MY Database

As the year draws to a close and we move into 2022, I would like to thank our readers for coming back to us time and again over the course of the year. I also wish you all a very Happy New Year. Below is a list of our most read posts of 2021. In 2020, the list of our most read posts was dominated by discussion of covid with two-third of the pieces in that list reflecting or commenting on legal aspects of the pandemic. For most of the world, and many of us individually, much of this year has continued to be dominated by, or at least affected by pandemic. Life is certainly, or at least not yet, back to normal, if it ever will get back to pre-covid normal! However, this year’s list of self employed database most read posts suggests that interest in legal aspects of covid has declined somewhat. Only three of our 20 most read posts are covid related, with only one of those written in 2021. Interest in covid seems to have been surpassed this year by that in another global threat – climate change! There are four posts in this year’s list list dealing with that topic. Interestingly, all four of those posts are about climate litigation, in the European Court of Human Rights and in the Dutch Supreme Court. Indeed, the list of the 21st to the 30th most read posts sees two further posts also about climate litigation- in the Irish and Dutch national courts. It would be interesting to speculate on what has prompted this increased interest. Thoughts in the comments box below please!

As usual, the list also includes commentary on judicial decisions from a range of international and national courts. However, the decisions that were the subject of comment were not always from this year with the top 6 posts including commentary on the ICJ’s Chagos Advisory Opinion of 2018 and the South China Sea Arbitration award of 2016.