Graubünden authorities have violated the fundamental rights of climate activists
Published: Friday, Oct 25th 2024, 12:10
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The Federal Supreme Court has upheld an appeal by the Strike WEF Collective group. The Graubünden authorities wrongly refused to allow the use of the cantonal road between Küblis and Klosters for the "Winter hike for climate justice" rally in 2023.
The use of the road on January 14, 2023 should have been at least partially permitted, writes the Federal Supreme Court in a ruling published on Friday. Instead, the route led along side roads and hiking trails.
According to the court, the complete relocation of the "winter hike" away from the cantonal road constitutes a disproportionate interference with freedom of opinion and freedom of assembly. These fundamental rights would, to a limited extent, give the right to use public land for demonstrations with an appealing effect.
This so-called interest in publicity had to be taken into account as part of the approval procedure. The aim of the rally was specifically to draw attention to the criticism of the WEF. Because its annual meeting in Davos reaches a global audience, the highest Swiss court stated that critical dissenting voices must also be given a sufficient platform.
Originally on the cantonal road
According to the ruling, the Graubünden Civil Engineering Office approved a march along the cantonal road between Landquart and Klosters Platz in 2020 in connection with the WEF. At the time, it stated that the main traffic and rescue axis between Landquart and Davos was the national road. The "closure" of the cantonal road between Landquart and Klosters in favor of the rally was possible.
One of the conditions attached to the permit by the Civil Engineering Office at the time was that only the uphill half of the road could be used and that the passage of emergency vehicles and buses had to be guaranteed. In the event of an incident on the national road, the hiking group had to be diverted or stopped so that the cantonal road was available as a rescue route.
It is not clear why it should not be possible to use the cantonal road with similar restrictions as in 2020. Furthermore, the Federal Supreme Court writes that the analogous assertion that the security forces would not be able to channel a gathering of 300 people on one side of the road is incomprehensible in view of the considerable security effort in connection with the WEF.
In connection with the reference made by the authorities to traffic, the Federal Supreme Court states that the interests of public and private traffic do not generally preclude the use of public land beyond the scope of public use. Otherwise, such an increased public use could hardly ever be approved in the context of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. This is usually aimed at areas with a high volume of public and traffic.
Deadline violated
The Graubünden authorities also violated the group's right to have its application dealt with within a reasonable period of time. The group submitted its application in November 2022. It only received a negative response on January 10, 2023 - i.e. four days before the event.
It was already clear to the authorities on December 16, 2022 that they would not approve the requested route. Nevertheless, they waited to issue the contestable ruling, which was incomprehensible. A decision should have been expected before the holidays, wrote the Federal Supreme Court.
This would have made it easier for the complainant to organize the rally and would have improved his legal protection options. He would have been able to reach the appeal instances in good time before the date of the event. (Judgments 1C_28/2024, 1C_32/2024, 1C_33/2024 and 1C_34/2024 of 8.10.2024)
©Keystone/SDA
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