comparison in legal studies. This module examines the major world legal traditions and the interactions between them and also the key areas of comparative law such as comparative constitutional law, comparative contract law, and comparative criminal process.

• Public Law (undergraduate)

This module introduces students to the fundamental principles of the constitution (such as the rule of law, separation of powers, and parliamentary sovereignty), the principal institutions of government, and the relationships between them, judicial review of government decisions, and the rights of individuals.

• Tort (undergraduate)

I am the co-leader of the Tort module. The law of tort encompasses a number of civil wrongs (other than a breach of contract) for which the law allows a remedy. It allows those who have been injured to recover compensation. This module examines the principles, values and rules governing tortious liability and compensation.

• Human Rights and Global Justice (postgraduate)

This module examines relationships between human rights and issues of contemporary global justice. The module draws on a range of diverse sources, in order to highlight systemic patterns of justice and injustice in the global age, and the role of human rights in these patterns.

Biography

I was appointed as a Lecturer in Law at Cardiff School of Law and Politics in 2021. I first joined the School in 2018 as a PhD researcher after securing the School of Law and Politics doctoral scholarship. I completed my PhD in 2022. My PhD thesis explored the use of human rights claims in climate change litigation.

Honours and awards

Teaching qualifications

• 2023 Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• 2021 Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)

Research awards

• 2024 Modern Law Review seminar presentation grant
• 2023 Journal of Human Rights and the Environment symposium organisation grant
• 2020 University of Wisconsin-Madison conference presentation grant
• 2020 University of Pennsylvania and International Association of Bioethics conference presentation grant
• 2018 - 2022 Cardiff University School of Law and Politics PhD scholarship award
• 2018 Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and Internationa Law conference presentation grant
• 2018 University of Groningen and Catholic University of Leuven conference presentation grant
• 2016 University of Edinburgh and International Association of Bioethics conference presentation grant

Professional memberships

I am a member of several prominent international bodies of experts that provide specialised knowledge and assistance to governments and non-governmental organisations, strengthening the legal foundations of environmental protection, public health, human rights and sustainable development:

• Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty
• Open Council of Europe Academic Networks
• World Commission on Environmental Law
• International Association of Bioethics
• European Society of International Law
• British Ecological Society
• European Environmental Law Forum
• European Scientific Network on Law and Tobacco
• Royal Geographical Society Climate Change Research Group
• International Academic Association on Planning, Law, and Property Rights

Academic positions

• 2019 - 2021 Graduate Tutor, Cardiff University School of Law and Politics
• 2018 - 2019 Widening participation and outreach tutor, Cardiff University

Speaking engagements

2025

23 January: 'Human Rights Approaches to Planetary Crises: From Climate Change to Plastic Pollution', Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy, and Natural Resource Governance (CEENRG) seminar, University of Cambridge

2024

4 December: 'The Contribution of the BBNJ Agreement to Tackling the Triple Planetary Crisis', Modern Law Review Seminar 'Multilateralism and the making of international law: Marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction', University of Essex

27 November: 'Human Rights Approaches to Planetary Crises' research seminar, University of Warwick 

21 November: 'Human Rights in the Age of the Triple Planetary Crisis', Protection of Traditional Communities in the Amazon workshop, Federal University of Maranhão and Ulster University

7 November: 'Human Rights in Environmental Impact Assessment', Critical Minerals, Regulatory Frameworks and Geopolitics workshop, University of Calgary

13 September: 'Studying and Teaching Foreign Law in the Age of Grand Challenges', Cardiff University Learning and Teaching Conference 2024 'How Can We Ensure Our Learning and Teaching Will Deliver a Better World for Future Generations?', Cardiff University

8 May: 'Legal Transplants and Global Challenges', School of Law and Politics annual conference, Cardiff University

18 April 'Linking Climate Change and Plastic Pollution from a Human Rights Perspective', roundtable event - Unveiling the Power of Climate Change Litigation: Global Climate Justice from a Latin American and Caribbean Perspective, University of the West of England

22 March: 'The Role of Courts in Plastic Pollution Governance', Plastics Governance: Emerging Trends Multi-Disciplinary Workshop, University of the West of England

2023

6 December: 'The Policy Impacts of Research on Plastic Pollution', Interdisciplinary Plastics Marketplace, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University

22-23 June: 'Introduction to the Journal of Human Rights and the Environment', Journal of Human Rights and the Environment Symposium, Cardiff University

14 June: 'The Role of Courts in Plastic Pollution Governance’, Plastics for Future Generations Conference, Cardiff University

2022

19 October: ‘Environmental Crisis and Responsibility in the Anthropocene’, Václav Havel European Dialogues: Peace and Democracy in Crisis, Cardiff University

2021

28 June-2 July: ‘Constitutional Rights-based Climate Cases in the United States: What Future After 10 Years of Litigation?’, 18th Annual Colloquium of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law – The Future of Environmental Law: Ambition and Reality, University of Groningen

