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The Grand Chamber of the Strasbourg Court of Justice, and thus the highest European authority on human rights issues, supports the Swiss pensioners on most points. This is because climate change has existential consequences and therefore threatens human rights.
The Climate Senior Women’s Association is entitled to sue at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), but not every individual climate senior woman is entitled to sue. A restriction that obviously serves to prevent a flood of lawsuits. The Strasbourg judges clearly accuse Switzerland of not doing enough to address climate change.
And they criticize the fact that the Swiss judiciary dismissed the senior citizens’ lawsuit without taking any substantive action on them. In doing so, Switzerland also violated the European Convention on Human Rights. The court thus opens up the possibility for climate protectors far beyond Switzerland to take legal action if effective climate measures cannot be implemented politically.
Federal Bern must act
This is by no means uncontroversial. Many reject such an approach as undemocratic. However, all of the numerous objections that Switzerland raised against the climate seniors’ lawsuit during the course of the proceedings were largely rejected as unfounded.
The climate seniors were hoping for such a clear verdict against Switzerland – but they didn’t expect it. That’s why many are now completely overwhelmed after the verdict was announced. It is clear to everyone: Federal Bern must now act. Because the highest instance judgments of the ECHR are binding. In this case, there is no need for further legal action in Swiss courts. The ruling can, indeed must, be implemented directly by the Swiss government. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will monitor this.
The climate seniors also want to remain vigilant and active. They have no intention of bowing out of the debate after their triumph in court.
European judicial history is being written
It’s not easy for Switzerland now. Their official representatives at the verdict were careful not to criticize the ECHR decision. They respect them and will now analyze where Switzerland needs to improve. This will be difficult not least because in some areas the government and the authorities cannot make decisions autonomously, but rather need the support of Parliament and therefore the electorate.
However, this is not a purely Swiss problem, or even primarily a Swiss one. Because the Swiss climate seniors are writing European judicial history. Their approach is likely to be groundbreaking and have consequences in all 46 member states of the Council of Europe. For the first time, an international court has made a binding ruling that human rights are violated when states do too little to combat climate change. Exciting times for climate policy. And climate justice.
Fredy Gsteiger
Diplomatic correspondent