Patricio Cury Pastene
This article examines the implications for Private International Law (PIL) arising from the growth of transnational climate litigation, understood as a response to the environmental crisis and the expansion of global supply chains. It argues that PIL, traditionally oriented toward resolving conflicts of jurisdiction, applicable law, and the recognition and enforcement of judgments, now confronts structural challenges, including regulatory fragmentation among States, asymmetries of power between corporations and affected communities, and the strategic use of fora to evade responsibility. The article analyses the tensions between the lex loci damni and the application of more demanding standards, particularly in light of emerging norms on environmental due diligence and human rights. Climate litigation is also characterised as a form of strategic litigation with regulatory effects, capable of generating precedents, social mobilisation, and public debate, yet constrained by the conflict-neutral character of PIL and by barriers to access to justice. Finally, the article considers possible fora—including the domicile of the parent company and special statutory regimes—and argues for a reorientation of PIL toward the objectives of sustainability, prevention, and effective redress.