A Milestone on Climate Change: Verein Klimaseniorinnen Schweiz and Others V Switzerland
A MILESTONE ON CLIMATE CHANGE: VEREIN KLIMASENIORINNEN SCHWEIZ AND OTHERS V SWITZERLAND
EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Climate change is a reality of our times, affecting the environment, the law, society, the economy and the way we analyse things. It’s the subject of lots of national and international lawsuits. The decisions made in these cases will probably set a precedent for future legal disputes. International organisations, high courts and non-governmental organisations are all focusing on climate change.
The climate crisis is having a big impact on the world, especially on human health and communities. The United Nations' Sustainable Development efforts also tackle the climate crisis in a number of ways, both directly and indirectly. The UN's main areas of focus on this issue are reducing emissions, adapting to climate impacts and financing the necessary adjustments. With climate change being included in international organisations and legislation, lots of new concepts have emerged in this field. It's also worth looking at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its implementation instruments, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. There are lots of ways to tackle the climate crisis, including sustainable development goals, global agreements, the transition to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and financial and investment solutions in this field.
Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland
KlimaSeniorinnen, an association of 2,500 Swiss women in their seventies, and other individual applicants brought the action. The women who brought the case said that they were affected by climate change, but also that they were particularly exposed to it because, due to their age, they were unable to leave their place of residence. They asked the relevant authorities to take the necessary steps to fix the problem. After trying to resolve the issue through the usual channels, the applicants filed an application to the European Court of Human Rights. While there’ve been previous cases like this that didn’t make it past the first stage, in this instance the European Court of Human Rights basically said that Switzerland had failed to honour its commitments to tackle climate change and cut carbon emissions. But tackling climate change is something that’s expected of all states that are signatories to the ECHR.
The case of Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland is a key precedent for anyone interested in the climate issue, as well as legal professionals, climate-related policies and those involved in similar legal disputes.
This case highlighted that while climate change is generally a global issue, individual states also have responsibilities in this regard. The case underlined the responsibility of States parties to the ECHR for the adverse effects of climate change under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to private and family life, Article 6, which guarantees the right to a fair trial, and Article 13, which guarantees the right to an effective remedy. The lawyer in the case described the decision as one of the most important recent legal developments on climate change.
Case Result
– In the case under consideration, the European Court of Human Rights initially evaluated the legal capacity of the parties involved and emphasized that all members of society are potentially susceptible to the adverse effects of climate change. Previously, the ECHR had declined to acknowledge associations as victims in such instances. However, it has since revised its legal stance on this matter.
– The European Court of Human Rights has determined that the right to life and associated vital factors of individuals as set forth in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) constitute a positive obligation for the protection of individuals by states.
– The ECHR has decided that the states contracting to the convention should respond to climate change and realize their requirements in this regard, and take the necessary legal regulations and actions.
– The report concluded that signatory states to the European Convention on Human Rights, including Switzerland, had failed to fulfill their obligations with regard to greenhouse gas emissions. These obligations included the establishment of national emission limits, the enactment of international legislation, the setting of targets, and the fulfillment of positive obligations.
– The Court, examined the obligation of the national courts to examine the case before it comprehensively in the context of the ‘right to a fair trial’ under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
– Finally, the decision stated that international law is in a position to engage domestic jurisdiction in the context of climate change.
References
– https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng/#{%22itemid%22:[%22002-14304%22]}
– https://climatepromise.undp.org/news-and-stories/climate-dictionary-everyday-guide-climate-change 2
– Burger, Michael and Gundlach, Justin, The Status of Climate Change Litigation: A Global Review (May 23, 2017). United Nations Environment Programme, May 2017; ISBN No: 978-92-807-3656-4 , Columbia Public Law Research Paper , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3364568
– UNICEF, The climate crisis is a child rights crisis, 2021
– VerfBlog, 2024/4/30, https://verfassungsblog.de/separation-of-powers-and-klimaseniorinnen/, DOI: 10.59704/3f49776eda0e8e72.
– M Burger, J Gundlach, A Kreilhuber, L Ognibene, A Kariukia and A Gachie, The Status of Climate Change Litigation: A Global Review (UNEP and Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University 2017), 8.
– https://www.mfa.gov.tr/bm-iklim-degisikligi-cerceve-sozlesmesi.tr.mfa
– https://iklim.gov.tr/bm-iklim-degisikligi-cerceve-sozlesmesi-i-33
– https://www.tihek.gov.tr/public/editor/uploads/1636372115.pdf
– https://en.klimaseniorinnen.ch/
– https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/what-is-climate-change/
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