Climate seniors obtain key ruling in Strasbourg
Published: Tuesday, Apr 9th 2024, 15:10
Updated At: Tuesday, Apr 9th 2024, 17:01
Back to Live Feed
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has upheld the complaint of the Climate Seniors Association and found a violation of the Convention on Human Rights. According to the court, Switzerland has failed to fulfill its duties with regard to climate protection.
In its judgment published on Tuesday, the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR stated that Article 8 of the Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to respect for private and family life, including the right to health, entails obligations for a state in relation to the climate crisis.
This must protect individuals from the consequences of climate change on life, health and quality of life. A country must enact appropriate regulations and take measures.
The Convention on Human Rights must be interpreted and applied in such a way that the guaranteed rights are actually and effectively implemented. The international community has committed itself to measures to reduce greenhouse gases in various agreements. This requires concrete regulations and measures.
With regard to Switzerland, the Court found shortcomings. The Swiss authorities had failed to quantify the limitation of national greenhouse gas emissions through a carbon budget. Furthermore, the country had not achieved its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the past.
Access to court
Furthermore, the ECtHR found a violation of the first paragraph of Article 6, which guarantees the adjudication of a dispute by a court. It is true that the provision of the Administrative Procedure Act invoked by the climate seniors only provides for the protection of individual rights.
Nevertheless, the failure of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) to respond to the association's petition is not compatible with the right of access to a court.
The subsequent judicial instances had not put forward any convincing arguments as to why the complainants' concerns should not have been dealt with in substance.
Case not closed
The Court's ruling means that the case is far from over for the Climate Seniors and the federal government. The association has the option of appealing to the Federal Supreme Court. This will result in the case being returned to the Uvek for substantive consideration.
The federal government must do its homework when it comes to climate measures. The ECtHR explicitly refrained from naming specific measures that would remedy the violation of the Convention on Human Rights. Due to the complexity and nature of the matter, the ball is in Switzerland's court, assisted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
The ruling is binding for the other members of the Council of Europe insofar as the same guidelines will apply to similar cases from other countries in the future.
Mixed reactions
Swiss politicians have a mixed reaction to the condemnation. The right to a healthy climate is a fundamental right, according to the Greens. Bernese GLP National Councillor Jürg Grossen stated that Switzerland was doing too little. The SP once again called for public investment in the energy and climate transition and criticized the Federal Council for its inaction.
The tenor of the SVP, Center Party and FDP was completely different: St. Gallen SVP National Councillor Mike Egger called the ECHR ruling "ridiculous". It is always dangerous when courts play politics. His party called for the country to leave the Council of Europe.
The court does not understand Swiss democracy, said Bernese FDP National Councillor Christian Wasserfallen, referring to the CO2 Act, which was rejected at the ballot box in 2021 and only came to a vote after the climate seniors' lawsuit.
Center Party President Gerhard Pfister stated that the EMGR condemned the government of a country that could only do what the population wanted. Center Party National Councillor Philipp Kutter saw a scapegoat for fears of "foreign judges".
President Viola Amherd was surprised by the ruling. She is looking forward to the detailed reasoning. Alain Chablais, the representative of the Confederation before the ECtHR, said that Switzerland must act.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic