Tom Sparks
@TomSparks_Law
About/Bio
Dr Tom Sparks Tom Sparks is a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg. In 2020/21 he was a Judicial Fellow of the International Court of Justice, in the team of Judge Peter Tomka. He completed his PhD at Durham University in 2018.
Recently Published
World Lawyers’ Pledge on Climate Action: An Urgent Call for Climate Mainstreaming
The world is facing climate emergency, one of a series of overlapping and mutually reinforcing environmental crises. In 2017, more than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries signed the World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity, urging the world to take immediate action against the current trajectory of catastrophic climate change. We, as concerned lawyers, have heard the world…
The Elephant in the (Court)Room: Interdependence of Human and Animal Rights in the Anthropocene
On 21 May 2020, the Islamabad High Court issued a remarkable judgment in the case of Kaavan the elephant (among other “inmates” [8] of the Marghazar Zoo), affirming “without any hesitation” that “animals have legal rights” [59]. Chief Justice Athar Minallah held that the “pain and suffering of Kaavan must come to an end”, and ordered his…
Popular articles by Tom Sparks
The Elephant in the (Court)Room: Interdependence of Human and Animal Rights in the Anthropocene
On 21 May 2020, the Islamabad High Court issued a remarkable judgment in the case of Kaavan the elephant (among other “inmates” [8] of the Marghazar Zoo), affirming “without any hesitation” that “animals have legal rights” [59]. Chief Justice Athar Minallah held that the “pain and suffering of Kaavan must come to an end”, and ordered his…
World Lawyers’ Pledge on Climate Action: An Urgent Call for Climate Mainstreaming
The world is facing climate emergency, one of a series of overlapping and mutually reinforcing environmental crises. In 2017, more than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries signed the World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity, urging the world to take immediate action against the current trajectory of catastrophic climate change. We, as concerned lawyers, have heard the world…