20-21 May: ‘Constitutional Rights Claims in Climate Change Litigation’, Columbia University Sabin Center for Climate Change Law 9th Annual Colloquium on Innovative Environmental Law Scholarship, Columbia Law School

2020

29 October: ‘Climate Change Litigation as a Means for Addressing Local Environmental Harms’, Center for Global Governance and Emerging Law roundtable Futures Roundtable Discussion on Oil Spills and Island States, Albany Law School

2-3 September: ‘Holding Fossil Fuel Companies Accountable for Climate Change’, Centre for Law, Regulation and Governance of the Global Economy conference Disruption, Decarbonization, Reparations, University of Warwick Law School

15 August: ‘The Advent of International Human Rights Law in Climate Change Litigation’, Wisconsin International Law Scholars Conference – Limits and Potential of Human Rights in Pursuit of Climate Justice, Wisconsin Law School

1 May: ‘Judicial Approaches to Health-related Rights-based Claims in Climate Change Litigation’, University of Essex School of Law Human Rights Centre workshop Human Rights and Climate Change: From Conceptual to Practical Perspectives, University of Essex

21 February: ‘Intergenerational Climate Justice in Litigation before the US, the Canadian and the Swiss Courts’, King’s College London–University College London 5th Environmental Law Symposium, University College London

2019

4 November: ‘What does the People’s Climate Case (T-330/18 Carvalho, 8th May 2019) tell us about the protection of fundamental rights before the EU courts?’, UACES Research Network on the Effective Enforcement of EU Law and Policy and the Centre for European Law and Governance workshop – The Enforcement of EU Law and Policy, Cardiff University

16-17 September: ‘The Climate Necessity Defence and Judicial Opinions on Climate Change’, British Environmental Psychology Society Annual Conference The Future & How We Shape It, Cardiff University

11-12 September: ‘Climate Science in Courts: 30 Years of Experience’, UK Climate Impacts and Risk Assessment National Meeting, Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds

14 August: ‘The Potential of Citizen Science in US Climate Change Litigation’, British Ecological Society Conference Place-Based Citizen-Science for Wellbeing: Conceptual and practical understandings of ‘place’ for science and society, Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University

21 June: ‘Vedanta v. Lungowe: Strengthening Transnational Corporate Liability’, the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment – Climate Litigation Workshop, the London School of Economics and Political Science

2018

17-18 October: ‘Invoking the Right to a Clean and Healthy Environment in Climate Change Litigation: An International Perspective’, European Society of International Law Conference – Health and the Environment in International Law: Actors, Norms and Responsibilities, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law

12-14 September: ‘Internationalizing Climate Change Liability Litigation’, 6th Annual European Environmental Law Forum Conference Environmental Loss & Damage: Attribution, Liability, Compensation and Restoration, University of Insubria

4-6 July: ‘The Evolution of Climate Science and Extreme Event Attribution: Are We on the Verge of Major Breakthrough in Climate Change Liability?’, 2018 IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Colloquium – The Transformation of Environmental Law and Governance: Innovation, Risk and Resilience, University of Strathclyde

1 June: ‘Tobacco Liability as a Role Model? In Search for Improving Legal Pathways to Tackle Climate Change’, Law and Noncommunicable Diseases: The crosscutting role of law in NCD control and regulating risk factors, University of Groningen

2017

1 September: ‘The Developing Atmospheric Trust Litigation in the United States: Climate Change and the Constitutional Obligation to Protect Natural Resources’, 5th Annual European Environmental Law Forum Conference – Sustainable Management of Natural Resources – Legal Approaches & Instruments, University of Copenhagen

2016

14-16 September: ‘Access to Justice in Climate Change Litigation from Transnational Perspective: The Standing of Private Parties and NGOs in Recent Climate Cases’, 4th Annual European Environmental Law Forum Conference – Procedural Environmental Rights: Principle X in Theory and Practice, Wrocław University

14-17 June: ‘Setting Specific Marketing Requirements for Emerging Medicinal Products and Medical Devices Incorporating Nanomaterials: Promoting Patient Safety or Hindering Development and Trade?’, 13th World Congress of the International Association of Bioethics, University of Edinburgh

23-24 May: ‘Climate Change Litigation, Liability and Global Climate Governance – Can Judicial Policy-making Become a Game-changer?’, Berlin Conference on Global Environmental Change – Transformative Global Climate Governance après Paris, Free University of Berlin

Committees and reviewing

• International Studies Research Unit steering committee
• Cardiff Learning and Teaching Academy's Fellowships programme
• College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences research grant peer review committee
• School of Law and Politics research seminars' organisation committee
• School of Law and Politics PGR recruitment strategy committee

Supervisions

I welcome projects that focus on law and policy in an international and comparative context as well as projects that explore the relationships between law and life sciences. I am particularly interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:

• Human rights and the environment (environmental rights)
• International and comparative environmental law
• Environmental health law

Current supervision

Wael Mosa Alsolami