Climate Justice: The landmark ruling by ECHR and its implications  

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What can a group of 70-year-old women do to combat climate change? The answer to this question was given by the European Court of Human Rights yesterday (April 9th, 2024) when it made a landmark judgement in the case filed against the Government of Switzerland by KlimaSeniorinnen, a group of elderly Swiss women. The court ruled that by failing to take adequate measures to combat climate change, the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens.   

Members of KlimaSeniorinnen. Courtesy: Greenpeace.  

Who are the KlimaSeniorinnen?

“Some of us are just made that way. We are not meant to sit in a rocking chair and knit.” This was the response given by one of the members of KlimaSeniorinnen to BBC when asked about their dedication to the case. This one sentence shows the resilience and commitment of KlimaSeniorinnen also known as Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland, to climate change. Eight years ago, when the group first started, it had just 40 members, now they have over 2000 members aged between 64-75 years. As older women, they are particularly affected by adverse changes in the climate. More frequent and more severe heatwaves, for instance, can put their lives at risk. This is the very reason why the group decided to seek legal aid, to protect their right to life. 

The legal journey

KlimaSeniorinnen first approached the Federal Council, the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication, the Federal Office of Environment, and the Federal Office of Energy in Switzerland with a legal request in November 2016. The request was dismissed in April 2017. This decision was appealed at the Federal Administrative Court in May 2017. The court dismissed the appeal in December 2018. The group then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court in 2019 which was again dismissed in May 2020. 

 

After exhausting all legal remedies in Switzerland, KlimaSeniorinnen took the Government of Switzerland to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The application submitted to ECHR in December 2020 cited three main grievances: 

  1. Under Articles 2 and 8 of the ECHR, inadequate climate policies of the Swiss Government violate the women’s right to life and health.   
  2. By rejecting their application on arbitrary grounds, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court violated their right to a fair trial under Article 6.   
  3. By not dealing with the content of their complaints, the Swiss authorities and courts violated their right to an effective remedy under Article 13.    

The case was given priority status by the ECHR which called on the Swiss Government to submit a response by July 2021. The European Network of National Human Rights Institutions submitted a third-party intervention in the case. In April 2022 it was decided that the case would be examined by the Grand Chamber of the ECHR. 

Members of KlimaSeniorinnen talking to the media outside the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg after the judgement. Courtesy: Christian Hartmann/Reuters.  

The Historic Ruling

On April 9, 2024, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of KlimaSeniorinnen. The court found that the Government of Switzerland had violated Article 8 on the right to respect for private and family life by failing to take sufficient measures to combat climate change and meet its own emission reduction targets. The Swiss Federal Office of Justice noted that the judgement will be analysed, and future measures will be reviewed. However, the Swiss People’s Party, the largest political party in Switzerland, condemned the ruling and threatened to leave the Council of Europe, whereas the Socialist Party welcomed the court’s decision.    

Two other prominent cases brought before the ECHR were dismissed. The case filed against 32 European states by six Portuguese youths was dismissed on formal grounds because they had not exhausted the legal avenues in their home country. The third case brought by French MEP Damien Carême while he was the mayor of Grand-Synthe, a coastal town in France threatened by the risk of flooding, was dismissed because he does not live there anymore. The decisions cannot be appealed.

What next?

This is the first-of-its-kind ruling by a top European Court on climate inaction. Six other climate cases are pending at the ECHR. Climate litigations based on human rights are currently ongoing in several countries including Australia, Peru, Brazil, and South Korea. Therefore, the ruling in the Swiss case is expected to serve as a blueprint for similar cases. It is also anticipated that the ruling will have implications in climate-related policy and legislation across Europe.   

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