Monica Feria-Tinta is a barrister at the Bar of England & Wales, practising from Twenty Essex Chambers in London.  She is a leading specialist advocate on public international law with over 20 years’ experience in international litigation (both regionally and in world litigation) and a thought-leader in climate change justice.    Monica is an expert in litigation before international courts and tribunals.  She has litigated landmark cases as lead counsel.  She has also appeared/intervened in climate change-related cases before the Constitutional/Supreme Courts of Colombia, Ecuador (in the first ‘Rights of Nature’ case), and Mexico; most recently in a case of global biodiversity importance – the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, La Linea Negra case.   

Her practice on environmental/international law cases has dealt with sea-level rise issues, sinking islands, environmental degradation, oil spills, transboundary harm, climate change as a human rights issue, environmental harm of waterways, protection of rivers, biodiversity, phasing-out coal mining and the enforcement of the Paris Agreement before a variety of international courts and tribunals, including the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, International Court of Justice, Investment Arbitration, UN Special Procedures, OECD procedures, and English Courts. She is counsel in the first international case (Torres Strait Islanders v Australia) seeking remedies for climate change before the UN Human Rights Committee, in the Cerrejón case (coal mining litigation) before the UN Special Procedures, and in the Montara Oil Spill case, acting for 13 West Timor regencies.   Recently, she was invited to be a commentator on “Human Rights for the Planet”, at the European Court of Human Rights. 

“The Lawyer magazine” featured her recently as amongst “the most daring, innovative and creative lawyers” in the United Kingdom.  She is currently “Barrister of the Year” Finalist in the Lawyer Awards 2020 for her ground-breaking litigation work addressing climate change.  She is the author of a chapter on an upcoming publication on climate change litigation by the British Institute of International & Comparative Law and the author of recent environmental law articles in the Yearbook of International Environmental Law and the Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional.   Monica advises in English, Spanish and French.     

Prior to the Bar, she acquired curial experience working for International Tribunals advising on seminal cases on genocide and crimes against humanity.  Monica has also broad experience advising States in Diplomatic fora.  Her experience advising sovereign States includes having served as Assistant Legal Adviser to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.   Monica holds an LLM from the London School of Economics and The Diploma of the Hague Academy of International Law.  She has further trained in international law in Strasbourg,  Geneva,  and Hamburg. Monica is Partner Fellow at the LCIL (University of Cambridge), a member of IUCN, WCL and a UN Harmony with Nature expert.  In 2007 she was awarded the Gruber Justice Prize for her international litigation work.